Precise on paper, vague in public
Independent financial managers are careful people. Their client reports are exact. Their files are in order. Then you read the firm’s website, and it says the firm offers comprehensive, personalized solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs.
Every firm says that. A prospective client reading three such websites cannot tell them apart, so they choose on a referral, a fee or a feeling. The firm that could have explained its approach clearly never got the chance.
There are two reasons this happens. The first is time. A principal with a full book of clients does not have a spare day to write. The second is caution. In a regulated field it feels safer to say nothing specific than to say something a reviewer might question. So the firm retreats into phrases that are safe because they are empty.
Clear and compliant are not opposites. It takes more work to be both, and that is the work we do.
Clear and compliant are not opposites. It takes more work to be both.
What we take off the principal’s desk
We work as an outsourced business manager. The list is agreed in writing before we start, and it can include:
- A weekly conversation with the principal, short and written up.
- A communications calendar for the year: client letters, market notes, review-season reminders and updates to the website, each with a drafting date, a compliance review date and a send date.
- First drafts of client letters and updates in the principal’s voice, ready for review.
- Keeping the firm’s standing documents current: the firm overview, the service description, the biographies and the one-page summary.
- A review log, so there is a record of what was approved, by whom and when.
- Coordination with your web developer, your designer and your compliance consultant.
- A monthly report in plain words.
We are not investment advisers, accountants or attorneys. We do not give advice to your clients, we do not handle client assets or data beyond what you choose to share for a mailing, and we never write about performance without your reviewer’s direction.
Marketing: say what you do so a client can repeat it
Most new clients of an independent firm arrive by referral. That makes one test more useful than any other. Can an existing client explain to a friend, in two sentences, what your firm does and who it is for? If they cannot, the referral is weaker than it should be.
We begin with three questions. Who are you? What are you about? Why should someone trust you with this? We work through them with the principals until the answers are plain, specific and supportable.
Then we rebuild the pieces a prospect reads:
- The approach page. How the firm thinks and works, described in ordinary language, with terms defined the first time they appear.
- Who we serve. A clear statement of the clients the firm is built for. Saying who you are not for is often what makes the right person call.
- Principal biographies. Experience and credentials stated accurately, with a sense of the person.
- What to expect. The first meeting, the onboarding steps, how often clients hear from you and how fees are described in your disclosures.
- The one-page summary. For accountants, attorneys and other referral partners to pass along.
For a small fund, the same discipline applies to the firm overview and the investor letter. What may be shown, and to whom, depends on how the fund is offered, and your counsel sets those limits.
PR: a useful voice, carefully used
Reporters need people who can explain money matters plainly and return a call the same day. An independent manager who does both can become a regular source. That builds a kind of trust advertising cannot.
We identify the subjects a principal can speak on with authority, prepare short commentary for review, and introduce the principal to writers who cover those subjects. We prepare for each interview: the points to make, the questions to expect and the lines not to cross, such as discussing specific securities or anything that sounds like a promise.
Published pieces are logged and, where your rules require it, reviewed before they are shared again.
We do not promise coverage. Editors and reporters decide.
Social media: modest, regular and reviewed
A financial firm does not need to be entertaining. It needs to be present, sensible and consistent. A professional profile that shows a thoughtful note every week or two tells a prospect the firm is active and careful.
Our routine is simple. We draft a month of posts at a time. They go through your review. Approved posts are scheduled, and the approvals are kept on file. Comments and messages are watched and passed to you. We do not reply on matters of advice.
Client reviews and testimonials, and anything that looks like an endorsement, are governed by specific rules. We do not ask for them, publish them or share them unless your compliance reviewer has set out how it may be done.
Working inside your compliance process
This is the part other marketing firms find tiresome. We plan for it from the start.
- Every piece has a named reviewer and a review date on the calendar.
- We write to the cautious side: no promises, no predictions and no selective results. Claims are tied to something on file.
- Performance, rankings, awards and comparisons are used only as your reviewer directs, with the required context.
- Required disclosures are attached where they belong.
- Drafts, comments and approvals are kept, so the record is complete if you are ever asked for it.
The rules that apply to you depend on how your firm is registered and where. Your compliance officer or counsel is the authority on them. Nothing on this page is legal or compliance advice.
How we work inside your team
One principal, or your compliance lead, gives final approval. We ask for about an hour a week. Your website, your accounts, your documents and your client list stay yours. We work with the least access the task needs.
Where to start
The 90-Day Plan gives a firm a defined beginning: a review of the website and profiles, your three answers, five rewritten pages, twelve pieces of content and a monthly discussion with your team, for one fixed fee. The plan’s calendar includes your review step, so nothing goes out before it is approved.
Or begin with a conversation. Tell us who you serve, which materials need attention and who reviews your communications.