Know My Plan

Helping clients maintain, build, & transfer their wealth to their loved ones or charities. Financial planning doesn't have to be overly complicated. You don't have to do it alone. I enjoy working with clients who want to build a financial plan together thru a deep understanding of your goals both while working, in retirement, and beyond.

All investment advice is offered through Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC, a registered investment adviser.

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

SunTrust Investment Services, Inc.

VP, Financial Advisor

Financial Advisor

Licensed Financial Sales Consultant 2

I’m a Financial Planner that helps Sales Executives reduce financial anxiety with a 1-Page Plan.

Phone:  704-243-9376 | Email:  nic@knowmyplan.com | Website:  www.knowmyplan.com

I design financial plans for busy executives and their families.

Feel confident about your money with a complete overview of your financial situation

Reduce overwhelm by understanding exactly where you’re at in your journey

Reduce financial anxiety with a high-level plan for the future

You also want to reduce stress, save time, pursue your goals!

As a high earner, you deserve a customized plan to meet you and your family.  No more rules of thumb.  Your goals determine your financial plan, and your financial plan will determine your goals.

The financial plan is your life adventure map.  The plan will need to be monitored and adjusted over time.  That is why we love financial planning.  The process requires relationships built over years!

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.  For links to FINRA/SIPC, refer to the Contact Information section above. Advisory Services offered through Independent Advisor Alliance a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. 


Know My Plan is an other business name of Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC.  All investment advice is offered through Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC, a registered investment adviser.  Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC is a separate entity from LPL Financial.

The financial professionals associated with this site may discuss and/or transact business only with residents of the states in which they are properly registered or licensed. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident of any other state.

Third party posts found on this profile do not reflect the views of LPL Financial and have not been reviewed by LPL Financial as to accuracy or completeness.

Nic Nielsen, CFP®

I had a great conversation this week with a 50-year-old prospect who asked a simple but important question:

👉 “If I retire at 62, how much income can I expect each month?”

The answer isn’t a guess — it’s a process.
Here’s how we walked through it together:

1️⃣ Start with what you have saved today.
His total investments formed the foundation of the conversation.

2️⃣ Look at ongoing contributions.
How much is being added each year — and are we maximizing employer matches?

3️⃣ Apply a reasonable rate of return.
Nothing extreme. Just disciplined, long-term assumptions based on history and risk tolerance.

4️⃣ Determine a sustainable distribution rate.
What percentage can we safely withdraw each year without jeopardizing long-term security?

5️⃣ Convert that to a monthly income number.
Because people don’t live life in annual increments — they live it month to month.

6️⃣ Convert future dollars back into today’s dollars.
Inflation is real. A $12K/mo lifestyle in the future may only feel like $8K/mo today.

7️⃣ Discuss asset allocation as retirement approaches.
The mix of growth and safety becomes increasingly important as the retirement date nears.

8️⃣ Highlight the role of fixed income.
Stability, predictability, and downside protection matter — especially when you’re drawing from your portfolio.

These conversations are my favorite because they take a big, overwhelming question and break it into something clear, logical, and actionable.

If you're wondering what your retirement income picture looks like — whether you're 45, 50, or 60 — I’m always happy to run the numbers.

Because clarity creates confidence.

Nic Nielsen, CFP®, CLTC®

I design financial plans for 45 to 55 year-old high-achieving professionals in the Charlotte area and virtually nationwide.

“We’re ready to get serious, feels like we’re just wasting time.”

For what it’s worth, this is EXTREMELY common:

• Two working parents, careers taking off
• Income has ballooned over the years
• Before you know it, you’re just spending and have no real idea where it’s all going

• Decent retirement savings
• Subpar brokerage account balance
• Way too much in HYSA 

• A nice home
• Family vacations, private schools
• Stress that there’s no plan, on the hamster wheel

NEED: A financial plan with real goals and a structure to fund it


(If you could use the help of a financial advisor or would like to explore making a change from your current advisor, now’s the time, please shoot me a message—I’m happy to talk)

Nic

One of my favorite parts of being a parent right now?

