Staying Busy Throughout the Summer
Traditionally, the alternative industry grinds to a halt during the summer months. By July, most investor firms have lost about half of their staff to vacation, and many high-level executives or decision makers rarely are in the office. As a result, the summer has traditionally been a slow time of year for to raising assets.
Ever since the market chaos of 2008, practices seem to have changed. Employees are still taking summer vacations, but the notion that the summer is a dead time for business is no longer true. Surprisingly, many people in the industry believe that this is still the norm. Many fund marketers are under the impression that the decision makers in the investor community are gone and, therefore, they slow down their marketing campaigns. Many marketers believe no business is done during the summer and they stop trying.
Ironically, this improves the chances of getting in front of investors for funds that aggressively market and reach out during the summer months. Ultimately it comes down to exposure. By staying in front of investors year-round and keeping them up to date on your funds’ recent performance and other attributes, gives you a leg up. Every day BHA analysts speak with investors who indicate that they will be actively reviewing funds and managers during the upcoming summer months, when in years past they may have postponed serious due diligence until the fall.
As BHA continues to call investors, we are seeing evidence that many decision makers are staying around longer and planning conference calls, meetings, and phone conversations throughout the summer. And when they are not there, the analysts, portfolio managers, and consultants will be eager to learn about new and interesting proposals from funds that meet their search criteria.