Investment Mandates: What They are and How to Stay Updated on Them

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 for you to do just that, everything from publications to weekly calls that enable you to keep your finger on the pulse of new searches, RFPs, and job changes within the industry. 

At Dakota, it’s our goal to help our peers and colleagues do just that. We’ve raised over $40 billion since 2006, and while it wasn’t always easy, we made it one of our core values to always be uncovering “the new.” This means our sales team is always doing everything they can to stay updated on things like searches. 

In this article, we’re going to explain what investment mandates are, why they’re important, and three services you can use to stay up-to-date on the most recent investment mandates. By the end of the article, you’ll have a better idea of what your options are, and how to move forward. 

What is an institutional investment mandate?

An investment mandate is essentially your rulebook for how assets should be invested. Not only do these rules serve you, but they help investment managers make proper decisions. 

Think of each fund having a set of instructions to help manage a specific portfolio or fund. Essentially, they're a framework for transparency among all involved parties and help set expectations. 

Institutional investment mandates play a big role in the control of pooled funds. They may include rules on:

• Priorities and goals 
• Benchmarks 
• Acceptable levels of risk 
• Types of funds to either be used or avoided 
• Any other rules for how assets should be managed 

Why are investment mandates important?

Anyone who’s considering investing their money through a mutual fund, ETF, or other form of managed fund is going to want to understand said fund’s investment mandate. By understanding the mandate, you’ll be able to invest your money wisely. 

It’s essential to stay up-to-date with these mandates. Pension funds are a huge contributor to capital for many private equity, private credit, private real estate, private infrastructure, equities, and fixed income mandates. Naturally, you’re going to need to be on top of these so you can be the first to participate in them. 

How do you keep up-to-date with investment mandates?

In this section we’re providing three solutions to keep up with institutional investment mandates.  You’ll be able make an informed decision on which is best for you and your firm. 

Mandate Wire 

MandateWire is designed to help you stay on top of new mandates and updates within the industry. 

MandateWire provides money managers with investment intelligence on RFPs, planned allocations and institutional asset flows in Europe, North America, APAC and India, The Middle East & Africa. 

Its core focus is pension fund information, but it can also be used to track charities, insurance companies, endowment funds and more.

Dakota Searches 

We’ve understood the problem first hand with staying up to date with institutional investment mandates. It’s nearly impossible to rely on internal staff to track down over 400 mandates being announced on a weekly basis. 

For this reason, we have a dedicated team who combs through over 200 sources to locate new mandates. 

With Dakota Searches, you’re able to subscribe to a specific asset class and receive real time updates on those searches. You may do so through subscription, or discover them in Marketplace. 

Which investment mandate platform is right for your firm?

While this can depend on the size and needs of your firm, there are a few distinctions that set each one apart. 

If you… 

• ...Need access to mandates on a more international scale, MandateWire could be a great fir for your team. 
• …Are looking for comprehensive, real-time alerts on new investment mandates, founded and distributed by an investment sales team, Dakota Searches would be the best fit for your sales team.