Fisher Wealth Management

george3

I was interested in Fisher, but held off due to the almost complete absence of any information other than their own publicity. Also it is difficult to compare their performance with commonly used indices like FTSE.

george3

Fisher Wealth Management trade on the expertise of their guru Ken Fisher. This is what he was saying in whatinvestment.co.uk in August 2007:

Q: Investors shouldn’t be unduly worried about market uncertainty, says Ken Fisher.

A: The recent global stock market uncertainty is characteristic of a normal bull market correction rather than a greater market malaise, according to Ken Fisher, head of Fisher Wealth Management.

He argues that ‘Like many corrections, the recent market movement has been fuelled by the markets’ inability to properly scale the magnitude of current circumstances. I like to refer to markets as “The Great Humiliator”, leading investors to act with folly rather than reasoning, acting on fears uncorroborated by fact. Perfectly normal market volatility has led people to view US sub-prime concerns, a handful of hedge fund failures and less attractive bond issuances as harbingers of a forthcoming bear market.’

Fisher adds, ‘However, we see extremely strong corporate balance sheets, very healthy earnings growth and record levels of cash generation at a corporate level. A shift in credit spreads from very low to normal is hardly the stuff of catastrophe, particularly in light of accommodative monetary policy from central banks around the world. All of this flies in the face of a supposed credit crunch and leads us to believe there is plenty of life in the current bull market.’

However, the negative impact of problems in the US mortgage market is likely to dampen investor sentiment for a while yet. Adi Sorber, portfolio manager of the ABN AMRO Funds’ Global Equity Fund, argues that ‘There is worse to come. Parts of the real economy are feeling the consumer’s distress from higher mortgage payments, a lack of home equity to draw on and tighter lending criteria.’
He adds, ‘For now, markets envisage nothing worse than a soft landing, but pressure points need to be watched closely. All eyes are on the US Federal Reserve as financial markets ask whether it will bail investors out of a bubble that they have created themselves. A US rate cut should certainly help sentiment in the financial markets, but it would be a poor reflection on the underlying issues and the real economy.’

xyy123

Fisher did indeed get it 100% wrong this bear market. Unfortunately their standard portfolio (Global Total Return) remained fully invested in equities throughout the bear and Fisher only really accepted that the 'correction' was in fact a bear market when it was far too late.

But then, be fair with the calls they have made. They were bullish since 2002 which was one of the biggest bull markets on record, remaining fully invested. They went bearish in early 2001 and came out of the market completely. They called the 2 previous bear markets before that.

Also, when you look at most of the fund managers out there, from 2007, a lot of them were saying things like "challenging times lie ahead", "the equity markets are in for a tough time" etc. but barely anybody ever comes out and says, "Pull out of equities", because if they get it wrong they look silly and no fund manager wants to look silly. I think its somewhat admirable that at least Fisher put their rep on the line and actually took a VIEW.

As for safety, just ask them. They use separate custodians which have their own insurance so your money isn't actually with them, they just managet it.

If you want my 2 cents, if you have anything like the minimum investment Fisher want from clients, don't use IFAs. In my humble opinion, IFAs add little value that isn't freely available from the internet and that's even more pertinent when dealing with large portfolios.

Companies you may want to check out if you don't like Fisher, for whatever reason, might be Rensburg Sheppard, 7im and Newton - they're pretty different but in my experience seem quite capable. If it was my money I would personally stay away from Barclays Wealth, UBS and Coutts.

Ian_W

I'm also with stephenni1971 - odd how a thread about a specific company keeps getting raked up every couple of months by single figure posters, with xyy123 popping back each time to answer - but posting little else.

Looks more like an advertorial than a proper thread.

Myrmidon_J

Ian_W wrote:

I'm also with stephenni1971 - odd how a thread about a specific company keeps getting raked up every couple of months by single figure posters, with xyy123 popping back each time to answer - but posting little else.

Looks more like an advertorial than a proper thread.

If it's a covert marketing ploy, it doesn't appear to be having much of a positive effect.

Uppermost in my mind when I think of FWM is: what a load of old bollox.
That, and :spam:.

Having said that, I bet they are getting some recognition on Google. (Having checked, this page comes up second! Let's all talk about what a bunch of !!!!!-for-brains the chaps at FWM are... No publicity like bad publicity!)

Fraud,
FWM lost all my money,
Wouldn't touch with a barge pole,

Etc.

Myrmidon_J

This kind of thing really irritates me.

When you Google 'Fisher Wealth Management', it returns:

Fisher Wealth Management - moneysavingexpert.com Forums
Fisher Wealth Management Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning.

