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Anyone in investment sales knows the importance of having a clean, up-to-date database for your firm. In order to increase efficiency and productivity of your sales team we understand you need...

In the month of October, Dakota tracked a total of approximately $9.5 billion across 91 investments. This is a 47% decrease compared to the $18 billion in activity that we tracked in September. 33...

October did not disappoint from an activity basis as many RIAs, FAs and acquisitions took place. As the month has come to a close, Dakota tracked a total of 45 transactions. (FA Moves 9, RIA Moves...

Cold calling is an intimidating task, especially if you haven’t made any before. As a salesperson, you cannot have the fear of rejection. It’s important to have a goldfish mentality - forget about it...

It’s been reported that 43% of CRM users only use less than half the features of their CRM system. Lack of CRM adoption costs businesses millions of dollars a year, therefore making it your most...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: “what RIAs invest in outside managers...

While it might be true that with most software platforms, the relationship begins and ends when you sign your contract. With Dakota Marketplace, signing your contract and becoming a member is just...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: “what RIAs invest in outside managers...

In the month of September, Dakota tracked a total of approximately $18 billion across 141 investments. 42 individual pension funds reported commitments during the month. In this article we are...

There are many private equity conferences that are worth attending. Below is a list of 15 conferences in the next year that may be worth attending considering spend upon location, content, and...

As September has come to a close, RIA activity and independent activity remained strong. During this month, Dakota tracked a total of 48 transactions. (FA Moves 14, RIA Moves 18, Acquisitions 6, New...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: “what RIAs invest in outside managers...

For any investment sales professional, emerging manager or well experienced, your pitch is critical. It is your first impression that will have a lasting impact and ultimately influence whether you...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: “what RIAs invest in outside managers...

As institutional sales professionals, we understand selling into Insurance General Accounts is not only important but also challenging due to limited transparency on key contacts and investments. At...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: “what RIAs invest in outside managers...

In the month of August, Dakota tracked a total of approximately $12.5 billion across 144 investments. 48 individual pension funds reported commitments during the month. Top allocators: Florida State...

Through this report we’ve listed the positive and negative attributes for several different 13F filings databases Registered Investment Advisory firms (RIA) are required to file 13F filings to the...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: “what RIAs invest in outside managers...

As August wrapped up, RIA activity and independent activity remained strong. During this month, Dakota tracked a total of 56 transactions. (FA Moves 17, RIA Moves 12, Acquisitions 16, New RIAs 11)...

ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code require many employers and plan administrators to submit reports to government agencies with detailed information pertaining to their retirement plans. Most 401(k)...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: what RIAs invest in outside managers...

We have assembled a list of Family Office databases. Let us be clear, the completeness and accuracy of the contact data is what drives the most value to a potential user. The key things we look for...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and fast growing channels for investment firms to sell their investment strategies to. The challenge has always been: what RIAs invest in outside managers...

Here we've assembled a list of hedge fund databases. Your use case is what will drive your decision making as to what hedge fund database is most appropriate for you. We highlight the strengths of...

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse persisted in the news as RIA and FAs had to reevaluate their plans to partner with firms. In July 2023, we witnessed a surge in settlements across Financial Advisor...

At Dakota we have been raising capital within the RIA channel since 1997 and have raised over $9 billion. Let’s be clear, the RIA channel is a tough channel to sell into because of its vastness. If...

In the month of July, Dakota tracked a total of approximately $9.6 billion across 100 investments. 31 individual pension funds reported commitments during the month. In this article, we're...

June was a busy month as commitments made totaled $13.9 billion across 148 investments. 50 individual pension funds reported commitments during the month. In this article, we're summarizing Public...

The month of May saw: Subdued markets in May led to a small increase in funded status from 74.5% to 74.8% according to Milliman. The biggest observation has been less volatility across fixed income...

For the first time in over a year, the capital markets treated allocators well in both fixed income and equities, despite the banking specific volatility which the Fed and Treasury acted swiftly to...

