The family office connection

July 24, 2023

Before this year, we had focused most of our efforts on acquiring accredited investors as we had a strategy that had proven itself effective through digital ad campaigns and other means to get them on board. As we had seen in the past though, in times of market volatility, accredited investors become more fearful and they tend to invest less or pull out altogether. This year we made the decision to really put the emphasis behind institutional investors like family offices in order to bolster our capital needs. What transpired was most definitely a learning experience as their needs and wants are so different from anything we've ever encountered before.

Family offices are relationships first. Since they don't answer to anyone else and don't "have" to do anything they don't want to, they invest often based on feeling (with proper diligence of course!) and the relationship they have with the investment product or platform, instead of financial incentives. To build their trust, we had gone to family office conferences in the past but those were on a sponsored basis and the dynamic at that point is already off - any family office attendee already knows they're likely going to be sold to and it starts the relationship on the wrong foot.

This past week, we were invited by two family offices to a retreat they were hosting in Lithuania with a few other groups. This is something entirely different, it's an atmosphere built on trust and designed to foster and build new relationships. 10 families gathered together to explore the country, its culture, and look at a few investment opportunities along the way. Between the castle tours, hot air balloon rides, and museum trips, we were able to provide a detailed presentation on private credit, the current market dynamics, and how Percent plays into this rapidly changing economic landscape. This is soft selling at its best and it was genuinely appreciated as we weren't just another manager selling just another strategy that they have to diligence.

Two of the families have already committed to making small test investments in August to explore our platform and offerings. Following this, we'll be presenting on one of their weekly calls in September to their broader group of 25 family offices to present their investments as a case study and gauge interest from the broader group.

There will certainly be more feedback along the way around the products we offer, the features on the platform, and key learnings from what family offices are looking for, but we're starting to hit our stride in converting these relationships we've nurtured for so long into real dollars and we're doing it the good old fashioned way - by getting to know them as people and not just investors 🤝