Fisher Investments is a prominent global money management firm founded by Ken Fisher. It provides investment management services for private clients, institutions and retirement plans. Fisher Investments manages over $197 billion in assets with a focus on global diversification. The firm’s investment philosophy emphasizes long-term investing, avoiding market timing, and constructing broadly diversified portfolios. Some key aspects of Fisher Investments’ portfolio strategies include:
Emphasis on investing in stocks for the long run – Fisher believes stock returns are driven by corporate earnings over the long term. It advocates holding diversified stock portfolios through bull and bear markets.
Global diversification across sectors, countries and currencies – Fisher constructs portfolios containing thousands of stocks across sectors, market caps, countries and currencies to minimize portfolio volatility.
Disciplined rebalancing and risk management – Fisher periodically rebalances client portfolios back to target allocations. It also utilizes stop losses and options strategies to control downside.
Fisher Investments Focuses on Long-Term, Fundamentals-Based Investing
Fisher Investments’ investment philosophy is grounded in the belief that stock prices follow corporate earnings over the long run. It views short-term volatility as unpredictable noise and does not attempt to time markets. Fisher constructs broadly diversified portfolios and holds them for the long term, aiming to participate fully in long-term earnings growth. This long-term focus allows Fisher’s portfolios to weather periods of volatility and benefit from the compounding of returns over time.
Broad Diversification Across Global Markets
A hallmark of Fisher Investments’ portfolio strategy is broad global diversification across stocks, sectors, countries and currencies. Fisher states that owning thousands of stocks across multiple geographic regions and currencies provides strong risk-reduction benefits. Its model portfolios hold domestic and international stocks across styles, market caps and sectors. Fisher believes wide diversification minimizes the impact of any single company or market event on the overall portfolio.
Active Rebalancing to Maintain Target Allocations
Fisher Investments engages in active rebalancing of its portfolios to maintain target asset class and sector allocations. Rebalancing involves periodically selling appreciated assets and buying underperforming assets to keep allocations in line with clients’ risk tolerances. Rebalancing provides a disciplined mechanism for buying low and selling high within portfolios over time.
Options Strategies and Stop Losses for Risk Control
In addition to diversification and rebalancing, Fisher uses options and stop losses to actively manage portfolio risk. Writing covered calls generates income while providing upside protection. Fisher also utilizes stop losses to limit downside during significant market declines. These risk management tools aim to reduce volatility within Fisher’s long-term, fundamentals-driven investment strategy.
Fisher Investments’ long-term, globally diversified approach focuses on maximizing exposure to economic and earnings growth. Key tenets include broad diversification, disciplined rebalancing, and tailored risk management. By avoiding market timing and emotion-based decisions, Fisher portfolios participate fully in long-term market appreciation.