If you're in the investment sales business, or you're thinking about becoming an investment salesperson, you probably already know how challenging it can be. You might be wondering if you have what...

Independents and Banks: Dustin Mac Brown (DM Brown Financial Services) in Scottsdale, AZ with $190 M AUM has moved to LPL (dually registered platform). Departed Cetera. Jeffrey Katz and Justin Katz...

Regional banking news continued to occupy the headlines through March and continued to be a deciding factor for FA’s as evaluated what firms they wanted to partner with. In the wires Morgan Stanley...

April public pension plan commitment summary points: Noise around regional and local banks continued to be in the headlines as another notable bank was placed into receivership and swiftly absorbed....

Last update we took a very high-level look at the asset class level filings and dollar flows into ETFs during Q4. Despite 2022’s volatility, equities maintained the majority share of ETF asset...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

With over 432 hedge funds launched in 2022 alone, the universe of hedge funds continues to be very large bucket for allocator to wade through and pick the right style and manager. As fund of funds...

With allocators taking advantage of tax loss selling in equities, and positioning their portfolios going into the end of Q4 2022 the main trend we observed in Marketplace via the 13F filings among...

The Silicon Valley Bank upheaval which occurred in early March had caused many Teams and FAs to reexamine the firms they custody and clear with in addition to re-examining their plans. During the...

As a busy salesperson, it’s one thing to sign up for a free trial for a new database platform, but another thing entirely to have the time to explore it properly before your trial ends. However, it’s...

Institutional databases come in a variety of functionalities and channel specialties, and, of course, a variety of costs. It can be overwhelming to decide how much you should spend, and harder to...

If you’ve ever gone through the process of bringing a new software or data platform onboard at your firm, you already know what a time-consuming process it can be. This is especially true if you...

Our last 13F update we reviewed the ETF product landscape and ETF flows trends which we saw occur among allocators via MarketPlace during 2022. Capping off the asset class flows we observed for Q4...

Wrapping up February the wire house channel became more active as recruiting picked up. On a specific firm level, many of the same trends that existed during 2022 continued this month mainly: Morgan...

February public pension plan commitment summary: February brought back volatility in both equity and fixed income markets as inflation and the Fed took center stage again. Alternatives, as a result...

Entering February we began to see wire house recruiting activity pick up in full force again. On a specific firm level, many of the same trends that existed during 2022 continued this month mainly:...

With the 4th quarter 13F filing window now closed, MarketPlace was tracking 3330 ETFs from 278 sponsors via the filings. For 2022 this amounts to over 219,000 individual positions which are linked to...

Even after years on Zoom, we’ve all had moments where presenting or sharing on video has felt clunky. You’re likely already doing something you’re nervous about, with a “room” full of silent eyes on...

Video has become a crucial part of businesses. It helps firms share their stories with people across the world in minimal time. In fact, many companies don’t even know that video is the answer to...

After almost 3 years since COVID changed our world, people are still missing in-person meetings — in fact, 84% of people reported that they prefer to meet in person. Face to face meetings are here to...

January public pension plan commitment summary points: The first month of 2023 has treated public equity markets with much less volatility VS how 2022 began and has been a welcome change for both...

The New Year hangover continued into the second half of January as FA movement remained below the higher pace we saw this time last year. There are a few factors why: Higher borrowing costs have...

When it comes to shooting video for your company or nonprofit, just committing to getting in front of the camera is a great first step. You might already be thinking that getting in front of the...

With many traditional recruiting activity channels slowing during December, wirehouse activity slowed the most going into January. RIA activity and independent activity remained strong. Looking back...

To host a corporate event at Dakota Meets is to host an exclusive, high-end corporate event. This space can be used to host a corporate offsite meeting with your team, a networking event, a happy...

As an investment sales professional, you must attend conferences to meet with various advisors, consultants, and allocators to increase your touch points for raising capital. It can be a pain to...

Last update we took a high level look at the asset class level filings and flows into ETFs during Q3, and also compared them mutual fund structure flows. The data showed divergent trends which told...

