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Work smarter, not harder. This is the smartest hack in fundraising.
The most authentic sales edge in fundraising has nothing to do with a better pitch deck or more cold calls.
It’s knowing, before you dial, that the person on the other end already invests in exactly what you sell.
In this article, we'll break down how 13F holdings data reveals which RIAs are already invested in your exact asset class and sub-asset class, and how to use that to prospect smarter instead of harder.
The Fundamental Insight
Every experienced fundraiser knows the feeling of a perfect first call… the one where you barely finish explaining your strategy before the investor leans in and says, “We already do this.” That’s not luck. That’s what happens when you’ve found someone who already believes in what you’re selling, because they’re already doing it.
The hack isn’t the pitch. The hack is finding that person before you call.
“Don’t sell someone on a strategy. Find someone already sold on it, and show them a better way to express that conviction.”
Why Most Fundraisers Do It The Hard Way
The traditional approach to prospecting in the RIA market goes something like this: build a large list, start dialing, and hope enough conversations land with the right people. It’s a volume game dressed up as a strategy.
The problem isn’t effort. It’s information. Most fundraisers simply don’t know — before they call — whether the firm on their list actually allocates to their asset class. So they spend enormous time and energy educating people who were never going to invest in the first place.
There’s a better way.
The Hack: Match Your Strategy To Investors Already In It
The most accurate way to find your best prospects is deceptively simple: identify investors who already hold positions in the same asset class and sub-asset class as your strategy.
Here’s why this works so well.
Wealth Management RIAs file 13F reports with the SEC. Those reports are a public declaration of exactly what they own — every ETF, every Closed-End Fund, every BDC, every position, with dollar amounts attached. When an RIA holds a security in your sub-asset class, they have told you — with real capital — that they believe in that strategy.
You’re not guessing at fit. You’re reading the market’s own handwriting.
Your strategy has an asset class. It has a sub-asset class. Every investor already deployed in that same sub-asset class is a warm prospect, not a cold one. They’ve done the intellectual work. They’ve gotten comfortable with the risk profile. They’ve allocated client capital there. The conversation you’re walking into is not “what is this” — it’s “why yours.”
That’s a fundamentally different and easier sales conversation.
See It In Action – Three Scenarios
Scenario 1: You manage a Private Credit BDC
Asset Class: Private Credit | Sub-Asset Class: Senior Secured Lending
Rather than calling every RIA on a broad list, you identify firms that already hold other BDCs in the Senior Secured Lending sub-class. These firms understand the structure, have client mandates that accommodate it, and are actively deploying capital there. Your pitch doesn’t start with education — it starts with differentiation. Why is your BDC the better expression of a conviction they already hold?
Scenario 2: You manage a Real Estate Closed-End Fund
Asset Class: Real Assets | Sub-Asset Class: Real Estate Income
You filter to RIAs that already hold closed-end funds in the Real Estate Income sub-class. These are firms that have already built the operational infrastructure to hold this product type, have done the due diligence on the structure, and have clients comfortable with the exposure. You’re not asking them to try something new. You’re asking them to consider a better option within a space they’ve already committed to.
Scenario 3: You manage an Infrastructure & Utilities ETF
Asset Class: Real Assets | Sub-Asset Class: Infrastructure / Utilities
You pull RIAs with existing 13F positions in infrastructure ETFs. They’re already expressing this thesis in client portfolios — likely with a competitor’s product. That’s not a problem. That’s your opening. They believe in the trade. Your job is to show them why yours is the better vehicle.
The Principle Underneath The Hack
In each scenario, the same logic applies:
The investor has already done the hard work of conviction. They’ve decided this asset class and sub-asset class belongs in their clients’ portfolios. They’ve navigated the internal approvals, the due diligence, the client communication. All of that groundwork is done.
What they haven’t done is evaluate every manager in the space. That’s where you come in — not as someone trying to convince them to believe something new, but as the best available option within a belief system they already hold.
This is why asset class and sub-asset class matching is the most authentic hack in fundraising. It’s not a trick. It’s not a shortcut that sacrifices quality. It’s simply the most rational way to spend your prospecting time — focused entirely on the people most likely to say yes.
The Simple Framework
Before your next prospecting push, ask three questions:
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What is my asset class? Private credit, real assets, public equity, infrastructure — be precise.
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What is my sub-asset class? Senior secured lending, real estate income, infrastructure/utilities — go one level deeper.
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Who is already invested there? 13F filings are public. Holdings data exists. Find the investors who have already expressed this conviction with real capital — and start there.
The fundraisers who work smarter aren’t making more calls. They’re making better ones.
The best prospect you’ll ever call is someone who already believes in what you sell. Your job is simply to find them first.
Dakota Marketplace’s 13F Holdings Data
Dakota tracks hundreds of thousands of 13F holdings across ETFs, BDCs, and Closed-End Funds (every one tagged to its asset class and sub-asset class) across 7,000+ qualified Wealth Management RIAs.
The ETF market represents $10T+ in US AUM. The BDC market has grown to $300B+, a 7x increase over the last decade. The Closed-End Fund market represents $250B+, increasingly held by RIAs seeking yield and alternative exposure.
Every holding is linked to named decision-makers — CIO, Head of Alternatives, Director of Research — with verified contact data.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace for full access to 13F data.
