The View
A successful fund communicates to stakeholders, to investors, its target audience, updates, its performance, developments, opportunities and so forth. Many funds today simply do not communicate effectively enough nor in the language of the recipient/investor.
Ever asked ‘What is your message?’ ‘Is it compelling, clear and consistent?’ ‘How will your message be communicated or received?’
Communicating with Stakeholders
A fund is required to put out communications to stakeholders to satisfy fiduciary, regulatory and legal obligations. You don’t have to see this as an administrative drudge; you can use these obligations to strengthen your relationship with the investor and other parties. Change your fund communications strategy regarding compliance to an open, transparent and well designed communication to investors. Speak their language, let them see how well the fund is being managed and see the relationship solidify. There is plenty of scope for this;
- NAV publication
- Meeting requirements in relation to Key Investor Information Documents (KIIDS) being provided to investors before they invest in a UCITS
- Publication of semi-annual and annual financial statements
- Shareholder notifications
- Notices for Shareholder General Meetings
- Key performance indicators such as investment performance versus benchmark
The fund’s message must be consistent across all of your mediums to avoid confusion and keep focus on the core message. The smart fund manager will deliver messages about updates and services through social media, the website, intranets, extranets. It is advisable to communicate regularly and stay in line with the investment philosophy and the strategy of the firm, this helps provide a ‘true to label’ comfort level for the client/investor. However Funds must ensure that their communications in fully compliant, as such Finscoms works with our partners to ensure this is the case.
Seeking Investment
Funds are looking to get in front of the widest audience possible not just existing investors. We know the market has changed, we know investors are increasingly proactive, savvy and diligent. Providing prospects with enormous and monotonous pdf prospectuses is not penetrating anymore. Many fund marketers fail to get past the hurdle of initial fund documentation because their marketing materials are lacking critical data, weighed down with unnecessary information and are often viewed as misleading which may leave you the wrong side of compliance.
Institutional investors in alternative assets will receive, on average, 60 prospectuses a quarter with 83% of those failing to slide past the initial filtering stage of due diligence. Less than 0.5% will secure commitment. Simply, this highlights the importance of providing a quality message in the right format.
A fund needs to recognise that investors have become more IT savvy and how they gather their business knowledge has changed. It is more likely now that your message will be read on a smart phone, tablet etc…The investor is proactive in his/her search for opportunities. Fund marketers must rely on reverse solicitation, inbound rather than push communications. Spray and pray communication is not effective.
The fund must be able to meet the investor by communicating across multi channels e.g. smart phones, tablets, pc, financial databases, CRM. The fund’s message must be consistent across all of your mediums to avoid confusion and keep focus on the core message. The smart fund manager will deliver messages about updates and services through social media, the website, intranets, extranets. It is advisable to communicate regularly and stay in line with the investment philosophy and the strategy of the firm, this helps provide a ‘true to label’ comfort level for the client/investor.
In summary
Communications for funds should be focused on brand awareness, opportunities for investors to invest, and client service. Taking control of your communications will be of great benefit. Becoming your own publisher cuts down on printing costs and gives you greater scope for attracting new capital and strengthening existing client relationships.
With an impressive background in Financial Services, our team already speaks your language. We understand the marketplace, current trends, opportunities and guidelines. We’ll communicate your messaging to your target audience in a manner that is simple, efficient, and cost-effective.
For more information click here
Ken Carmody
kmc@finscoms.com
The View
Fund distribution plays an enormous role in the success of an investment fund. The asset manager’s distribution strategy should include fund marketing, fund communication, knowledge of distribution channels and regulation, and the construction of tools to measure the distribution risk.
This is certainly not an easy task for the fund, the asset manager must cope to provide optimal distribution for today but must keep one eye on what is coming down the pipeline. The top funds are proactive and well prepared.
Understanding the full scope of distribution
Fund distribution is not complete without fund marketing and fund communication. These two components are often neglected and thus can result in the fund making a negative impression unbeknownst to the fund manager. In a congested sector, of over 25,000+ funds, investing in marketing and communication post AIFMD is critical. It is no coincidence that the most successful funds have strong brands and use communication strategy as a competitive advantage. Having a strong brand and identity helps strengthen the trust between investor and the fund. Strong communication strategy strengthens the relationship between the investor and the fund.
Understanding each jurisdiction’s distribution channels
Knowledge of the distribution channels per targeted jurisdiction is of course vital for building an effective distribution strategy. Each market differs from the next in terms of public offering listing, regulated public distribution, private placement, local distribution networks, regulatory requirements and more.
Understanding your distribution partners
The distribution network is still viewed as complex and somewhat opaque. A fund should make sure to complete full due diligence on the distribution network and on would be distribution partners. From there the fund needs to grow a strong relationship with the local distributors and agents on a business and operations level.
Understanding the regulatory environment
Complying with local regulatory requirements is an area that needs constant supervision as regulations are constantly changing. Asset managers working with fund lawyers will need to get to grips with regulatory requirements on local agents, eligibility, investor disclosure, registration and continued registration, and marketing.
Understanding future challenges
An adept asset manager will be looking at what the future holds for the industry and will have the fund prepared. For the near future in the asset management sector we can see the following:
- An almost complete move from the traditional style of marketing to digital marketing. And the ‘Death of PDF’ in 2016.
- An even greater evolution of fund products to match investor demand
- The emergence of new distribution channels
- The wide use of video to engage prospects taking into account the IT savvy nature of the ‘next generation of investors’
An awful lot for the asset manager to contend with and this is why so many look to outsource the majority of these tasks to Finscoms thus freeing up time and providing comfort that operations will run smoothly and cost effectively.
