Chicago’s police pension fund, responding to lewd comments made by money manager Ken Fisher, has decided to pull about $67 million it has invested with his firm.
The Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago decided Monday to terminate its business with Fisher Investments, according to an email.
An array of institutional investors and firms --- from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to the Boston Pension Board -- have divested about $3.9 billion from Fisher after his Oct. 8 remarks. Since then, Fisher, who has apologized for his comments, has embarked on an advertising campaign to counter negative coverage of the company. The ads feature women who work at the firm.
The controversy has also shed light on the tactics Fisher has used to build his firm into a global money manager with $115 billion in assets. These include aggressive sales efforts, steep fees and a torrent of direct mail, Bloomberg has reported.
The decision by the Chicago Policemen’s fund follows a move last month to place the firm on its fund watch list. In an Oct. 31 statement, the organization said Fisher’s remarks were “inconsistent with the core values and benefits of the fund and its board of trustees.”
The Chicago fund represents about 27,000 current and retired employees and beneficiaries and has about $2.6 billion in assets.
As funds have moved to divest, industry consultant NEPC recommended last month that clients discontinue their relationship with the firm. One NEPC client, New Hampshire Retirement System, cut its ties to Fisher on Oct. 22 and pulled $239 million.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.