Forget About the Other 90%

Just spitballing – but maybe 10% of the entire investing universe potentially has any real interest in what you do. By “any real interest,” I mean that only 10% of your overall audience sees your fund as investable. And I am not even talking about investable today – I’m talking about investable ever. Should that number be 26.93% or maybe, 2.55% - I have no idea. But undoubtedly my estimate is more likely to be way too high, then way too low.

For all the other prospective investors out there, you just aren’t a fit. They see you as too small, too large, not niche enough, too niche, have too short of a track record or have a funny-shaped nose…whatever. They were never a believer and they never will be – and nothing you do will change that.

The challenge for most managers is that they are too worried that a narrow message will alienate potential investors that are outside of their target audience “sweet spot.” After all, maybe that pension fund that has never considered investing in agriculture might miraculously wake up one day and decide that Arkansas-based backyard chicken farming is the one asset it needs to tie the entire portfolio together.

Here is a suggestion that won’t be popular...be narrow. Care about those most likely to care about you and stop diluting your message in the hopes of attracting the low probability opportunities.

After all, trying to be “all things to all people” will just make you nothing to no one.