Financial services PR firms that are accustomed to working with boutique asset managers can help smaller investment companies explain their strategies, showcase their investment philosophy and objectives, and connect their portfolio managers with reporters. A successful PR program can help you showcase your expertise while reaching your target audience.
For many smaller investment firms, time and manpower can be one of the biggest hurdles. Portfolio managers have plenty to say about the markets, but they are managing portfolios and speaking with clients. Marketing efforts may be minimal if at all or may be handled by one person who wears several hats.
The right PR partner can help set up media interviews to establish your spokespeople as thought leaders, while also acting as an outsourced marketing department.
How Does Media Coverage Help People Discover a Smaller Firm?
An advisor reading about a market development or researching a particular subject may come across an appearance or quote from a portfolio manager they’ve never heard of. A manager clearly communicating on a particular issue, sharing his expertise or a glimpse into his firm’s approach to investing, can serve as an introduction to a new prospect. If the manager explains the issue well, the advisor gets an introduction to the person, and a glimpse at how the firm thinks about investing.
The advisor may visit your firm’s website or recognize the manager’s name in another article either at that time or even months later. While a PR firm can’t promise to do so, a relevant interview can introduce the manager to people outside the firm’s existing relationships.
Your portfolio manager’s comments and insights need to be useful to the audience. If the topic discussed is about higher borrowing costs, your manager who follows corporate credit could explain what has changed for the companies they cover. The interview is an opportunity to answer the reporter’s question, while also sharing the manager’s insights or firms’ approach to the topic. Readers or viewers can learn more about the firm if they find its perspective interesting.
Will Reporters Talk to Portfolio Managers at Boutique Firms?
Yes, when they have the expertise a story calls for. A reporter covering municipal bonds, for example, may need someone who knows that market well, and who can explain a development before the deadline. The source’s knowledge and ability to respond matter more in that moment than the firm’s size.
That is why a PR firm needs to know more about your team than just job titles and fund descriptions. What is your municipal bond manager paying attention to this month? Which questions are clients asking? Regular conversations can help your PR firm recognize when a story fits a particular spokesperson.
Some interviews can be arranged well in advance; others may need a response that day. If a manager cannot take calls during certain hours or any requests need time for internal review, your PR firm should be made aware.
Not every interview will lead to coverage. Reporters decide which sources to use, and stories change as they are reported. The work of the PR firm is to bring them a relevant, well-prepared person when the opportunity arises.
Can PR Help Explain Your Investment Approach?
Investment teams live with their process every day. They may describe it as “disciplined” or “research driven” and assume the meaning is clear. An advisor hearing those terms for the first time will probably want more detail. How does the team evaluate an investment? What would make it change its view? Where does risk management enter the decision?
Preparing for media interviews gives a team a reason to work through those questions and prepare their answers. A PR partner can ask questions someone outside the firm would ask and help the portfolio manager explain the process in plain, easy-to-understand language without diluting what makes it distinctive.
Listen to how your colleagues describe the strategy as well. One may lead with security selection while another focuses on risk. Their explanations should paint a consistent picture that aligns with the firm’s website, presentations and advisor conversations.
Which Media Outlets Are Worth Your Time?
A national business publication may introduce your firm to a broad audience. A trade publication may have a smaller audience, but it may reach a more specialized audience made up of advisors or institutional professionals in your target audience. The value of an opportunity can often depend on who the story reaches, and whether your manager has something to contribute.
Ask a prospective PR firm which outlets it would pursue for your firm and why. You should hear more than just a list of familiar media names. If your priority is building advisor relationships, the firm should be able to explain how its proposed publications and story ideas can support that goal.
Before asking a busy portfolio manager to make time, your PR firm should consider the publication’s audience and the subject of the story. If your manager can’t give the audience an informed answer, it’s not the right interview for them.
What Can You Do With Media Coverage Results?
Media coverage can go much farther than appearing once on a show or in a publication. Media results should be posted to your firm’s website and any social media platforms if applicable.
Suppose an advisor asks your sales team about a market issue. If your manager discussed it in a recent article, send them a link. Not only does it give the advisor the opportunity to read the manager’s comments in context, but it also shows third-party credibility.
Check your compliance process and the publication’s terms before sharing an article or excerpt. When you do share it, tell readers what the manager discussed and why the topic may be of interest. An announcement saying the firm was “featured” gives them much less to go on.
A journalist’s decision to quote someone is not an endorsement of the firm or its products. Keep that in mind when describing the coverage. If reporters, advisors and clients are asking similar questions, the subject may deserve a fuller explanation in your own content.
What Should a Smaller Firm Look for in a PR Partner?
Financial services experience is a starting point, but the category is broad. Ask whether the PR firm has worked with your types of investment products and the audiences you hope to reach. Meet the people who would work on your account and discuss how they would learn more about your firm and products.
Find out about the firm’s processes. Who will contact reporters? Who will prepare a manager for an interview? How will requests with short deadlines be handled? What will the firm need from your team each month? These are especially important questions in smaller firms with limited manager availability or small marketing departments.
Discuss compliance early. Your PR partner should understand what requires review, who can approve it, and what the compliance processes are.
Budget should be part of the conversation as well. Find out what the fee includes, and what a program at that level could reasonably cover.
If only one portfolio manager has time for interviews, a program focused on that person’s strongest subjects may be a sensible starting point.
How Should You Evaluate Progress?
The number of mentions isn’t necessarily the most important metric. Look beyond the number of mentions and consider: Did the coverage reach your target audience? Were your manager’s views represented accurately? Did the article give them enough room to explain something they know well?
Website activity and feedback from prospects may add context. Ask new contacts how they heard about the firm and share what you learn with your PR partner.
It is difficult to connect a single interview to an asset inflow. An advisor may encounter your firm several times, visit your website, and speak with your sales team before considering an allocation. Review PR alongside those other efforts and revisit the program regularly to see where it is useful and where it needs adjusting.
At SunStar Strategic, we work with boutique investment managers on messaging, media training and financial media outreach. If your professionals have perspectives to share but little time to pursue interviews themselves, a conversation with a PR partner can help you decide what kind of program your firm is ready to support.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What PR firms work with smaller investment companies?
Financial services PR firms with experience representing boutique asset managers work with smaller investment companies. Ask prospective firms about comparable clients, who would handle your account, what the fee covers and how much participation they would need from your staff.
Can a small investment firm get financial media coverage?
Yes, it’s not just the large firms with billions in AUM that can get coverage, but there is often a minimum AUM threshold of a few million. Reporters may interview portfolio managers at smaller firms when their expertise is relevant to a story. A clear explanation and a timely response can make someone a useful source, although ultimately the reporter and editor decide what appears in the final coverage.
Does a smaller investment firm need a large PR budget?
Costs depend on the firm you partner with, and the work involved. A focused program may be possible but ask exactly what a proposed fee includes. Account for the time your investment professionals will spend discussing ideas, preparing for interviews and speaking with reporters.
What should an investment firm have in place before starting PR?
An available spokesperson and a workable process for interview preparation and compliance review are important starting points. The firm’s website should also explain its business clearly so an interested reader can learn more and get in touch.
How much time will a portfolio manager need to spend on PR?
That depends on the program and the opportunities pursued. A manager should expect to discuss ideas with the PR firm, prepare for interviews and speak with reporters. Agree on a realistic commitment before the program begins, including how your team will handle requests that arrive on short notice.
Can PR help an investment firm grow assets under management?
While PR cannot guarantee new assets, it can support a firm’s growth efforts by helping advisors and investors become familiar with its investment professionals. Performance, distribution, due diligence, and investors’ portfolio needs all effect allocation decisions.
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