The Key to Private Market Investment: Investor Experience

Seth Gordon: What are some of the most common sort of characteristics you're noticing? Is it a lack of a CRM? Is it a data room that's just ineffective or non-existent, I'd be really curious about that.

Maria Poly: Yeah, I noticed there are two biggest issues for them. First is a lack of organized information. Like fund managers, they talk to LPs, they collect some information. It's usually only on their site. Sometimes they miss it and it's not connected to the marketing flow. They did not group those people. So I think because there is a lot of conversation and those people don't have time for the operational side. Then there is very little room for creativity and I think what's supposed to happen is someone oversees the data and when GPs come together, their goal is only to figure out how else they can approach investors. What else they don't know. How to ask the right questions, just to free up time for it. And the second challenge I think is like creating this experience for investors is a big part. Like if you invest in public markets, it's easy, you go to your broker or you just go to the app and you invest. When you do a private market investment, it's a nightmare. I remember one client was saying, "You know, filling out a subscription agreement is like climbing an Everest on one leg being a bit drunk." So I agree it's just so much hassle and information they have to provide and you do it over and over again for the same firm. So I think whatever solution can offer a better LP experience will definitely open up the whole opportunity of small checks, which private investors oftentimes don't take. I mean, private funds, because there's just too much work to accommodate 25,000 and 50,000.