For small asset managers, the math can seem daunting: In a $17.7 trillion mutual fund industry, 79% of the assets are managed by just 3% of the fund families. And since 2015, the largest managers have taken another 1% market share each year.
So how does an upstart manager break through? It begins with a powerful story.
In the latest version of the Permission to Succeed podcast, host Doug Heikkinen spoke with our Founder and CEO, Stacy Havener, about the power of storytelling in the asset management industry, and the art of finding independent advisors who openly seek undiscovered investment managers.
As Stacy explains, the largest asset managers bring a lot of sales and marketing heft to the table, but it’s not the table where everyone wants to sit.
“You have to find those investors that are part of your tribe,” Stacy said. “If you go to the same advisors who invest with these giant fund families, you’re not going to win because they want that…but there’s a subset of advisors who believe a big part of their value is to bring something that you can’t find on the cover of USA Today.”
Those advisors want to hear a new manager’s story. Havener Capital helps tell it.
“We make sure they’re telling a story someone would care about and put that story into context with a powerful verbal story and a powerful quantitative story,” Stacy said. “Our job is to get the storytelling together and get it in front of the right investors.”
As part of the interview, Stacy touched on several topics including:
- Why active managers are poised for a comeback
- The types of asset managers Havener seeks as a partner
- The importance of finding independent, “early adopter” advisors
- How a soccer career motivated her to serve underdog asset managers
To hear more from the interview, you can listen to the full podcast here.