By Zach Kouwe

Ray Dalio on YouTube – A Great PR MoveRay Dalio, founder of the largest hedge fund in the world, the $150 billion Bridgewater Associates, has decided it’s time to really come out of the shadows and begin sharing his pearls of economic wisdom. Mr. Dalio, who has been called a “hedge fund cult leader” and “the world’s richest and strangest hedge fund,” has slowly been engaging with the media over the last few years, most likely to combat and explain his unusual management style.  But he never looked that comfortable providing a 30-second answer to a TV reporter’s questions about his outlook for the markets.

Now, instead of dealing directly with the media to demystify his theories on the economy, he’s taken his message directly to the people through YouTube. (As of this writing his video already had over 350,000 views.)

Mr. Dalio explained his move to YouTube to the New York Times:

“While I kept it confidential until recently, I now want to share it because I believe that it could be very helpful in reducing big economic blunders, if it was more broadly understood,” he wrote in an e-mail. He explained that, “I believe that most influential decision makers and most people cause a lot of needless economic suffering because they are missing the fundamentals.”

There’s no doubt Mr. Dalio wants to influence policymakers, regulators and academics. But another benefit of sharing his message on YouTube is that it humanizes him a bit and shows the world he’s a serious and transparent thinker – not just the billionaire leader of some hedge fund cult.

This is great PR for Bridgewater – it will help the firm recruit the best and the brightest thinkers from around the world and will likely attract investors as people from Asia to Africa learn about Mr. Dalio’s successful strategies and theories on the economy. (We wouldn’t be surprised if Bridgewater decides to open its strategies to retail investors at some point.)

Just a few years ago, you would never think one of the world’s best hedge fund managers would be appearing on YouTube. Most managers over 50 think YouTube is a service for funny videos or music. They’ve never thought about it as a way to actually reach the public, express their views and build their brands. But reaching out directly to the public and bypassing the media filter, even if the media does pick up on it later, is sometimes the most effective way to get your message out. Big and small asset managers should pay attention.

By Zach Kouwe

I recently stumbled upon a new survey of what institutional investors look for in their hedge fund managers. The survey, from fund administrator SEI, was particularly interesting because it covered what investors think about a particular firm’s “brand” identity and how that factors into their decision to invest in the fund.

Not surprisingly, the results were mixed with many investors seemingly confused by the question. But from investors and consultants we've spoken to, having a solid and understandable brand in the market matters whether they admit it or not. From the survey:


When we asked institutional investors to define “brand,” their answers diverged. Respondents were similarly torn on the importance of brand; one-third said it makes no difference in their selection of hedge funds, one-third disagree, and one-third are neutral. 

A hedge fund needs to able to describe its unique investment process in an understandable and concise way both to potential investors and the public at large. Take it from Bruce Frumerman, CEO of investment management industry communications and sales marketing consultancy, Frumerman & Nemeth Inc. from the survey:


“You know your firm has graduated from commodity to brand when, after stating your fund’s name and strategy category, a prospect can add two or three sentences of elaboration about how you invest," he says. “If a hedge fund doesn’t actively market its investment- process story, it won’t outgrow being perceived as a replaceable commodity, known only by the pigeon-hole category of its strategy and its most recent returns."

This can apply not just for hedge funds, but for any type of investment product or service. Money managers across the board, whether they manage institutional or retail capital, are becoming much more scrutinized. If they can't define their clear narrative, they won't be able to distinguish themselves. Hedge fund managers in particular can’t just sit back and rely on their track record – indeed the survey points out that investment performance is not even the most important factor when investors choose a fund. (This is already starting in the hedge fund world)

“There are those who get it right, and gather billions in assets, and those with no idea of how to get their message across. They just use the same mumbled jargon and rarely convey what is actually happening. Marketers who think they don’t need to put it down on paper and convince others their process makes sense will get nowhere,” declared a managing director at a large European institutional investor. Our panelists also emphasized how important it is to spend the time and resources needed to make complex processes clear and simple. “Explaining simply just what it is you do is the single greatest feat for hedge funds,” said Michael Green, CEO, International with American Century Investments.  

The Financial Follies, which is put on by the New York Financial Writers Association every November, is a tremendous place for public relations folks and journalists to get to know each other better. Every time I go, I get to know someone interesting I didn't know before and meet someone I had only dealt with over the phone. 

By Zach Kouwe

By Zach Kouwe

Despite news reports earlier this month that the Securities and Exchange Commission was poised to delay important changes to marketing rules for hedge funds and other alternative investment funds, the S.E.C. published proposed rules yesterday that will have a significant impact on how hedge funds speak to the public and market themselves to prospective investors. 

Both public relations professionals and reporters alike have quietly advocated for the loosening of these regulations, which have prevented hedge fund managers from talking publicly about their performance, investment strategies and even mentioning simple facts about their fund structure and fees. Now, if this new proposal becomes the law, more transparency will come to the hedge fund industry.

Dukas Public Relations, which prides itself on transparent and open relationships between its clients and the media, will be submitting a comment letter to the S.E.C. in support of the proposed rule. (Our letter will be available here and via the S.E.C.’s website soon.)

We believe this change will be welcomed by hedge fund reporters in particular, who often find it difficult to obtain simple information from hedge fund managers and the industry in general. Based on our conversations with clients and prospects, managers also support this change because most want to respond to reporters’ questions but fear running afoul of the rules. Even some managers who want to correct simple inaccuracies in the media can’t do so under the current regulations.

While some hedge funds and marketing execs have talked of full-fledged advertising campaigns, we believe most firms will opt to ramp up their public relations initiatives rather than buy ads in print publications or sponsor sports stadiums. While not opposed to advertising, we think engaging with the media and the public at large is the best way for the hedge fund industry to become more transparent and better understood. As a PR agency for hedge funds, we look forward to seeing this proposed rule become law.  

By Zach Kouwe

“You never want a crisis to go to waste.”

Those were the now-infamous words of Rahm Emanuel, the current mayor of Chicago and former chief of staff for President Obama, in 2008.

In this election cycle, the private equity industry has been cast in a negative light by the media largely because of Mitt Romney’s background at Bain Capital. When other PE firms are trying to avoid getting sucked into the negative sentiment surrounding Bain, a relatively small and little-known firm has taken advantage of the opportunity by opening up to the media and telling its story.

The firm, Monomoy Capital Partners, first opened up in a New York Times story  in January, which profiled Oneida Ltd., a once iconic flatware company that had fallen on hard times. But the surprising thing was that Manhattan-based Monomoy injected new capital into Oneida and did a superb job detailing its plans to revive the company. The story even included this pithy quote from Oneida’s outgoing CEO:

 “They’re not Gordon Gekko,” he said of the firm. “It’s almost like they got together and said, ‘There’s a different way to do this.’”

Monomoy took a risk opening up to the NYT – the story could have turned out negatively, like many other profiles of PE-backed companies. Instead, Bloomberg BusinessWeek picked up the story and, after Monomoy gave a reporter access to its two-week corporate boot camp for executives and partners, the magazine ran a cover story in its current issue on the benefits of private equity.

The NYT’s Dealbook blog then followed up on Friday with a post calling Monomoy “the most popular private equity firm in town.” That’s what you call a PR grand slam and it’s all because of the firm’s willingness to open up when everyone else wouldn’t.