Our last 13F update we highlighted trends in alternative strategies in the ETF space as allocators have been seeking ways to lower their correlation to equities and fixed income through 2022 and Q3...

The last month of 2022 did not disappoint from an activity basis as many RIAs, FAs and acquisitions took place ahead of the FINRA holiday shutdown which occurred on December 22 through year end. As...

Summary of November public pension plan commitment summary points: This was the first time in a few months we saw yields decline across all fixed income sub sectors, especially credit sensitive areas...

This year’s inflation and the response from central banks has been tough for many publicly investable markets, and a headwind for the standard 60/40 portfolio mix. This has increased the case for...

One of the biggest challenges faced by alternative investment sales professionals within the fund of fund channel is knowing the underlying fund’s area of focus, and who to call on. As fund of funds...

Capping off the 13F-flow trends we observed among allocators for the second quarter, even though equity market performance has been lagging, asset class flows have been telling us another story -...

With the 3rd quarter 13F filing window now closed, Marketplace was tracking 3250 ETFs from 300 sponsors via the filings, which has grown from the close of Q2 when 3010 individual ETFs from 255...

As an investment sales professional, you must attend conferences to meet with various advisors, consultants, and allocators to increase your touchpoints for raising capital. It can be a pain to...

During this interview, Gui Costin sits down with Jim Stagnitta and JC Glick, the co-founders of Prodromos. These two individuals are truly some of the most innovative leaders as it relates to...

As an investment sales professional, you must attend conferences to meet with various advisors, consultants, and allocators to increase your touchpoints for raising capital. It can be a pain to...

The greatest challenge a fundraiser faces day in and day out is knowing who to call on and being able to find accurate, up-to-date information for them to close their deals. At Dakota we face the...

If you’re looking ahead to next year — or even the next few months — and starting to plan your conference and travel schedule, it’s likely you already know how many industry conferences are out...

During the first half of October LPL, Rockefeller and Cetera maintained their net asset leads for the years. That said, RIAs were the most active channel so far this month. Within the wires, the...

If you’re an investment salesperson, you already know that without a meeting, nothing is possible. But to get that meeting, several things need to happen, including: Knowing and understanding your...

The back half of September continued to see a high amount of movement within the wirehouse community as large upfront bonuses being offered by UBS were set to end at the end of the month and many...

During Q2 the 13-F trends we saw from an asset class/sub asset class level were contrary to what the headline news would have led us to believed. Even with the volatility the fact that equities in...

As an investment sales professional, you must attend conferences to meet with various advisors, consultants, and allocators to increase your touch points for raising capital. It can be a pain to...

As an investment sales professional, you must attend conferences to meet with various advisors, consultants, and allocators to increase your touch points for raising capital. It can be a pain to...

At the close of Q1, Marketplace was tracking 2,100 ETFs from 247 sponsors, and at the close of Q2 that has grown to over 3,010 ETFs from 255 sponsors which is the entire listed ETF universe. In...

With back to school and fall sports in full swing, teams, advisers and RIA‘s were just as busy with their activity. During this period we did not see as many purchases of RIA‘s as that cooled at bit...

Manual copy and paste, multiple data sources, and stale data. To any institutional sales person, this should sound like a recipe for disaster. As an investment sales professional, if you understand...

As an investment sales professional, you must attend conferences to meet with various advisors, consultants, and allocators to increase your touch points for raising capital. It can be a pain to...

Balancing your firm’s travel budget and the sheer number of investment industry conferences that are held every year — not to mention every month — can be a challenge. How do you make sure you’re...

The saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same” hits the mark as pension allocators continue to put money to work in an environment where they are dealing with the same headlines...

If you’re a new Dakota Marketplace user, or you’re considering investing in the platform, you might be wondering where you should start. After all, Dakota Marketplace has over 10,000 accounts, 31,000...

Two departures from PlanMember Securities this month. Nuno Pereira who focuses on 401k and union pension clients, has joined Cetera with $340 M AUM based in Mount Olive, N.J. Lohnes Wealth...

