Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Investor who made offensive sexual comments at summit loses $600 million contract in backlash

Investor who made offensive sexual comments at summit loses $600 million contract in backlash

A Michigan government official called Ken Fisher's comments “completely unacceptable."

The state of Michigan has pulled $600 million of its pension fund from wealth management firm Fisher Investments after the company’s founder and chairman made crude and sexually explicit comments during a fireside chat at the Tiburon CEO Summit in San Francisco this week.

In a letter Thursday, Michigan Chief Investment Officer Jon Braeutigam informed the state’s investment board that its bureau of investments, housed under the state Treasury Department, had terminated its relationship with Fisher Investments because of CEO Ken Fisher’s “completely unacceptable comments.”

During a moderated keynote discussion Tuesday with Chip Roame, managing partner at Tiburon Strategic Advisors, Fisher compared his wealth management strategy to picking up women for sex, according to summit attendees who recounted what they heard in interviews with The Washington Post. Fisher spoke of doing acid and his belief that charities are immoral. He also made crude comments about genitalia, attendees said, and mentioned financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges earlier this year before dying by suicide in prison.

Despite a Tiburon policy that requires summit attendees to keep private what they hear and discuss there, three CEOs publicly shared their accounts of what Fisher said in the interest of exposing his behavior and holding the self-proclaimed “self-made multibillionaire” accountable.

Alex Chalekian, founder and chief executive of Lake Avenue Financial in Pasadena, Calif., came forward first, posting a video to Twitter hours after Fisher’s remarks. Chalekian called the fireside chat a “true debacle” and said Fisher’s words were “absolutely horrifying.” Rachel Robasciotti, founder and chief executive of wealth management firm Robasciotti and Philipson in San Francisco, and Sonya Dreizler, a speaker and consultant to financial services firms, publicly confirmed Chalekian’s account online and in media reports.

They criticized the wealth management industry’s lack of diversity and cited incidents like Fisher’s Tiburon remarks as evidence of why women and people of color do not feel welcome.

“When you have power and you get onstage to share your worldview, and when your worldview includes women as sexual objects … that is irresponsible,” Robasciotti said in an interview with The Post. “You’re peddling your worldview, and people are adopting it.”

Amid the backlash, Fisher was initially defiant in an interview with Bloomberg, defending his remarks by saying he had “given a lot of talks, a lot of times, in a lot of places and said stuff like this and never gotten that type of response.” He also claimed attendees had mischaracterized what he said and were being unfair.

Fisher, 68, later issued a formal apology.

Roame denounced Fisher’s remarks and said he would never again be invited to speak at Tiburon. He praised Chalekian for speaking out.

Fisher had been previously honored at the Tiburon CEO Summit and has written 11 books, regularly writes newspaper columns on finance and has a net worth of $3.7 billion. He founded Fisher Investments in 1979, and it has grown into the world’s largest Registered Investment Adviser, managing $100 billion as of February, with $1 billion in revenue.

The firm manages private, individual clients and institutions, like the state of Michigan’s pension fund. The State of Michigan Retirement Systems has more than $70 billion in assets. Fisher Investments was responsible for managing $600 million of the retirement systems’ funds.

Braeutigam said in his letter to the investment board that Michigan’s Bureau of Investment decided to fire Fisher Investments after learning of Fisher’s remarks from news reports.

“ All were in unanimous agreement that prompt termination is the correct course of action,” the letter said. “There is no excuse to not treat everyone with dignity and respect. We have high expectations of our managers (and staff), not just with regards to returns but also in how they exhibit integrity and respect to all individuals.”

Fisher Investments had managed state funds for 15 years, Braeutigam said in the letter, writing that the firm’s “performance has been good (beating the S&P 1500)." He added that his staff had not "previously witnessed or been aware of any type of similar comments along the lines of the founder’s recent statements.”

“In our opinion, this history does not out-weigh the inappropriateness of the comments made by the founder,” Braeutigam wrote.

The state of Michigan’s in-house investment team will now manage the retirement funds for state employees and public school teachers, state officials said.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Woman Receives Gift Card for Christmas – Discovers It Is ‘Worth’ 63,000,000,000,000,000 Pounds
United Nations Calls for Global Action Against Disinformation and Hate Speech Online
Tucker Carlson warns of an inevitable clash in Western societies over mass migration
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praises the rapid progress of Chinese tech companies.
Poland's President Karol Nawrocki ENDS support for Ukrainian citizens:
Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni highlights record employment and economic growth
Chancellor Friedrich Merz Re-elected as CDU Leader, Opposes AfD Influence
Trump Directs Government to Release UFO and Alien Information
Trump Signs Global 10% Tariffs on Imports
UK Government Considers Law to Remove Prince Andrew from Royal Line of Succession
Two teens arrested in France for alleged terror plot.
US Supreme Court Voids Trump’s Emergency Tariff Plan, Reshaping Trade Power and Fiscal Risk
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis advocates for a ban on minors using social media.
Meanwhile in Time Square, NYC One of the most famous landmarks
Jensen Huang just told the story of how Elon Musk became NVIDIA’s very first customer for their powerful AI supercomputer
Former British Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol Sentenced to Life in Prison for Abuse of Authority
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls for real name use on social media.
Italian Police Arrest Man After Alleged Attempt to Abduct Toddler at Bergamo Supermarket, Child Hospitalised With Fractured Femur
British Tourist Arrested at Hong Kong Airport After Meltdown and Vandalism
European Commission Plans Purchase Incentives Limited to Vehicles Manufactured Largely in the EU
French District of Pas-de-Calais Introduces Immediate License Suspension for Drivers Using Mobile Phones
Volkswagen Targets €60 Billion in Cost Reductions as Sales Decline and Global Pressures Intensify
Eighty-Year-Old Lottery Winner Sentenced to 16.5 Years for Drug Trafficking
Rubio Calls for Sweeping U.N. Reform, Saying It Has Failed to End Wars in Gaza and Ukraine
10,000 Condoms Distributed at Winter Olympics 2026 Athlete Village Depleted Within 72 Hours
Poland's President Advocates for Evaluating Independent Nuclear Weapons Development
Mayor of Serdobsk in Russia’s Penza Region Resigns After Housing Certificates Granted to Migrant Family Trigger Public Outcry
China’s EV Makers Face Mandatory Return to Physical Buttons and Door Handles in Driver-Distraction Safety Overhaul
UK Green Party Considering Proposal to Legalize Heroin for an Inclusive Society
OpenAI and DeepCent Superintelligence Race: Artificial General Intelligence and AI Agents as a National Security Arms Race
We will protect them from the digital Wild West.’ Another country will ban social media for under-16s
Heineken announces cut of 6,000 jobs due to declining beer demand
Apple iPhone Lockdown Mode blocks FBI data access in journalist device seizure
Belgium: Man Charged with Rape After Faking Payment to Sex Worker
KPMG Urges Auditor to Relay AI Cost Savings
Canada Opens First Consulate in Greenland Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions
China unveils plans for a 'Death Star' capable of launching missile strikes from space
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
U.S. State Department Issues Urgent Travel Warning for Citizens to Leave Iran Immediately
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Eighty-one-year-old man in the United States fatally shoots Uber driver after scam threat
Political Censorship: French Prosecutors Raid Musk’s X Offices in Paris
AI Invented “Hot Springs” — Tourists Arrived and Were Shocked
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Global Shifts in War, Trade, Energy and Security Mark Major International Developments
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
×