Long before Ken Fisher's sexist comments cost his firm billions, his operation was under fire for aggressive sales tactics
- Ken Fisher's embattled firm, Fisher Investments, has used aggressive sales tactics for years, according to a Bloomberg report.
- These issues were under scrutiny long before Fisher himself came under fire over sexist remarks.
- According to Bloomberg, there have been 125 grievances filed with the Federal Trade Commission against Fisher Investments since 2016.
- The billionaire investor caused an exodus of capital from the firm earlier this month after making comments at a conference that winning clients is like "trying to get into a girl's pants."
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Ken Fisher's sexist comments have caused his firm Fisher Investments to lose billions in capital. But the firm has reportedly been under fire for aggressive sales tactics for far longer.
According to Bloomberg, 125 people have filed grievances with the Federal Trade Commission against Fisher Investments since 2016. Many of the complaints revolve around representatives from Fisher calling prospects in an excessive or aggressive way, the report found.
Some prospects complained about receiving calls at their work numbers. And, in one case, a complaint said Fisher Investments solicited a customer's father who had passed way three years ago, according to Bloomberg.
Other people who demonstrated interest in free investment advice offered by Fisher Investments found that the firm would follow up with a barrage of phone calls on a daily and weekly basis, the report found.
"In their sales pitches they routinely ask prospective clients, many of whom are elderly and vulnerable, to hand over hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars to their care. This type of sales technique is despicable," one claim from 2018 said, according to Bloomberg.
As of now, the FTC hasn't opened a case against Fisher.
The news comes about three weeks after Fisher said at an investment conference that winning clients is like "trying to get into a girl's pants."
The comment sparked a flurry of withdraws from Fisher Investments totaling about $2.7 billion by major clients such as Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and the Los Angeles fire and police pension fund.
Fisher Investments did not respond to Markets Insider's request for comment.