One of the biggest challenges faced by alternative investment sales professionals within the fund of fund channel is knowing the underlying fund’s area of focus, and who to call on. As fund of funds...

One of the biggest challenges faced by alternative investment sales professionals within the fund of fund channel is knowing the underlying fund’s area of focus, and who to call on. As fund of funds...

With the markets calming down a bit during the last few weeks, we saw a resumption of RIA, advisor firm moves and mergers. Many of the RIA acquisitions continue to be backed by private equity...

Imagine it: your boss tells you you need to start doing outreach in the RIA channel because it's a large, untapped market for your firm. While it’s an exciting opportunity, it’s also overwhelming,...

While global markets experienced varying degrees of asset class returns in the first half of 2022, ETF managers were active across the board in launching new funds across multiple asset classes. We...

Barry Power and his team The Power Wealth Management Team (including Jr FA Ben Alsop and CSAs Brenna Kunin and Tami Shaw) joined Stifel Nicolaus outside of St Louis in Frontenac, MO with $420 M AUM....

Passive ownership of the S&P 500 has doubled in the past seven years, with 21% of market capitalization of the average company now in passive ETFs and funds. Yes, that means passive investors now own...

As one quarter wraps up and another begins, many money managers are finalizing last quarter’s activity and starting to think about the best way to distribute it to their clients. This can be an...

Social media might not be the first thing investment sales people think of when talking about their business. However, its importance should not be overlooked. Investment sales teams can use their...

It was not that long ago in April 2020 when US crude oil had gone negative ( below $0) as the Covid shutdown caused us to run out of physical places to store crude. It became the “hot potato” of the...

By now, if you’re a salesperson, you already know the importance of entering (clean, accurate) data into your CRM. Whether you’re using Salesforce, Hubspot, or something else entirely, in order to...

As a salesperson or a sales leader, you have one enemy greater than all the others. Sure, rejections are part of the job, but this is worse than a simple rejection. It’s something that stops you from...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

The bond market has not had a consistent trend over the past year, which has created a challenging environment for allocators, leaving many asking, “what should I do with fixed income, duration,...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA channel is the sheer size of it. The RIA market across the United States consists of over...

If you are in the sales business in any industry, you already know that a CRM can be a double edged sword. It can —and should— be the number one sales tool that enables teams to drive business and...

Investing in a CRM is not a small undertaking. Ensuring that your Salesforce instance is set up in a way that sets your team up for success is critical from start to finish, and that’s before you...

“The cheapest time to buy insurance is when you don’t need it.” With inflation surging globally, commodities and their impact on the globe have been brought into the spotlight by the onset of...

Since the beginning of quantitative easing by global central banks, one of the major goals was to get reflation/inflation of wages, goods, and services across the economy. In order to be protected...

Have you ever found yourself scrambling, trying to remember who you met with last week, two weeks ago, even a month ago? You know you have to follow up, but you’re just not sure with whom. It’s a...

When you think about what it means to be successful in sales, plenty of things probably come to mind: persuasiveness, charm, personality, experience… The list goes on and on. A lot of people think...

As an investment salesperson, adding meetings to your calendar, Zoom, Salesforce, and other platforms can be tedious. Even though you know that it's also necessary so that you can follow-up...

When you’re setting up meetings and booking calls, the last thing you want to do is add the same meeting to five different platforms. But, you also don’t want to miss entering those meetings on your...

A great institutional investor database can be hard to find. However in most cases, the price and overall value of that database is even harder to find. If you don’t know what you’re going to be...

Even after two years on Zoom, we’ve all had moments where presenting or sharing on video has felt clunky. You’re likely already doing something you’re nervous about, with a “room” full of silent eyes...

It can be overwhelming to try and find the right institutional investor database for your business. Even a cursory search will show that there are dozens of databases to choose from, each promising...

