Case Studies
The Company
The company is a fixed income manager with a proprietary fixed income selection process. The firm has $5 billion AUM and is currently focused primarily in the institutional space, specifically pensions. In 2013, they launched a bond mutual fund to expand their client base.
The Challenge
We have been tasked with growing the mutual fund product line primarily through the Registered Investment Advisory channel.
Our Solution
- We created a comprehensive strategic brief with an analysis of the firm’s current sales, marketing, PR, asset flows, staffing, competitive, and other issues.
- Distribution efforts will focus on establishing selling agreements in the RIA channel.
- Marketing will focus on educational content creation.
- Public relations will focus on gaining visibility in key financial publications.
Results
- We will be executing on the brief upon contract signing.
- We will partnering with them in their growth by reducing our fees in return for a revenue share when the funds hit targeted asset levels.
The Company
The firm, with $200 million AUM, offered a mutual fund, REIT, and limited partnership which was sold to institutions and financial advisors. The firm had a small sales team and no marketing when we started.
The Challenge
Non-traded real estate as a category was new and difficult to understand. Investors were not aware of the benefits of the asset class. They were virtually unknown.
Our Solution
- Simplify the story.
- Worked with CEO in a training session and ongoing coaching to stay on message, develop strong sound bytes, and steer the interviews.
- Generated third party endorsed news stories in top financial news publications.
- Leveraged the reprints in other sales and marketing efforts.
Results
- Grew to more than $5 billion AUM.
- Thousands of new institutional and financial advisor clients.
- Built strong relationships with journalists and earned stories in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Pensions and Investments, and Investment News, and was a regular expert on CBC and Bloomberg.
- Expanded sales team to approximately 12.
The Company
A $100 billion global asset manager launched a series of six mutual funds in the United States, focused on the emerging market and consumer sectors.
The Challenge
- They had very limited brand visibility in the United States.
- The firm had virtually no distribution in the wirehouse and independent broker/dealer channels.
- The funds had no performance history – performance began on the first day of launch.
Our Solution
Targeted gatekeepers and key decision makers at national wirehouse firms of Morgan Stanley, and UBS; and large independent broker/dealers such as Raymond James and LPL.
The Company
A $1 billion wealth manager for wealthy individuals, had a good performing $70 million fund for smaller accounts. They wanted to grow the fund through the intermediary channel.
The Challenge
- Despite the good track record, the fund had few outside investors.
- Firm had no strategy for growth.
- Firm was not a household brand nationally.
- Portfolio managers were introverted.
Our Solution
- Developed an overall growth strategy to generate positive news stories designed to attract investors.
- Enhanced story to be suitable for more sophisticated audiences.
- Worked with portfolio managers to be stronger spokespeople.
- Created sales infrastructure such as a website
Results
- Fund earned significant visibility and credibility through feature stories in Barron’s and regular interviews on CNBC.
- Fund grew to $1.2 billion with up to 50% of assets were from advisors.
- Total firm AUM grew to $3.2 billion.
The Company
Founded in 2008, the firm is a boutique institutional investment management company. They manage two strategies, one equity, and one bond: both are equally-weighted balanced platforms for mutual funds and variable annuity separate accounts.
The Challenge
The firm’s challenge was to increase leads and selling agreements with broker/dealers and increase assets under management from institutional investors.
Our Solution
- Created two in-depth white papers on the potential benefits of a diversified portfolio of passive, equally-weighted stocks or bonds.
- Developed scripted stories for targeted list of national broker/dealer calls.
- Expanded social presence on Twitter targeted to broker leaders with 10 posts daily.
- Refreshed website (under construction) to include lead generating tools and calls to action.
Results
- More than 2,000 site visits in first 6 months.
- 43 new contacts and leads who filled out a form to receive a white paper.
- 5 new broker institutional firms set up phone meetings.
- Assets under management increased 14% in six months, from $86 million to $100 million.
The Company
RIA with $1 billion AUM for wealthy families and financial advisors. The firm had two small strong performing mutual funds without any distribution.
The Challenge
The firm was not a big brand that serious investors knew about, had no growth strategy, and virtually no asset inflows.
Our Solution
- Enhanced the firm’s story.
- Helped the portfolio managers become better spokespeople.
- Generated third party endorsements.
- Leveraged reprints in other sales efforts.
Results
- Corrected message from a complicated set of four attributes of stocks to a simple multi-step process.
- Positive sales meeting the first meeting they used the new story.
- Earned positive news coverage in Barron’s, TheStreet.com, ValueInvestor, and more within four months.
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