✕ Backstop

Official Integration Alternative Investment CRM · GP + LP Workflows · Real-Time Sync

The Only Data Source That Serves Both Sides of Your Backstop.

Backstop is the CRM of choice for alternative investment firms: hedge funds, PE/VC/RE, fund-of-funds, endowments, and family offices. Dakota Marketplace is the only data provider that enriches both sides of that business: 250,000+ LP accounts for your capital raising team, and 642,000+ private companies for your investment and research team. Both directly inside your Backstop.

For GPs Raising Capital: 250,000+ LP Accounts · 386,000+ Contacts · Investment Searches

For LP Research Teams: 642,000+ Private Cos · 20,000+ Transactions · Fund Performance

Book a Demo

250,000+

LP Accounts

386,000+

LP Contacts

642,000+

Private Companies

20,000+

Transactions

Real-Time

data sync · both GP and LP workflows · Day One time to value

The Backstop Integration Difference: Dakota Serves Both Workflows

Backstop Serves GPs and LPs. So Does Dakota.

Most data integrations serve one function. The Dakota x Backstop integration is unique because Backstop itself is used for two fundamentally different business functions at alternative investment firms, and Dakota has the data to enrich both of them.

For GPs: Capital Raising & Investor Relations

LP Fundraising Intelligence

250,000+

LP Accounts

386,000+

LP Contacts

→17,000+ RIAs with 13F holdings and CIO bios
→3,800+ family offices: only active allocators
→78,000+ corporate pension investment offices
→1,400+ public pension funds with daily meeting minutes
→350+ investment search alerts annually
→Real-time alerts when CIOs and allocators change roles
→Investment preferences by strategy and asset class
→International LPs: Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific

For LPs: Portfolio Research & Due Diligence

Investment Research Intelligence

642,000+

Private Companies

57,000+

Private Funds

→Sponsor-backed portfolio companies with CEO bios
→GP attribution and fund-level deal history
→20,000+ verified transactions, growing +2,000/month
→14,000+ private funds with verified performance data
→IRR, TVPI, DPI, RVPI with custom benchmarking
→5,400+ PE firms and 7,800+ VC firms with team contacts
→Transaction participants: buyer, seller, lender, advisor

Why Dakota + Backstop Is a Natural Fit

Backstop Is Purpose-Built for Alternatives. So Is Dakota.

Backstop is not a generic CRM adapted for investment firms. It was built specifically for the workflows of alternative asset managers: hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, funds of funds, endowments, and family offices. Its capital raising, investor relations, research management, and portfolio modules are designed around the specific data needs of these firms.

Dakota Marketplace has the same origin. Built by fundraisers who spent years on the road raising capital from the same types of allocators that Backstop users call on every day. Every data point in the Dakota database, every LP contact, every investment preference, every private company record, was curated to the standard of someone who would have to use it in front of a real allocator or investment committee.

Together, they create the most complete alternative investment workflow environment available: Backstop's purpose-built workflow and relationship management layer, powered by Dakota's comprehensive, daily-updated investment intelligence across every LP channel and private market dataset.

Backstop is the alternative investment CRM that finally understands how our business works. Dakota is the data that makes every contact record in it worth opening. Together they give our IR team and research team a single source of truth that actually stays current.

Dakota Marketplace, Alternative Investment Firm Client

Complete LP Coverage: Not Just Who You Know

Your Backstop LP records grow to 250,000+ accounts and 386,000+ verified contacts, the full universe of institutional and intermediary allocators relevant to your strategy. Your capital raising team calls the right people at every relevant firm, not just the ones they have built relationships with already.

Research Data That Powers the LP Side

For endowments, foundations, and fund-of-funds using Backstop to manage portfolio due diligence, Dakota's 642,000+ private companies, 57,000+ private funds, and 20,000+ transactions flow into the research and portfolio modules, enriching due diligence workflows with verified market data.

Real-Time Updates: Both Workflows Stay Current

When a CIO changes firms, your Backstop IR contact updates. When a new portfolio company transaction closes in your target sector, your research feed updates. Dakota's daily research team keeps both sides of your Backstop current without any manual maintenance from your team.

Investment Searches: 350+ Opportunities Per Year

Investment search alerts delivered into Backstop's capital raising module the day they are identified, with consultant, requirements, and asset class, so your IR team knows about new mandates before competitors are even aware they exist.

How the Integration Works

From Connection to Live Data in Your Backstop.

The Dakota Backstop integration maps LP intelligence into your capital raising and IR workflows, and private market data into your research and portfolio workflows, through a single unified connection that goes live within one business day.