For more information click here
Ken Carmody
kmc@finscoms.com
The View
SEO & Digital Marketing for Business
Make sure your business reacts to movements and trends in the digital market by utilising an SEO and Digital Marketing package from Finscoms. Stay one step ahead of your competitors and allow us to manage your website and online presence utilising tried and tested methods, approved by the major search engines, to enhance your website, social media feeds and digital community.
Our Monthly Package covers all necessary areas to ensure you make the most for your digital assets.
Services include:
1) Website Optimisation – ensuring your website uses the most advanced code techniques and technology is essential, staying visible to users and search engines is vital and we can develop your website to make sure you reach your full market.
2) Social Media Management – connect with your existing customers base and attract new clients by utilising the right social applications, we can set up, customise and manage your feeds to ensure your taking about the right topics at the right time.
3) Content and copy creation – our team of copywriters specialise in creating content for Funds and Offshore legal and accountancy firms. Adding keyword rich relevant content to your website will ensure you site progresses upwards in the search rankings and attracts traffic looking to purchase your products and services. Google ranks content as its key factor in deciding where to place a website in the search traffic and we will ensure your site has the right quality and quantity of content.
4) E-Mail Marketing – connecting with your existing and potential customers is vital. We can provide flexible and competitive packages to manage your e-mail marketing making sure your message reaches the right people.
Finscoms can provide a fully customisable package, bespokely created to match the needs of your business to ensure your digital presence is working for you.
SEO & Digital Marketing for Individuals
You spend hours every week working hard and promoting your business. Your companies assets need to be operating perfectly to ensure growth and margin increases, but many businesses fail to optimise one major asset group – their staff. Your employees form a core asset group and that group needs and optimise digital presence to ensure they represent your interests to a high level in the digital environment.
A personal SEO and Digital Marketing Package can enhance your employee’s digital presence by utilising a tool set proven to enhance and promote your staff in the digital market place.
Our Personnel services include:
1) Social Profile Optimisation – your staff will already have social media profiles in the personal lives, Facebook, linked-in, twitter and many more. These feeds can be optimised to ensure your staff use there digital profiles to market your business effectively and support
Companywide campaigns. Creating new business profiles for your key staff members can help create a digital community around your website and enhance your online message.
2) Personal Websites – Your key staff members will have reputations independently from your business. Long term personal relationships with clients’ help your company operate and retain clients. This can be enhanced by providing your key staff members with personal websites, allowing them to details there personal history and projects, contact details and social profiles. The personal sites act to enhance your Main business site and will ensure digital relationships mirror that of traditional ones.
Finscoms can provide SEO and marketing packages customised to your business and staff requirements, to ensure your staff work as efficiently in the digital market as they do in the traditional one.
The View
It feels like everyone’s talking about social media but what you may not know is that it’s not just for sharing your products and services. Social media plays an important role in controlling how your business is portrayed in public. Here we’ve shared some of the different ways you can use social media to control your brand.
Share your brand message via social media
Today people of all ages use social media as a form of communication, so it’s very likely that your target audience will be there ready and waiting for you. Verify your social media accounts to distinguish your brand from fake or fan pages and begin building your content.
It’s extremely important that you remain consistent across all of your social media pages. Their design should be in keeping with your company branding and the content they feature must always illustrate your brand message to your target audience.
Spend time filling in the company info / about us type sections. Your target audience wants to know all there is to know about your brand, so make sure the information is easy to find. The more information you provide, the more professional you will appear to users, giving them a more positive impression of your business.
Engage with customer queries
Whilst social media is great for sharing content and driving traffic to your website, it is also fantastic for engaging with customers and answering their questions.
Make it your mission to answer customer queries as quickly as possible. The quicker you reply with an answer, the happier the customer will be. Providing your answer meets their needs, they will see your business as one that offers efficient and effective customer service and will be more inclined to recommend it to others.
Other social media users are likely to notice that you reply to customer queries quickly and will also feel more positive about your brand.
Dealing with complaints
Dealing with complaints isn’t always the easiest of tasks but if someone complains on one of your brand’s social media pages, it is recommended that you respond quickly.
The way in which you deal with complaints on social media will have a huge impact on how people feel about your brand.
If you are apologetic, polite and helpful to the customer making the complaint, you stand a good chance of coming out of the situation on top. However if you ignore the complaint or are rude to the customer, people will either assume you’ve got something to hide or see you as unprofessional, neither of which is good for business.
Take control of your brand by dealing with social media complaints proactively. Most of the time you’ll be able to resolve the issue and win customers, rather than lose them.
Hiring digital marketers
Whilst many business owners understand the importance of social media and how it can be used to control their brand, not everyone has the time to invest in it. Thankfully, you can hire professional digital marketing experts to help!
If you don’t have time for social media or struggle to understand how to get the most from it, working with a digital marketing expert will help you to achieve your goals. They will be able to help you formulate a strategy for social media and be on hand throughout the day to answer customer queries and complaints on your behalf.
The opportunities provided by social media aren’t something your business can afford to miss out on. From sharing your brand message with a wider audience to portraying a positive image through answering customer queries, social media can help you to take full control of your brand. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to start exploring its benefits.
Ken Carmody
The View
Mondaq boost your visibility onto but not limited to Reuters, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, FT, Factiva, Lexis Nexis, Mondaq, ICSA, which from a marketing perspective ticks all the right boxes, and from a business development perspective tells you who read your content. Mondaq is an invaluable tool and we are delighted to to be working with Mondaq.
Financial Services Updates, The View
Funds and their investors are interested in the quality of the fund offering, the perception of the quality of the fund offering and their marketing/sales strategy.
Interested to learn more how your fund can boost its marketing efforts post AIFMD?
Contact us emds@finscoms.com
