Fisher Investments Denies WSJ Report That It Is in Sale Talks With PE Firm
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night that private-equity firm Advent International is in talks to acquire wealth management firm Fisher Investments.
The report on Tuesday, cited people familiar with the matter. On Wednesday, Fisher Investments said in a press release issued after the Journal story was published that the report was based on “rumors.”
“Fisher Investments is not being bought by Advent International, or anyone else—plain and simple,” the company said in the press release.
A spokeswoman for Advent said in a statement: “Advent is not buying Fisher Investments.” She declined a request for further comment.
A spokesman for Fisher Investments did not respond to requests for further comment.
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The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s are both owned by Dow Jones. A spokesperson for Dow Jones declined to comment.
Fisher Investments is one of the nation’s largest registered investment advisory firms. It oversees $236 billion in global assets and serves individual investors, institutional investors, and 401(k) plans.
The firm was founded by Ken Fisher in 1979 and is known for its ubiquitous advertisements. Fisher stepped down as CEO in 2016. He remains executive chairman and co-chief investment officer as well as an owner of the firm. Last year, Fisher Investments moved its headquarters to Plano, Texas, from Camas, Wash., after Washington instituted a capital gains tax for wealthy investors.
Private-equity firms have been moving into wealth management, drawn to the sector’s steady revenue streams. PE firms have acquired stakes in or bought independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisory firms. For example, in September
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bought a minority stake in Captrust Financial Advisors, which has more than $832 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets.
Financial services is one of four sectors that Advent invests in, according to its website. The others are health care, industrial, retail, consumer and leisure, and technology.
In November, Advent hired former
executive Tricia Rothschild as an operating partner to help it identify new investments in wealth and asset management.
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Boston-based Advent was founded in 1984 and had $92 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023.
Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com