Connect Your Dakota Membership

Authenticate your Dakota Marketplace membership to establish the data connection. Your existing Dakota subscription covers the Backstop integration.

Map to Backstop Record Types

Dakota maps LP accounts and contacts to Backstop's firm and contact records. Private companies and transactions map to Backstop's research and portfolio records.

Both Workflows Populate

LP intelligence flows into Capital Raising and IR. Private company and fund data flows into Research and Portfolio. Both sides of your Backstop go live simultaneously.

Real-Time Sync, Forever

Daily research updates flow to both datasets automatically. Personnel changes, new transactions, fund updates: your Backstop stays current without any manual work from your team.

Which Backstop Modules Dakota Enriches

Dakota Data Flows Into Every Backstop Workflow.

Backstop's six core modules each have distinct data needs. Dakota enriches five of them directly, making every module more powerful than it could be with Backstop's own data capabilities alone.

Backstop CRM

Relationship Management

Dakota enriches Backstop's central CRM with 250,000+ LP accounts and 386,000+ verified contacts, so every relationship record is backed by verified AUM, current contact details, investment preferences, and professional background. The CRM becomes a comprehensive intelligence system, not just a contact log.

250,000+ accounts · CIO bios · Investment preferences

Backstop Capital Raising

Fundraising Pipeline

The Capital Raising module tracks your fundraising pipeline: prospect lists, meeting logs, interest levels, and probabilities. Dakota populates that pipeline with the complete universe of allocators relevant to your strategy and delivers 350+ investment search alerts per year that flag active mandates the moment they are identified.

350+ investment searches/year · Complete prospect universe

Backstop Investor Relations

LP Communication & Reporting

The IR module manages LP communications and reporting. Dakota's real-time personnel alerts ensure that every communication goes to the current decision-maker, not to someone who left six months ago. Public plan meeting minutes keep the IR team ahead of pension fund board decisions that directly affect their capital base.

Real-time personnel alerts · Public plan intelligence

Backstop Research

Investment Research Management

For LP institutions using Backstop's Research module to manage due diligence on managers and portfolio companies, Dakota's 57,000+ private funds with performance data, 642,000+ private companies with executive contacts, and 5,400+ PE firms with team intelligence provide the market data layer that powers research workflows.

57,000+ private funds · 14,000+ with performance data

Backstop Portfolio

Portfolio Management & Analysis

The Portfolio module monitors investments and fund performance. Dakota's private company data, sponsor attribution, CEO contacts, transaction history, and verified fund performance benchmarking data enriches portfolio monitoring with the market context that makes performance data meaningful: who owns what, at what stage, and how peers are performing.

Custom benchmarking · GP attribution · Peer comparison

Backstop Communication

Email & Campaign Center

Backstop's email campaign center sends distributions to clients, prospects, and contacts. Dakota's verified contact data, current email addresses, correct titles, active roles, ensures those campaigns reach real, current decision-makers rather than bouncing against stale addresses. Dakota's contact currency dramatically improves campaign deliverability.

Verified emails · Current titles · Active decision-makers

Who Uses Backstop + Dakota at Alternative Investment Firms

Six Firm Types. One Integration Serving All of Them.

Backstop serves every corner of the alternative investment world. Dakota's data enriches each type of firm differently: here is the specific value for each Backstop client category.

Hedge Funds

Complete LP Universe in Backstop for Systematic Investor Outreach

For hedge fund capital raising and IR teams, Dakota delivers the complete LP universe in Backstop, every institutional allocator, RIA, family office, and consultant that allocates to hedge strategies, with verified contacts and investment preferences. Investor outreach becomes systematic rather than relationship-dependent.

250,000+ LP accounts · 386,000+ contacts · 350+ searches/year

Private Equity & Venture Capital

Dual LP + Deal Coverage Across Both Sides of Backstop

PE and VC firms use Dakota across both sides of Backstop. The IR team gets complete LP coverage for fundraising. The deal team gets 642,000+ private companies and 20,000+ transactions for sourcing, both in the same Backstop environment, updated daily.

Dual LP + deal coverage · Full Backstop workflow enrichment

Funds of Funds

GP Due Diligence and Portfolio Management Powered by Fund Data

Fund-of-funds use Backstop for GP due diligence and portfolio management. Dakota's 57,000+ private funds with performance data, 5,400+ PE firms with team contacts, and 7,800+ VC firms with investment history give the research team comprehensive market coverage for manager evaluation and selection.

57,000+ funds · 14,000+ with performance · GP team intelligence

Endowments & Foundations

Investment Monitoring With Market Context for Every Portfolio Holding

Endowments and foundations use Backstop for portfolio management and LP reporting. Dakota's private company and fund performance data enriches the investment monitoring workflow, giving the team market context for every portfolio holding and visibility into competitor allocation decisions through transaction intelligence.

