You’ve got a strong investment strategy, a solid performance record, and barely enough time in the day to send an email, let alone build a distribution plan.
Welcome to life as an emerging manager.
You’re likely wearing multiple hats: fund manager, marketer, salesperson, operations lead. You know you need to raise capital, but without the brand recognition, infrastructure, or headcount of a larger shop, it's easy to feel stuck… or spread too thin to gain traction.
The good news?
You don’t need a huge budget or a 10-person sales team to scale. You need a plan, a process, and the discipline to execute consistently.
Over the past two decades, we’ve helped firms grow not by doing more, but by doing the right things with focus.
In this article we’re going over the 10 best practices that are the foundation for scaling your investment business sustainably, even when resources are tight as an emerging manager.
1. Start with RIAs
If you’re not focused on Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), you’re missing the most accessible source of discretionary capital. Unlike wirehouses, RIAs make individual decisions and love new, interesting ideas. They’re your quickest path to capital, especially in the early days.
2. Master City Scheduling
Always have five cities booked on your calendar, three weeks out. Prioritize metro areas close to your HQ to minimize travel costs. Block out meeting times (9:00, 11:00, 1:00, 3:00, 4:30) and aim for 25 meetings per cycle. It’s all about consistency – not volume once, but volume repeatedly.
3. Cold Emails Work… If Done Right
Cold outreach is a rite of passage. No one wants to send 25 emails a day, but it’s the only way to build momentum.
Pro tips:
- Subject line: Use a date and time (e.g., “Meeting Request – May 4 at 3 PM”)
- Body: Two sharp sentences on who you are, what you do, and why it matters
- CTA: Ask for a specific time. Don’t make them do the scheduling work
4. Don’t Overthink Fund Size or Track Record
Your fund may be small. Your track record may be short. That’s okay.
As we say at Dakota, “Turn your brain off”. Overthinking these things holds you back. Many allocators are looking for new, differentiated products. Let your story speak for itself.
5. Create Familiarity Through Repetition
Even if prospects don’t reply to your emails, they’re seeing your name. They might drag your message into a folder for later. Each email plants a seed. This is how you build brand awareness: through persistence, not perfection.
6. Build a Brand, Not Just a Calendar
Cold outreach isn't just about booking meetings. It’s about positioning.
Use consistent, well-written emails to help investors mentally file your strategy: “Oh, this is the private credit guy,” or “This is the small-cap growth team.” That way, when the timing’s right, they’ll remember.
7. Expand to Banks & Broker-Dealers
After RIAs, your next channel should be regional banks and independent broker-dealers: PNC, Raymond James, LPL, and others. These platforms are often seeking differentiated strategies and may even have emerging manager programs.
Start the relationship now, even if the sales cycle is longer.
8. Establish a Quarterly Call: Your Free Marketing Engine
If you’re not doing a quarterly call, you’re leaving marketing power on the table. For emerging managers with one product, it’s the easiest way to build familiarity, deliver insights, and stay top of mind.
A good call should include:
- 1-pg company overview
- 1-pg investment process
- Performance recap
- 1–2 portfolio highlights
- Market insights
- Thoughtful Q&A
Transcribe it. Summarize it. Record it. And reuse it across emails, updates, and client communications.
9. Use a CRM
Act like a distribution shop from Day 1. Use a CRM (Salesforce, Dakota’s Salesforce App, or another option) to log meetings, track next steps, and build a living pipeline.
Key CRM habits:
- Record who you met with and what was discussed
- Create opportunities when interest is shown
- Run weekly pipeline reviews with your PM or CEO
- Include “Current Status” and “Next Step” fields for every opportunity
- You can't scale your efforts if you're managing your outreach on a yellow pad.
10. Always Ask for the Order
At the end of every meeting, ask: “Does this fit in your portfolio?” and “Will you be doing a search in the next 12 months?”
If the answer is yes, create an opportunity in your CRM. If not, add them to your mailing list. Clear next steps make your pipeline real and help you prioritize.
Start Scaling, One Step at a Time
Scaling as an emerging manager isn’t about having the most resources. It’s about using what you do have (time, focus, and consistency) to your advantage. These best practices don’t cost a lot. But they require discipline, patience, and the willingness to repeat the process even when results take time.
As I shared in the show, “The consistent application of this process is what wins over time.”
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace for full access to RIAs and other critical information to help you start city scheduling outreach.