Have you struggled with getting your sales team embrace entering meeting details in your CRM? Or, have they entered the meetings, but not the meeting notes? If you answered yes to either of these...

It can be overwhelming to try and find the right institutional investor database for your business. Even a cursory search will show that there are dozens of databases to choose from, each promising...

If you’ve ever left a job or spent any time on LinkedIn, chances are you’ve probably heard that “people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers.” You know the posts, they’re usually in a...

It can be overwhelming to try and find the right institutional investor database for your business. Even a cursory search will show that there are dozens of databases to choose from, each promising...

One of the biggest problems when selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of the channel. The RIA marketplace across the United States consists of over 36,000...

As an investment salesperson, you’re probably used to rolling your eyes when the word “CRM” is mentioned. We’ve all done it. CRMs have long since gotten a bad reputation within the industry. However,...

If you're new to any industry, you know how critical the first few months can be. You're trying to hit the ground running while learning everything you can about your new firm, and trying to make an...

So, you need a CRM for your investment sales team. You want to capture leads, report on your pipeline, and ensure that you’re following up in a timely manner after meetings — this is a great thing....

As a salesperson, you’re probably already rolling your eyes at the title of this article. You’re tired of hearing about how important it is to enter data and meeting notes into your CRM. As a team of...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of it. The RIA market...

The start of a new year, especially one that marks the start of our third year of a pandemic, can be unpredictable. It’s safe to say that no one can quite predict what’s coming next with the...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of it. The RIA market...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of it. The RIA market...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of it. The RIA market...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of it. The RIA market...

If you're in investment sales, you likely already know that one of the biggest problems of selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of it. The RIA market...

If you're in investment sales, you already know that one of the biggest problems when selling to the RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) marketplace is the sheer size of the channel. The RIA market...

In investment sales, it’s all about getting meetings with new prospective clients and those that are clients of yours already. As you juggle several tasks a day, it’s critical to stay on top of your...

As individuals, we’ve been taught to react at face value and assume someone else has thought of all the implications. This is not true for the workplace, there’s a whole new set of expectations - to...

As an investment sales person, you’re probably tired of hearing that you have to keep your CRM data updated and fresh. We know you know this, and yet, it’s still the worst part of your day. As a...

Picture this: you learn about a new institutional investment search within your asset class. It looks like a great fit, but it’s already been posted for long enough that you’re scrambling to get...

If you're in investment sales, you already know how critical it is to keep your CRM updated. We know that for many of us, it's the lifeblood of the company, keeping you and your team on track and...

If you're in investment sales, you already know that meetings are everything. In order to have success as an investment firm, you need to set up and get meetings. You're probably tired of hearing...

Think of the last time you started a new job. What was your training like? Did you have the resources you needed to hit the ground running? In most cases, no matter how diligent the firm, the answer...

Walking into a board meeting to pitch a final presentation to the public pension board can be intimidating to say the least. If you're in investment sales, you already know that almost no one looks...

If you’re in the investment sales industry, then you already know that getting a meeting, building a relationship, and getting a deal closed is no easy feat. In fact, you probably know without being...

Let’s start off with a little story about how crazy the investment business is as it's related to email. Here's the deal - if you raise money for a living, you know one thing is true as true can be:...

If you’re in the investment sales business, then you likely already know that staying up-to-date on a rapidly changing industry can feel like a constant, up-hill battle. There are plenty of resources...

Picture this: it’s Monday morning and your boss is asking to review your activity reports for the last few weeks. You know you’ve made calls and held meetings — some of them have gone really well....

If you’re in investment sales, you’re no doubt already familiar with the prolonged, high-stakes, high-pressure environment that is common within the industry. Whether you’re early in your career or a...

If you sell in the RIA channel, you already know that there are no shortage of firms to call on within the United States. However, you probably also know how difficult it is to determine which are...

Have you ever found yourself scrambling, trying to remember who you met with last week, two weeks ago, even a month ago? You know you have to follow up, but you’re just not sure with whom. It’s a...

