Advent, ADIA Take Minority Stake in Fisher Investments

Advent International and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) have agreed to invest up to $3 billion in Fisher Investments (FI), the independent money management firm founded by billionaire investor Ken Fisher, valuing the Texas-based company at $12.75 billion.

Fisher will continue to serve as executive chairman and co-CIO, while FI CEO Damian Ornani will remain in his position following the transaction, which is slated to close later this year.

FI, which manages over $275 billion for about 150,000 clients worldwide, including 120,000 U.S. private clients and 185 institutional clients, stated that the deal was part of Fisher’s “long-term estate planning.”

“This transaction is aimed dually at estate tax and planning purposes while assuring that FI will maintain its traditional culture, growth evolution and devotion to exceptional client service,” Fisher said.

As part of the transaction, Fisher will sell personal holdings to Advent-managed funds and ADIA. The transaction marks Fisher’s first outside investment, as the company’s previous ownership was limited to family and employees. Fisher will maintain more than 70% ownership.

ADIA, which invests on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, with estimated assets of $993 billion, according to credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar.

The fund invests both directly and indirectly in a variety of asset sectors, including stocks, bonds, infrastructure, private equity, and real estate.

Advent International, which has invested in 420 private equity investments across 43 countries, had $94 billion in assets under management as of December 31.

Investors in the Advent vehicles include Lunate Capital managed funds, Mousse Partners, and FI’s largest institutional client, South Korea’s National Pension Service.