Fisher Investments sells minority stake of up to $3 billion to Advent International
Fisher Investments sells minority stake of up to $3 billion to Advent International
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report referred to Advent International as a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The story has been corrected.
Private-equity company Advent International will take a minority stake in money manager Fisher Investments, the companies announced June 16.
In a statement, the companies said that Advent and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will invest between $2.5 billion and $3 billion into Fisher Investments, valuing the company at $12.75 billion. They will purchase the shares from founder Ken Fisher’s personal holdings.
The companies said the deal will not affect Fisher Investments’ day-to-day operations or its clients’ investments. Fisher will remain executive chair and co-chief investment officer, and Chief Executive Damian Ornani will remain in his role as well.
The deal represents the first outside investment in Fisher Investments. Ken Fisher will maintain about 70% ownership. Fisher, 73, said the deal was part of his long-term estate planning.
“This transaction is aimed dually at estate tax and planning purposes while assuring that FI will maintain its traditional culture, growth evolution and devotion to exceptional client service,” Fisher said in a statement. “FI has been my life. 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. And, we will have the support of world-class partners who understand us operationally and culturally, and value what we are and will be.”
Fisher Investments manages more than $275 billion globally.
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Advent’s interest in Fisher Investments.
Fisher founded the company in 1979 and moved from CEO to executive chair and co-CIO in 2016.
Clients withdrew millions of dollars from Fisher’s fund in 2019 after he made lewd comments during an interview at a financial-industry conference. Fisher later apologized for his remarks.
In 2023, he moved his firm’s headquarters from Washington state to Texas, citing Washington’s high capital-gains tax.