We all spend a lot of our days sending emails. Now imagine if you had the tools to make that process more streamlined, faster, and easier to report on. It’s a great image, right? We think so, too. At...

Graduating from — or even starting — college in an uncertain environment like the one we are currently in can be daunting. You might not know yet what you want to do after graduating, what to major...

Understanding where public pension funds are investing can be a huge piece of an investment salesperson’s day. However, we know that it can also be a very time consuming undertaking, given the sheer...

Understanding where public pension funds are making their investments can be a huge piece of an investment salesperson’s day. However, we know how time consuming this undertaking can be, especially...

Understanding where public pension funds are making their investments can be a huge piece of an investment salesperson’s day. However, it can also be a time consuming task, given the sheer number of...

As an investment salesperson, we know it’s incredibly important to know exactly where public pension funds are making their investments. However, we also know that keeping up with those details can...

Staying up-to-date on where public pension funds are making their investments can be a critical part of an investment salesperson’s day to day. However, it can also be an incredibly time consuming...

Staying up-to-date on where public pension funds are making their investments can be a critical part of an investment salesperson’s day to day. However, it can also be an incredibly time consuming...

Staying up-to-date on where public pension funds are making their investments can be a critical part of an investment salesperson’s day to day. However, it can also be an incredibly time consuming...

Staying up-to-date on where public pension funds are making their investments can be a critical part of an investment salesperson’s day to day. However, it can also be an incredibly time consuming...

Have you ever felt like you should be raising money within the RIA channel, only to wonder whether or not it’s really worth the time and effort? Or worse, have you tried and failed to penetrate this...

Let me paint you a picture I’m sure you’ve seen before: you’re sitting at your desk trying to look for updates on public pension funds. You’ve come across a few, but one needs an RFP that is due in...

It’s never easy launching a new strategy at a new firm, especially when approaching potential allocators. It can be overwhelming knowing who to call, doing the outreach, and following up. This is why...

If you work at an investment firm, you know that every meeting matters. What you do before, during, and after those meetings matters, though, too. In fact, at Dakota, we like to think that it’s the...

If you’re a salesperson, you already know how important email is to getting a meeting. After all, nothing can happen without that initial meeting, so it’s critical that we are continually testing...

If you’re in the Alternative investment industry and wonder if calling on the RIA channel is worth the effort, you’re not alone. Plenty of investment sales people have the same debate, and spend a...

Sales has a million different components that lead to success. These can be anything from handling objections, product knowledge, active listening, among others. More than that, your strategy and...

A CRM is one of the most important assets for any sales team because it houses all their leads and data. What matters is the information you put in, otherwise it’s just a container. Think of your CRM...

Another day goes by with minimal meetings set up for the future. You and your sales team are wondering what’s going on — maybe it’s something to do with the market or just something in the air. If...

In investment sales, there’s a huge focus on getting the meeting, often at the expense of crafting a strong pitch. That oversight represents a critical misstep. Anytime you make a pitch, there’s a...

If you’re a salesperson, you already know exactly how important it is to always have a pool of leads to pull from and pitch to. It’s what makes your job possible. But having and calling on those...

Setting up meetings is the first step in the process to raising money. After all, no sale can happen without that meeting. As an investment sales person, you already know that getting a meeting can...

As the world slowly opens back up and more in-person meetings are being set, it’s important to know how to ask for those meetings. To do that, you’ll have to send an email that not only gets opened,...

Building relationships with public pension funds can be a difficult undertaking. The space is so broad, and contains so many decision makers at every level, from government organizations to outside...

One of the biggest problems when selling to the RIA channel is the size of the market — it can be overwhelming trying to penetrate a channel this size. The RIA marketplace across the United States...

In any field, starting something new can be daunting. If you’re here, you no doubt know the level of uncertainty that comes with the process of creating an investment strategy. At Dakota, we’ve been...

In a world without in-person meetings, you’ve likely already been told how important it is to incorporate video into your sales and marketing strategies. And while it’s true that video is key to...

