This week on our Masters in Business radio podcast, we sit down for the second time with Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments, which manages about $80 billion in client assets.
The last time we had Fisher on as a guest, we discussed market and investing. This time, we delve deeper into how he built his firm. It was an oversight on my part last time – I simply missed a giant swath of conversation that professional investors might like to hear. This podcast makes up for that prior fail on my part.
He explains why customer service is an overlooked aspect of asset management, and tells us various things his firm does that are unique.
Fisher describes the stock market as in its “usual unique” position. He explains that stock picking has always been challenging, but its only recently that the analytics to prove by how just how much simply was not widely available. He references Jack Bogle’s 1961 paper – it explained why the cost structure of active management was destined to lose against a low cost index. It took decades before that reality became both understood and well known.
Fisher, a top down analyst of the market – he focuses on geographies and sectors first, getting to individual companies last – tells us that P/E has never been predictive, and that stocks are less expensive that people believe. And, he believes behavioral issues are much more important than valuations.
All of the many books Fisher discusses can be found here.
You can hear the show on Bloomberg Radio, or stream/download the full show, including the podcast extras, on iTunes, SoundCloud and on Bloomberg.
All of our earlier podcasts can be found on iTunes, Soundcloud, and Bloomberg.
