20 KEN FISHER'S CONTROVERSIAL SPEECH & MISLEADING ADVERTISING

If you fail to plan, plan to fail.

We want you to plan for success. Welcome to Planning Matters Radio. People are outraged, shocked, offended. And as usual, I say, how are you so surprised? To think that a billionaire financial manager would speak in a sexually explicit nature? Shocking. You have seen the movie Wolf of Wall Street, right?

Although at this point, this one's probably a fairly costly gaffe. However, one particular analogy did catch my attention as being fairly accurate. I'm speaking, of course, about billionaire Ken Fisher and his recent remarks at the Tiburon Conference, a semiannual CEO summit for business executives. Now, Mr. Fisher is actually formerly an award recipient at the summit Tiburon Conference. Now, I don't know why people are so shocked that a Wall Street wolf type made sexually explicit comments in regards to client acquisition and comparing them to getting in a girl's pants, discussion of genitalia and tales of drug usage while giving a speech. Now, when I say Wall Street wolf type, I'm not speaking about the Jordan Belfort Stratton Oakmont pump and dump insider trading kind of wolf. But Mr. Fisher is absolutely a Wall Street wolf type and he's very successful, but he, A, runs a marketing company and B, runs a financial management firm. And sadly, but honestly, it's really no shock that this kind of language was used when he is comparing investment returns as well as acquiring new clients to sexual conquests. Now, I'm going to take a step back from my monologue about Ken Fisher for a moment because I do want to address misleading and deceptive advertising and marketing practices and language. I've heard a plethora of recent ads about financial management firms and the language goes something like this. Traditional financial advisors get paid whether you do well or not. At our firm, our fees are structured so that we do better only if you do better.

Something loosely along those lines. Now, while the language is technically correct, word by word, it is not deceptive or misleading. The intended perception of what is being said is absolutely different than what is actually being said. In these ads, they are trying to create a distance and a line of distinction.

That is the perception that they are trying to convey is that one model that they described is different than the other when the actual language technically does not make that differentiation at all. And I do feel like this is a misleading advertising tactic. The traditional financial advisor's compensation is structured so that they make money whether you do well or not. Alright, so if your account goes up or down, the advisor still makes money.

While at our firm, separation. While at our firm, our fees are structured so that we do better only if you do better. What if I don't do better? What if I lose money?

Do you still make money? Yes indeed you do. You didn't deny that. You didn't misstate that. But both of those two descriptions are meant to create separation in the phraseology. But technically what was said, that's the exact same compensation model. In either case, the advisor, the financial manager, the broker makes more money if the account value goes up. When the advisor's compensation is a fee, a percentage based on the value of the account, both statements are true in either scenario. The advisor is going to make money whether you do well or not.

And at our firm or any other firm, our advisors do better only if you do better. The syntax, the language, the positioning of these ads is intended to obfuscate this fact and I do feel is trying to present a perception that is separate than the reality of what is actually being said and is misleading and deceptive to the average consumer. Now back to Ken Fisher. I'm sure you saw the headlines earlier this week. Ken Fisher, billionaire, investor, owner of Fisher Investments shocks with sexual remarks, wonders why everyone is so offended, billionaire money manager Ken Fisher's sexual comments offend at Tiburon conference, billionaire Ken Fisher barred from an exclusive conference after making sexually explicit comments, finance event bars billionaire Ken Fisher after sex comments, not an old boys club. Here's a few of those comments that got that attention. According to the LA Times, Ken Fisher compared the process of gaining a client's trust to, quote, trying to get into a girl's pants, said Rachel Robiscotti. Fox Businesses James Lankford said billionaire Ken Fisher mystified over furor over his comparison of wooing clients with getting laid. Now other articles that I read said that he went on to talk about his sexual libido and about in reflection he wish he had had sex more often during the course of his life.

Here's the thing. Not only are his comments not inaccurate of the way the financial industry goes about wooing and gaining new clients, but his comments probably didn't go far enough into this description. This actually goes further and this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Sure, talking about sex in a public place or when you're hired to present a speech. Wow, that's shocking.

That's offensive. But in a room filled with other financial CEOs and client acquisition specialists, were they really so surprised and is this an unjustified comparison? Now as cited in Bloomberg, a direct quote from his speech, the most stupid thing you can do is what every mutual fund firm in the world always did, and that's brag about performance in a direct mail piece. I actually thought not only was Mr. Fisher onto something here, but also very, very accurate in this comparison. But according to a tape of the event posted on Twitter by financial advisor Mike Lambrakis, Fisher said that's a little bit like walking into a bar and you are a single guy and want to get laid and walking up to some girl and saying, hey, do you want to have sex?

You just turn yourself into a jerk. True. Here's where I thought he was going with that that actually would have been much more accurate. And that is bragging about performance. I spoke a little earlier about misleading advertising.

I think Mr. Fisher is onto something here with this comparison. Many, many a man has overinflated, exaggerated about his performance in order to appear more attractive and gain the attention of an interested lady, only to later disappoint that lady with a lack of the performance that was bragged about. Mutual funds have done this exact same thing. When mutual funds advertise their past performance over the last year, three years, five years, ten years, and show these inflated numbers and brag about performance, they attract investors with a false expectation of that performance. The average investor depositing dollars purchasing that account is expecting that kind of performance.

That's what they have been led to believe. And unfortunately, as is so often true in both the bedroom and investing, many investors end up disappointed. So whether in the bedroom or in investing, don't be fooled by over exaggerated tales of amazing past performance. More often than not, you're going to be disappointed. And watch out for misleading tactics to attract you.

If they're willing to twist words, lie, or deceive to get you in the door, then you should only expect more of the same once you're there. This has been Planning Matters Radio. The content of this radio show is provided for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy. You are encouraged to seek investment, tax, or legal advice from an independent professional advisor. Any investments and or investment strategies mentioned involve risk, including the possible loss of principal.

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