Philip Fisher

About Philip Fisher

Philip Arthur Fisher (September 8, 1907 – March 11, 2004) was an American stock investor and author, best known as a pioneer of growth investing. His investment firm, Fisher & Co., founded in 1931, managed client funds for nearly seven decades. Fisher is renowned for his "scuttlebutt" method of research – gathering information about companies by talking to customers, suppliers, competitors, and employees. This qualitative approach to understanding businesses complemented the quantitative methods prevalent at the time. His investment philosophy focused on finding companies with outstanding management, significant growth potential, and strong competitive advantages. Fisher preferred to buy and hold a small number of outstanding companies rather than diversifying widely, sometimes holding positions for decades. Warren Buffett has often credited Fisher as a major influence, stating that his investment approach is "85% Graham and 15% Fisher." Fisher's book "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" remains a classic text on growth investing.