Accessibility standards improve websites for everyone while delivering significant business benefits. We recently shared our perspective on the importance of these standards for hedge funds and other asset management firms.

Whether it is the recent rise in website accessibility lawsuits (they hit an all-time high in 2021)^* or the emergence of new tech solutions to help businesses address concerns, website accessibility is generating a lot of discussion.  And for good reason. There are one billion people around the world who have some form of disability.^** Ensuring that the web remains accessible to all is the responsibility of everyone who creates content – asset management firms included.

Whether you are launching a new fund or celebrating the 10th anniversary of your firm, it can be challenging to know when to engage creative partners.

The key for any firm is to engage with creative professionals when strategic design advice can set you up for growth and improve your image versus saving you from bad design choices that negatively impact your reputation and professionalism.  But how do you know where that sweet spot is?

Have you ever seen a print advertisement or sign and wondered what were they thinking? As design experts, this happens to us almost every day. While we also see plenty of beautiful design work, we’ve found that behind many bad designs is a good idea that failed in the execution phase.‍

Google recently introduced an update called "Helpful Content". It is designed to prioritize content that helps the reader achieve a specific goal. Regardless of the size of your firm if you have a website, you need to pay attention to this update and any changes it may have on your search ranking.

When it comes to attracting new clients, numbers play a small part in the big picture. While that may sound counterintuitive, consider that everyone in this industry can put up numbers. They are in many ways the bare minimum needed to be a viable option. We believe the key to attracting new prospects and clients lies in your ability to differentiate your brand.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been analyzing one of the most powerful tools in a hedge fund marketer’s toolkit – the pitchbook. In part one we broke down the qualitative elements that should make up the first half of the document. In part two, we examined best practices for the quantitative or more concrete data-heavy aspects of the document. Now, it’s time to look at our favorite topic – design.

In last week’s post, we walked through the qualitative elements that exist in the first half of standard hedge fund pitchbooks. This week, we’re digging into the second half of the document – the 8-10 slides that provide the concrete details, statistics, and information on how you’ve constructed your portfolio, how it’s performed relative to the benchmark, and how to invest. These slides are your closing argument. They give you the opportunity to show your work and prove your investment thesis while providing potential investors with the data needed to evaluate your strategy.

Here at Emerson Ward, the most frequently asked questions we receive when discussing a hedge fund pitchbook design project with a new or prospective client center around content and structure: How many slides are too many? What content should be included? What’s the difference between “Philosophy” and “Strategy”? The answers always vary – each presentation will be unique to your strategy, firm, audience, and where you are in the fundraising lifecycle – but generally, these presentations all share the same DNA; a basic structure and flow designed to succinctly explain a complex investment offering.

There are 30 million PowerPoint presentations created around the world every day. As a creative services agency focused on the asset management industry, we’ve built and reviewed our fair share of that number.  

Recently we explored the business, technology and human factors driving the increased importance of mobile-optimized websites for asset management firms. Now that we’ve explored why mobile-friendly websites are vital, let’s continue the conversation with a few how-to tips and considerations.‍

There are many factors to consider in asset management website design. A website must showcase the firm’s unique brand, perspective, people and offerings. It should be easy to navigate and clearly display data, be visually stunning and encourage visitors to stay on the site and get to know the firm in greater detail. However, to be competitive in today’s crowded marketplace there is another factor that can no longer be overlooked – how your site performs on mobile devices.

We’ve sat in the audience staring at poorly designed slides and we’ve experienced the pitfalls of every plan, idea and document in business being turned into a slide deck. While frustrating and at times painful, that’s just one side of the PowerPoint (or PPT as fans call it) story.

When should an asset management firm’s website design, logo or overall brand identity be updated? Is there a standard time to update the look of your hedge fund’s pitch book? What trends are you seeing out there?

There’s a naturally symbiotic relationship between data and design. It’s at the meeting of the two where effective, impactful communication is born, which is why the partnership between Assette and Emerson Ward, announced earlier today, is such a natural fit.