642,000+ private cos · Custom benchmarking · Peer GP tracking

Family Offices

Direct Investment Due Diligence and Peer Family Office Intelligence

Family offices use Backstop to manage investment portfolios and LP relationships. Dakota's private company data, CEO contacts, ownership intelligence, GP attribution, supports direct investment due diligence, while the LP database provides visibility into how peer family offices are allocating across strategies.

Family office peer intelligence · Direct investment data

Investment Consultants & OCIOs

Complete Institutional Allocator Universe for Client Advisory Work

Consultants and OCIOs use Backstop to manage client relationships and research. Dakota's 584 consultant records and 5,700+ consultant contacts provide peer intelligence, while the full LP database gives consultants a complete view of the institutional allocator universe they advise.

584 consulting firms · 5,700+ contacts · Client LP intelligence

Before and After Dakota

What Changes When Dakota Data Lives in Your Backstop.

The impact of having investment-grade LP and private market data in your Backstop is not incremental. It changes how every team at the firm works every day.

✕ Before Dakota

Capital raising team's Backstop LP records cover maybe 20-30% of relevant allocators, built manually over years, with large gaps in newer channels like wealth management RIAs

✓ After Dakota

250,000+ LP accounts in Backstop on day one: complete coverage of every institutional and intermediary channel, with verified CIO contacts and investment preferences

✕ Before Dakota

Backstop email campaigns to LP contacts bounce at 20-40% within 12 months as investment professionals change firms faster than the IR team can update records

✓ After Dakota

Real-time personnel alerts update Backstop contact records as CIOs and allocators change roles: campaign deliverability stays high without any manual maintenance

✕ Before Dakota

Research team maintains a separate spreadsheet of private company and fund data alongside Backstop because the CRM doesn't have the depth they need for due diligence

✓ After Dakota

642,000+ private companies and 57,000+ private funds in Backstop Research, including performance data on 14,000+ funds. One system for the full research workflow

✕ Before Dakota

New IR team hires spend their first weeks building a starting LP list before making their first calls: every new hire has the same slow ramp-up on data

✓ After Dakota

New hires open Backstop and find complete LP coverage ready to work. New research analysts find a populated private company and fund universe ready to analyze

About Backstop (ION Analytics)

The Alternative Investment CRM Built for Institutional Complexity.

Backstop, a service of ION Analytics, is the purpose-built CRM for alternative investment firms: hedge funds, PE/VC/RE, funds of funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices. Unlike general enterprise CRMs adapted for investment use, Backstop's workflows, data model, and modules were designed around the specific needs of firms that manage complex LP relationships, research-driven investment processes, and regulatory compliance simultaneously.

Dakota Marketplace is the data layer that makes every Backstop record accurate, complete, and current.

🏢

Purpose-Built for Alternatives

Designed for hedge funds, PE/VC, fund-of-funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices, not adapted from general enterprise CRM software.

📊

Six Core Modules

CRM, Capital Raising, Investor Relations, Research Management, Portfolio Management, and Client Portal. Dakota enriches five of the six directly.

🔒

Outlook Integration + Compliance

Native Outlook sync, auto-archiving of marketing emails, watermarking of fund docs, and compliance workflow built in. Dakota's data enriches every contact within that compliant framework.

🌐

Part of ION Analytics

Backstop is part of ION Analytics, alongside Mergermarket, Dealogic, and Debtwire, giving it the broader market intelligence infrastructure that complements Dakota's LP and private company coverage.

Full Integration Ecosystem

Dakota Works With Every CRM Your Team Might Use.

Dakota integrates with every major CRM and data platform used by investment management firms.

Backstop
Official Integration

Salesforce

Native · AppExchange

HubSpot

Direct Integration

DealCloud

CRM Integration

Dynamo

CRM Integration

Altvia

CRM Integration

Pinnakl

CRM Integration

Snowflake

Data Warehouse

Get Started

See Dakota inside your Backstop.

A member of the Dakota team will walk you through exactly how the integration works with your specific Backstop configuration, what LP data syncs into Capital Raising and IR, how private company data populates Research and Portfolio, and what both teams see on day one. Most firms have the integration live within a single business day.

Book a Live Demo

Four Ways to Get Started

▶

Watch the Backstop Integration Demo

See exactly how Dakota LP and research data appears inside a live Backstop instance

📈

Explore the LP Data

250,000+ LP accounts with verified contacts, investment preferences, and real-time updates

📒

Read the Case Studies

How alternative investment firms use Dakota inside Backstop

📅