Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Tuesday, Mar 17, 2026

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.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia Targets South African Professionals in New Recruitment Drive Amid Regional Uncertainty
Formula One Faces Major Financial Hit as Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix Cancelled Amid Middle East Conflict
U.S. and Saudi Firms Launch Local Production of Attritable Drone Systems in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia and UAE Warn Rising Gulf Tensions Could Endanger Regional Security
Saudi Arabia Rejects Claims It Encouraged Prolonged War With Iran
Saudi Arabia to Host World’s Largest Single-Cell Protein Plant as Food Security Push Accelerates
Saudi Crown Prince Urges Trump to Continue Military Pressure on Iran
Iran Intensifies Drone Campaign Against Saudi Arabia as Gulf Conflict Escalates
When Is Eid al-Fitr 2026? Saudi Arabia Awaits Moon Sighting to Confirm End of Ramadan
When Is Eid al-Fitr 2026? Saudi Arabia Awaits Moon Sighting to Confirm End of Ramadan
Iranian Missile Strike Damages Five U.S. Refueling Aircraft at Saudi Air Base
Iranian Missile Strike Damages Five U.S. Refueling Aircraft at Saudi Air Base
Washington State Pilot Among Six U.S. Airmen Killed in Military Aircraft Crash Over Iraq
Severe Storm Threat Looms Over Washington as Tornado Risk and Damaging Winds Target Mid-Atlantic
Trump Supports FCC Warning to Broadcasters Over Iran War Reporting
Trump Supports FCC Warning to Broadcasters Over Iran War Reporting
Saudi Stocks Edge Lower as Tadawul All Share Index Slips Slightly at Market Close
Iranian Missile and Drone Strike Targets Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base Hosting US Aircraft
Saudi Air Defenses Intercept Drone Over Eastern Province as Iranian Strike Campaign Intensifies
Middle East War Reshapes Gulf Economies as Saudi Arabia and Oman Gain Strategic Leverage While UAE Faces Economic Shock
Iranian Ambassador in Riyadh Blames ‘Enemies’ for Attacks Across the Gulf
Israeli Envoy Ron Dermer Reportedly Visits Saudi Arabia for Discussions on Potential Lebanon Talks
Formula One Cancels Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix Scheduled for April
Iran’s Ambassador in Riyadh Rejects Claims Tehran Targeted Saudi Oil Facilities
Saudi Arabia Declares 2026 ‘Year of Artificial Intelligence’ in Major Push for Data-Driven Economy
Saudi Arabia’s 2018 Budget Signals Strong Push for Non-Oil Economic Growth
Pakistan Envoy in Riyadh Says Regional Diplomacy Intensifying to Prevent Wider Middle East War
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Dozens of Drones as Regional Strikes Kill Two in Oman
Saudi Arabia Redirects Oil Exports to Red Sea Ports as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Escalate
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Missile and Drone Barrage as Regional Conflict Intensifies
Iran Expands Drone and Missile Campaign Across Gulf as Conflict With US and Israel Intensifies
Muslims Worldwide Await Saudi Moon Sighting to Confirm Eid al-Fitr 2026 Date
F1 Calendar Faces Major Disruption as Middle East Conflict Threatens Bahrain and Saudi Races
Trump Says Most US Aircraft Hit in Saudi Base Attack Suffered Minimal Damage
Trump Says Most US Aircraft Hit in Saudi Base Attack Suffered Minimal Damage
Strait of Hormuz Crisis Forces Saudi Arabia Into Major Oil Production Shut-In
Strait of Hormuz Crisis Forces Saudi Arabia Into Major Oil Production Shut-In
Saudi Arabia Slashes Oil Output as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Cuts Deep Into Gulf Revenues
Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Scene Presses Ahead as Nation Navigates Regional War
Saudi-Pakistan Defence Pact Faces Real-World Constraints as Iran War Escalates
Saudi Arabia Offers Two Million Barrels of Crude From Red Sea as War Disrupts Gulf Exports
Formula One Faces Tens of Millions in Lost Revenue if Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Races Are Cancelled
Formula One Set to Cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix Amid Escalating Middle East War
Saudi Arabia Downs Dozens of Iranian Drones in Major Defensive Operation
Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Output by About Twenty Percent as Iran War Disrupts Gulf Energy Flows
Formula One Set to Cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix Amid Escalating Iran War
Asian Energy Security Tested as Strait of Hormuz Disruption Threatens Oil Supplies
Iran Sets Three Conditions for Ending Regional War as Diplomatic Efforts Intensify
Saudi Arabia Launches Royal Institute of Anthropology to Examine Social Transformation
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Arrives in Saudi Arabia for High-Level Talks
×