Dakota Marketplace: Your Cost-Benefit Breakdown

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 rationalize that cost to the leadership team at your firm. 

We know — we’ve been there too. Since 2006, the Dakota team has worked to raise over $30 billion for our clients, and we did it by spending long hours researching and compiling leads to find the right people to set meetings with. In 2018, we took that data and created Dakota Marketplace, our unique institutional investor database. 

Since then, hundreds of the leading investment firms have brought Marketplace into their offices to help make their lives easier and set more meetings.

At Dakota, we like to be transparent about things like price up front, so that you know right off the bat if we’re in your price range and could be a potential fit.

We know our value, and in this article, we’re going to break down the cost, features, and benefits of Dakota Marketplace, so you know exactly what makes it worth the investment. By the end of this article you will have a good sense of not just the actual price for Marketplace, but a better sense of the value it brings to your team that can’t be truly quantified. 

What is Dakota Marketplace?

Dakota Marketplace is an institutional investor database that helps investment salespeople find and set meetings with the right prospects. 

Built by fundraisers for fundraisers, the Dakota team built Marketplace with investment salespeople in mind, meaning it has an intuitive, easy to use interface, is broken into easily navigable metro areas, and helps you focus on the firms that matter most to you. 

What do you get with Dakota Marketplace?

Used by hundreds of investment firms, Marketplace's data is curated and qualified, so your sales team can focus on what matters most: selling to buyers that allocate to outside managers, not spending time researching who to call on.

Here’s what you’ll have access to with a Dakota Marketplace subscription:

Curated and up-to-date accounts and contacts 

Access a curated list of accounts and contacts that allocate to outside managers, broken down by channel and metro area. 

An outsourced database administration team 

With a team of four professional data experts and eight salespeople, the data within Marketplace is constantly being verified and updated, meaning you don’t have to chase down out of date contacts before starting outreach.

Manager presentation decks 

Marketplace is home to more than one hundred manager presentation decks that you can view before you meet with someone. In Marketplace, you’ll have access to over 150 presentations given to public pension funds by other managers for insights into what other managers are saying and investing in. 

List building and custom reports 

These are two of the most-used features within Dakota Marketplace. This functionality allows you to create custom views and reports on exactly the firms, asset classes, and people you most want to do business with.

Access to new searches

Finding out about a new search early on can be critical, and our searches feature helps you make sure you’re never left in the dark when a new search is listed. With Dakota Searches, you can opt in to receive comprehensive institutional investment search alerts delivered directly to your inbox via email.

Public plan minutes

These minutes are compiled daily by our data team, and provide key insights from public pension committee meetings as they happen. You can opt in to receive daily reports of public pension investment committee meeting notes including recent hires, RFPs, portfolio allocation changes, and more, as well as access the complete library of past public plan minutes within Marketplace.

Investment stats

The investment statistics included in Dakota Marketplace make it easy to determine how you’re going to target accounts based on where they’ve allocated previously. Your team will be able to see a firm’s underlying investments, and then decide if they’re ready to reach out for a meeting.

Conference and event information

Dakota Marketplace is home to information on hundreds of upcoming investment industry conferences. Determine where you should be traveling, which events are worth your time, and more with this feature.

Fee studies

See what fees each public pension is paying their managers with fee structures tagged to public pension funds.

Role changes

We know that the investment industry moves fast. With people constantly moving firms and changing roles, it can be hard to track down the person you’re trying to reach out to. Marketplace’s job and role change feature helps you make sure that you’re always calling on the right person, in the right role, at the right place, without wasting any time on bad emails and contact information.

Access to Dakota Live!

Dakota Live! Is a bi-weekly premium webinar series that features a profile on a key account, exclusive insights from allocators, and metro area highlights from our team. You’ll also gain access to a library of all of our past calls from within Dakota Marketplace. 

How much does Dakota Marketplace cost?

Price: $14,500 for one user, and $1,000 for every additional user license. 

What are current Marketplace users saying about the platform?

“Dakota Marketplace has enhanced the capabilities of our Sales and Distribution team. Our team has been able to utilize all this data we previously didn’t have access to.” — Aileen McBride, Institutional Business Development, FS Investments

“We have been satisfied with how Marketplace continues to evolve with the service we’ve received, and how accurate the information is.” — Louie Fetch, VP of Advisor Services, Clifford Capital

“Marketplace has a broad (and expanding) data set that allows us to contact decision makers directly in order to do our jobs more effectively.” — Ehan Keator, Institutional Product Specialist, Davenport Asset Management

“Marketplace has a great depth of content, but more importantly, it is kept current and accurate, leading to more valuable contact interactions. Further, the insight provided beyond simple contact details is invaluable to us. Dakota helps make our small team as efficient and capable as a much larger organization.” — Matthew Casara, CFA, Managing Partner, HGK Asset Management, Inc.

Who is Dakota Marketplace right for?

Dakota Marketplace is best for investment sales professionals working across all asset classes who want an all-in-one platform that helps make their days easier. 

Find out not just who to call on, but who and what they are already investing in, what they’re saying, and how they’ve allocated in the past. 

Why it’s worth the cost: efficiency and insights

With Dakota Marketplace, you get access to over thousands of accounts and contacts. This data allows you to spend your valuable time setting and keeping meetings rather than searching for people to call on. 

Since the data is updated daily by a team of industry experts, you’ll never have to worry about logging in and finding the information you need missing or outdated. That means you can focus on connecting with your prospects.

And, more than that, Marketplace gives you an edge by keeping you on top of the industry through additional platform content like the Dakota Live! Call, offering insights into key accounts and players.

What is the standard price for an institutional investor database?

We all hate hearing it, but it really depends. There are platforms like Preqin, which offers a variety of options, including Preqin Pro and Preqin Insights, and the price varies depending on the number and needs of the users.

Typically, though, an institutional investor database could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000. It all comes down to how your team plans to use the platform, and how many users you’ll be registering.

Knowing the cost, how do you know if Dakota Marketplace is a good fit for you?

If your sales team is spending more time finding people to call on than they are holding meetings, the answer is yes, Dakota Marketplace is a good fit for your firm. 

If you’re tired of logging into multiple platforms to get things done, set meetings, and do outreach, Dakota Marketplace would be a great solution. 

If you have a current database that is limited in size, scope, and features, switching to Dakota Marketplace could be the best use of your budget. 

Interested in learning more about how Dakota Marketplace can save your team time? We'd love to offer you a free trial of the platform so you can see for yourself how it works! 

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Written By: Gui Costin, Founder, CEO

Gui Costin is the Founder and CEO of Dakota.

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