Private Client Group has experienced a net growth both in number of clients and assets managed," Dillard said. Nevertheless, Fisher took to the media to respond to the controversy.
Just last week, the firm published a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, touting the number of women working at the advisory firm. The firm also started a website featuring testimonials from women who work there. Fisher's pension clients surprised many industry observers with their rapid move to divest, as retirement plan fiduciaries must show they underwent a prudent process before hiring or firing managers.
Individual investors can leave when they want. However, the process of swapping advisors is often an onerous one. For starters, they need to think about where they'll reinvest their assets, including finding a new advisor with whom they are compatible. Further, if the money they have invested at their current firm is in a taxable account, they also need to consider whether a withdrawal will leave them with a tax bill. More from Personal Finance: Six moves to prepare you financially for retirement Everything you need to know about your taxes Here are the hidden benefits of a Roth IRA conversion.
Even high fees alone may not be enough to get retail clients to leave their advisor, assuming they're happy with the service. Consider that Fisher charges an asset management fee of 1. What a difference two years makes. At the late October Tiburon CEO Summit, Fisher used a sexual reference to make a point about why stockbrokers are ineffective sales people.
The paradox is that Fisher's "crisis" play was as much about remaining focused as any fancy get-woke footwork, according to Kirsten Plonner, president of New York City public relations and marketing company, FiComm Partners. As much as the industry doesn't want to admit it, they actually handled it well," she says, via email. Significantly, the pandemic brought about a change in media imaging. Fisher, who had been the face of the brand for years in advertising campaigns, stepped back.
Instead, advertisements began featuring advisors -- often women. Fisher, who turns 71 this fall, may have intended to eventually ease himself out of the limelight in any event. He founded the firm in , incorporated in and stepped down as CEO in in favor of long time employee Damian Ornani.
Fisher continues to keep his finger in the business as executive chairman and co-chief investment officer. He eventually apologized for his late statements, but he never wavered in his assertion that his words were taken out of context. Nonetheless, Fisher's efforts to get 'woke' proved good for business, says an industry analyst, speaking off record.
Dillard, however, rejects the idea that the media firestorm played a big role in the firm's trajectory, one way or the other.
The results of that focus speak for themselves, he says. In the United States, for instance, it launched a female-fronted advertisement campaign, and in July, Fisher's UK subsidiary was recognized by an awards agency as one of the best workplaces for women in Great Britain. Fisher has also begun to add environmental, social, and governance ESG ethical funds to its investment allocation, at client request. A new managed accounts service for mid-market and large retirement plans is under development, too, according to the firm.
What is certain is that Fisher -- already the AUM king of the RIA universe -- has never added assets like it has in then past couple years.
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