Feeding the Elephant

In This Issue: The Elephant in the Room | Protesting Too Much | “Well, I think …” Investment management firms allocate significant time, money and human energy to creating and delivering new business presentations. Yet things can still go terribly wrong,...

The Toughest Question

In This Issue: Relentless Uniformity | Who Doesn’t? | Beyond the Beauty Parade “What is your competitive advantage?” This often is the toughest question that investment companies must answer in their quest to build assets under management—even if the...

The Highest Bar

In This Issue: In the Zone | Mind Gym | Singles, Doubles and … You’re Out! Investment companies frequently hire professional trainers or coaches to improve their new business presentations and raise their closing ratios. This issue of our newsletter explores how...

Escape from "The Land of Anecdote"

In This Issue: The Role of Research | How Can We Serve You Better? | Thanking Participants In getting to know an investment firm, we always ask if there is any market research that would be useful in our work. Almost invariably and paradoxically, the answer in some...

Why Target Marketing Often Misses the Mark

In This Issue: Why Target Marketing Often Misses the Mark | Funding What? | Selling Snake Oil Institutional investment firms have intensified their target marketing efforts—developing white papers and website modules, for example, focused on public pension plans or...