Fisher Investments to Spin Off Independent 401(k) Practice

Nathan Fisher

Fisher Investments is spinning out an independent 401(k) solutions division, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.

The registered investment adviser will be turning its Fisher Investment 401(k) Solutions into an independent firm named Fisher Retirement Solutions to be run by CEO Nathan Fisher, son of Fisher Investments founder and CEO Ken Fisher.

Fisher Investments, which oversees $275 billion in client assets across institutional and private clients, makes the move shortly after announcing it is selling a minority stake to Advent International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The investment of at least $2.5 billion and up to $3 billion values the firm at $12.75 billion, according to an announcement made June 16.

The independent Fisher Retirement Services will continue to be “friendly, cooperative, and interactive” with Fisher Investments, according to Naj Srinivas, executive vice president of corporate communications at Fisher Investments.

As of last Friday, the roughly 100-person retirement group had $4.75 billion in assets under management for over 1,600 small and medium sized plans.

The move has been years in planning, according to Srinivas, and gives Nathan Fisher total autonomy of a division he had previously held the title of senior executive vice president and will allow him to “move with more decisiveness and great speed.”

“Nathan has come to realize the beauty of doing something your own way, on your own terms and desires to build FRS on his own—just as Ken did building Fisher Investments,” Srinivas wrote.

The small-plan market has been predicted to grow in the coming years in part due to federal and state mandates and the trend for businesses of all sizes to offer workplace retirement plans. In April, consultancy Cerulli Associates forecast that the 401(k) market would grow from 668,419 total plans at the end of 2022 to nearly 1 million by 2030.

The firm is “very optimistic” about the 401(k) small and medium plan market and the growth potential for Fisher Retirement Solutions, the spokesperson said.

Fisher Investments’ Ken Fisher is selling his personal holdings to the Advent-managed funds and ADIA, according to the June 16 announcement. It is the first outside investment in the firm, which was founded in 1979; David Mussafer, managing partner at Advent, will join the board of directors.

WealthManagement.com first reported the news of the 401(k) unit spinoff.