Fisher Investments to Spin Off 401(k) Business, Which Will Be Led by Founder Ken Fisher’s Son

Fisher Investments is planning to make its 401(k) unit a stand-alone company to be helmed by founder Ken Fisher’s son, Nathan Fisher, a company spokesman confirmed.

The new entity, Fisher Retirement Solutions, is expected to be up and running by July 1, according to Naj Srinivas, Fisher’s executive vice president of corporate communications. Nathan Fisher will serve as CEO.

The move follows closely on Fisher’s announcement that it is selling a minority stake in its business to the private-equity firm Advent International and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, but Srinivas indicated that the separation of the retirement business is unrelated to that transaction.

“This was part of a separate, long-planned move to provide Nathan and FRS with complete autonomy so they can move with more decisiveness and greater speed,” Srinivas says. “Nathan has come to realize the beauty of doing something your own way, on your own terms and desires to build FRS on his own—just as Ken did building Fisher Investments.”

News of the move was earlier reported by WealthManagement.com.

The division that Fisher is making independent, called Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions, provides retirement plan advice and administration to small and midsize businesses. The unit ranked No. 21 on the National Association of Plan Advisors’ 2024 list of top defined-contribution plan advisors with multiple offices.

Fisher’s retirement business works with more than 1,500 plans with more than 63,000 participants, according to that list, which pegged the asset value of those plans at $4.07 billion.

Srinivas says that while Fisher’s core wealth management business and Fisher Retirement Solutions will be independent businesses, “they will be friendly, cooperative, and interactive.”

Fisher reported more than $235 billion in assets under management on its most recent Form ADV regulatory filing. Earlier this month the firm said that Fisher Investments and its subsidiaries manage more than $275 million across the three principal businesses of institutional, U.S. private client, and private client international.

The private-equity deal announced this month marked the first time Fisher had sold a stake of its business to outside investors, the company said. Ken Fisher, who serves as executive chairman and co-CIO, said the deal was “aimed dually at estate tax and planning purposes” while ensuring that the firm could retain its culture and service model.

“While my health is excellent, this transaction with an atypically long holding period for a private-equity transaction will ensure FI’s long-term private independence and culture should anything untoward happen to me,” he said.

Fisher founded his firm in 1979 and went on to become a mainstay in financial media, regularly appearing on outlets such as Fox News, Fox Business, and BBN Bloomberg, and writing extensively on investing and finance.

The firm said that Fisher would sell his personal holdings to Advent and the Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund but retain a majority of beneficial ownership and more than 70% of the business’ voting shares.

The parties didn’t announce precise terms of the deal but said that the investment is between $2.5 billion and $3 billion, valuing Fisher Investments at $12.75 billion.

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