I think it would be appropriate for Martin, or some other MSE techie, to create a board for such blatant spamming / deceit with a title like: "Spamming Shiite Since 1989!". Real MSE posters could bump the thread every now and then in order to ensure the Google page rankings, and then you'd see:

Fisher Wealth Management - moneysavingexpert.com Forums
Fisher Wealth Management Spamming Shiite Since 1989!

Or, y'know, whatever.
(Does Google work like that? I don't know.)

I does rather make a mockery of 'UK Consumer Revenge' when unscrupulous companies such as FWM can piggy-back off MSE's popularity in order to push their own unique brand of shafting investors...

Fraud,
FWM lost all my money,
Wouldn't touch with a barge pole,

Still trying!

xyy123

Myrmidon_J wrote: »

This kind of thing really irritates me.

When you Google 'Fisher Wealth Management', it returns:



I think it would be appropriate for Martin, or some other MSE techie, to create a board for such blatant spamming / deceit with a title like: "Spamming Shiite Since 1989!". Real MSE posters could bump the thread every now and then in order to ensure the Google page rankings, and then you'd see:

I never made any secret about my previous affiliation to FWM. I think I have been reasonable in my posts. I have been positive, sure, because I know how they work and I know how the rest of the industry works, which is usually to increase the wealth of the manager rather than competently manage the wealth. I would hardly say what I have said has been promotional - I haven't mentioned performance, how good/bad client service is etc. I have outlined their portfolio engineering process and factually stated their market calls, rightly and wrongly. Their market calls are all verifiable from them and from Forbes online (Ken Fisher's Portfolio Management column).

I suggest before posting negative remarks about people or a company, you take the time to investigate yourself into their procedures and investment capability. Clearly you know neither, demonstrating your wilful ignorance. The reason I mainly post on this thread is due to my aforementioned affiliation to FWM and my lack of knowledge on most of the other threads. Learn from that.

Myrmidon_J

Contributors to this thread:

• andrit - post count 2
• xyy123 - post count 8 (75% on this thread)
• database - post count 1 (this thread)
• Dizzy2220 - post count 1 (this thread)
• george3 - post count 2 (100% on this thread)

I think stephenni1971 is right to be cynical and suspicious.

Free advertising perhaps?

Indeed.

I already referenced the Google result; my hope is that people clicking the link will understand the depths to which some firms will apparently sink in order to generate publicity.

I absolutely don't give a toss about FWM's "procedures and investment capability", just as I don't much care for the axtual features of any product whose existence is communicated to me through the medium of sh*tverts on't telly.

(You know the type... 'I am Mercedes Benz', etc. What a load of crap; now I won't even grace a Merc with my phlegm. :mad:)

I would hardly say what I have said has been promotional...

You mean, aside from the obvious "promotional" value in the Google page ranks? Searing the name into MSE brains by any means possible? The content is not important (just as well, really); it's the format.

I suppose you might (conceivably) be an innocent bystander. But it seems rather unlikely. (Does xyy refer to your karyotype, or what? )

xyy123

Myrmidon_J wrote: »

You mean, aside from the obvious "promotional" value in the Google page ranks? Searing the name into MSE brains by any means possible? The content is not important (just as well, really); it's the format.

I suppose you might (conceivably) be an innocent bystander. But it seems rather unlikely. (Does xyy refer to your karyotype, or what? )

Again demonstrating your ignorance. Type in "wealth management" in Google - they're on the first page. Type in "wealth management uk" - they're the first hit. Type in "wealth management company" - they're the first hit. Do you really think they'd waste their time upping their ranks using MSE? Its a global company managing £20BN+ of institutional and private client funds, not a 2-bob IFA outfit.

You are a spammer with nothing substantive to contribute whatsoever.

SnowMan

xyy123 wrote: »

Again demonstrating your ignorance. Type in "wealth management" in Google - they're on the first page. Type in "wealth management uk" - they're the first hit. Type in "wealth management company" - they're the first hit. Do you really think they'd waste their time upping their ranks using MSE? Its a global company managing £20BN+ of institutional and private client funds, not a 2-bob IFA outfit.

You are a spammer with nothing substantive to contribute whatsoever.

This forum is for people to share their money saving knowledge not for people like you xyy123 to make attempts to advertise their services in what appears to be with the use underhand and deceitful means, albeit comically poor attempts in your case. Only you know the truth.

At least anyone reading this thread will realise that Fishy Wealth Management are a company with nothing obvious to offer.