If you’ve ever found yourself staring down a pipeline of prospects, unsure what to do next or who to follow up with, you’re not alone. In fact, a lot of salespeople find themselves more than prepared...

If you’re in the investment industry, you know how hard it can be to trust a database that promises to do it all: provide clean data, ensure you have new leads, and update the accounts and contact...

If you’ve ever looked at your CRM or your database of accounts and contacts and felt overwhelmed by the amount of outdated or stale data within it, you’re not alone. Data gets outdated quickly in...

These days, we’re all trying to maximize our time and become the best, most efficient versions of ourselves. With to-do lists that only seem to get longer, and the days blurring together, it’s not...

Picture this: you’re leaving a meeting with an institutional investor after doing outreach for months, and planning for the meeting itself for hours. The pitch went well, and they seem interested,...

If you’re an investment salesperson, you likely have one primary goal: finding the right people to call on so that you can raise more capital. We know because we’re out there doing this too. We know...

If you’re an asset manager, you already know how quickly January turns to March, signaling the end of another quarter, and with it, the need to report on your quarterly performance. If you find...

In any field, starting something new can be daunting. If you’re reading this, you no doubt know the level of uncertainty that comes with the process of creating an investment strategy. Networking,...

If you’re struggling to build relationships and get your strategy in front of the right people without hours of Zoom calls and meetings, you’re not alone. As we approach the one year mark of life in...

If you’re constantly scrambling to find people — the right people — to call on and set meetings with, you’re not alone. We’ve all felt the pressure to ramp up outreach and calls and close more...

With the start of a new year comes the promise of new goals, new plans, and starting all over again on meeting quotas and closing deals with your firm. It’s as daunting as it is exciting. Here at...

With the new year underway and the return to business complete, you’re no doubt feeling the pressure to increase this, enhance that, and better yourself and your business in every possible way. It...

At Dakota, we’ve been raising capital since 2006, and have raised over $30 billion dollars over the last fourteen years. In that time we’ve also established Dakota Marketplace, a database of accounts...

Imagine finding the perfect piece of software that will totally transform how you and your team do business. Whether it’s a CRM, a new institutional investor database, or something else entirely, you...

It might seem like public pensions are a thing of the past given the general declining use of pensions as a retirement vehicle. However, public pension plans remain one of the most important and...

Have you ever sat down to start your day, only to find your inbox flooded with other salespeople offering to sell you a “database” of accounts and contacts? If the answer is yes, we can guarantee...

We know that one one of the biggest challenges faced by alternative investment sales professionals within the fund of fund channel is knowing the underlying fund’s area of focus, and who to call on....

Did you know that 65% of people's job titles change every year? That number is staggering, but if you’re an investment sales professional, it probably doesn't come as too much of a surprise to you....

What does an 85,000 word work of Harry Potter fanfiction, a man obsessed with The Grateful Dead, and the investment industry have in common? On the surface? Nothing. In practice? They all have the...

Is this a familiar scene? It’s a Monday morning and time to start your outreach for the week. To be successful this week you need to get started setting up meetings and making calls right away. Then...

We know that as an investment sales professional, the RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic and exciting channels to sell your investment strategy to — however, it’s also one of the most...

If you’re a Marketplace member, chances are you already know the benefits that come from a Marketplace subscription. If you’re not a Marketplace member, well, don’t take our word for it — in a recent...

Institutional databases come in a variety of functionalities and channel specialties, and, of course, a variety of costs. It can be overwhelming to decide how much you should spend, and harder to...

Did you know that 62% of organizations rely on marketing and prospect data that’s up to 40% inaccurate? Or that 65% of people’s titles and/or job function change annually? It seems daunting, right?...

The RIA Channel is one of the most dynamic channels to cover and call on for an investment sales professional. However, there are two problems that we face when selling to RIAs: The first is “Where...

Imagine you’re a salesperson, facing the pressure that comes with finding the right industry contacts to call on. Whether you’re working to meet a quota or raise a certain amount in assets, one thing...