Hedge Fund Advertising
Hedge Fund Advertising & Marketing Ideas
(http://HedgeFundBlogger.com)There are many restrictions on hedge fund advertising and marketing. Due to the broad mandates and relatively lenient registration and disclosure rules hedge funds in the United States are only allowed to accept investments from accredited investors and institutions.While this means hedge funds cannot take out TV or radio commercials there are many more gray areas where many hedge funds are now “promoting” or “branding” themselves. I never provide financial advice on HedgeFundBlogger.com and this is surely not a recommended or list of “safe” ways to market your fund. No matter what you hear from a consultant or at a conference always check with your own compliance officer or legal counsel before taking any action. Here is a list of ways in which funds are currently marketing their strategies:
• Websites – Many funds have websites describing their firm and investment strategy. Some go as far as to explain what their strategy is in detail along with their current assets under management and who is on their portfolio management team. These websites may cost between $1,000 and $25,000 to create and generally $30-500/month to maintain. A few hedge fund managers even run blogs.
• Public Relations Professionals – Many hedge funds actively engage public relations firms to help increase the number of quotes or in-story mentions their fund’s executives get placed within mainstream media outlets. These consultants may work on some one-off crisis management projects for a premium but generally prefer $2-12k/month retainers instead.
• Book Publishing – One of the many ways which hedge fund managers are promoting their businesses is through publishing books on the topic of hedge funds. These books may be on industry trends, portfolio management theories or one’s experience in the industry. Many professionals within the wealth management space are hungry to learn more about hedge funds and books which bridge the gap between what can be learned within editorial articles versus an educational book. Some niche publishers will publish books by hedge fund managers but most avoid publishing anyone who doesn’t have a marketing network or a real “media brand” behind their name which has been built up for several years. Due to this fact some hedge fund managers self-publish their own books through programs such as Lulu.com.
• Conferences – One of the ways in which hedge fund managers market themselves each week is by speaking at conferences and events within the industry. These events could discuss marketing and sales, hedge funds in general or be on niche subjects related to family offices or activist investing. This strategy can be highly effective because it can support and serve as a direct marketing arm for the strategies mentioned above. Most speaking engagements do not pay, but many firms will at least cover your expenses and display your logo and name prominently at the event. Broker dealer conferences can also be productive events for hedge fund managers to attend. If you can gain a distribution agreement with HNW-focused broker-dealer and obtain a speaking engagement or booth at their event it can be a great way to get your foot in the door with some new face-to-face relationships with HNW advisors with the specific broker-deal group holding the conference.
• External Consultants – While not technically advertising, thousands of funds choose to use the help of external consultants to help market their hedge funds. These consultants could be experts within raising capital within a specific channel, creating marketing materials or creating a marketing message. Those consultants who take on whole or partial responsibility for raising assets on behalf of the hedge fund manager are often referred to as third party marketers. To read my past articles on these types of marketers please click here or see my website dedicated to this subject – http://ThirdPartyMarketing.com. Naturally, it is important to complete thorough due diligence upon any groups which you ask to represent you in the market for both effectiveness and compliance reasons. Do not simply sign-up with someone to represent your hedge fund simply because they promise that they can raise the assets which you have been looking to raise.
There are many other ways to market and grow your hedge fund which are not related to advertising or traditional marketing but most of these fall under more traditional means or external consultants. If you have any unique ideas or have heard of any other effective methods that fast growing hedge funds have used, please send them in by email or simply leave a comment below.
Read over 50 additional articles within our Hedge Fund Marketing Tips section by clicking here.
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