My kids (7, 9, & 12) are finally getting gifts that I secretly love… and that take me straight back to my own childhood. 

It’s a sweet reminder that I’m living in the “good ole days” — right now.

My parents are healthy and sharp, my kids are happy and still think hanging out with us is cool, and we get to share little moments like this together.

Sometimes joy looks like a LEGO Game Boy and a house full of laughter. 

--Nic

Grow your investment boutique 📈 Founder / CEO @ Havener ⭐ $30B AUM for boutiques w/ The Billion Dollar Blueprint™ 💲 Story-led sales & marketing for founders, fund mgrs, and teams 🎤 Speaker ▪ Podcast Host

Hi, I’m Stacy - a blue-collar girl from the Berkshires who turned a way with words and love of numbers into a business that has raised billions for boutique asset managers.
 
I’ve raised $8B+ for new/undiscovered funds that led to $30B+ in follow-on AUM.

Being a female founder in the male-dominated investment industry at the age of 30 required a huge leap of faith in connecting two tribes: talented boutique asset managers and early adopter investors.

The leap of faith was spot on. 

10+ years later, Havener Capital Partners leads the industry in helping investment boutiques grow. We help clients in three ways: (1) Embedded as part of your sales and marketing team (2) Consulting on sales and marketing efforts with you (3) Coaching you and your team in our membership community

Whether it’s consulting and masterminds, expanding sales and marketing capabilities, or connecting to our network of RIAs and family offices, clients benefit from an expert team and a time-tested framework that has raised billions for boutiques.

If I can be of assistance, please reach out at stacy@havenercapital.com

A little more about me: 

I’m obsessed with all things old school – hip-hop music, classic cars, craft cocktails and vintage furniture. My best lessons in life were learned on the soccer field where I went from picking flowers at the age of 9, to playing on all-boy teams, to becoming an Academic All-American in college. 

Most days you will find me at our office in the city-by-the sea, Newport, RI, sitting next to my reggae-loving husband (who is also my business partner), with a Dunkin Donuts coffee in my hand, and our rescue pitbull at my feet. In addition to building a business together, Erik and I are raising a daughter which is by far my favorite adventure. 

At the heart of it all, there is one thing I believe in – underdogs. Doesn’t matter who we are or what industry we are in, we all start from the bottom; we have all been underdogs. This rebel spirit fuels me every day.

Stacy Havener

Spoke on a panel with two friends yesterday… and left with many more. 🥰

Honored to join fellow boutique champions James Lindsay and Dani Hristova for a powerful conversation at AIMSE Europe Limited.

We dug into the landscape for specialist managers:
what’s good, what’s tough,
and what we can *actually* do about it.

Here were a few themes that hit home:

---

1️⃣ Resist the temptation to hide

Boutiques often hide when markets get rocky.
We shrink. We stay quiet. We wait for “better times.”

But hiding is a bad plan.

Because our uniqueness is the thing allocators remember.
Our edges, our insights, our craft.

It's how we do in tough markets, yes, and also how we show up.
How we own mistakes and headwinds and struggle.

Use our voice consistently in good/bad times, not conveniently when all is rainbows and unicorns.

---

2️⃣ Hold space with confidence

Allocators aren’t trying to build a lineup of samesies.
They’re building portfolios of complements.

That means there is often a seat at the table for us.

For differentiated thinkers
For specialists
For boutiques

But we have to hold our space.
Not with bravado.
With presence.

A quiet, grounded confidence that says:
We know who we are. 
We know what we do. 
We know the value our strategy brings to a portfolio.

Complement > Compete

---

3️⃣ Don’t change… and also, change

(This was one of my favorite moments from the panel. 😂)

Because it’s the nuance we never talk about:

✔️ Don’t change the essence—the thing that makes us special, distinct, compelling.

✔️ But do change the strategies, tactics, or approaches that no longer serve us.

Maybe those tactics weren’t ever meant for us.
Maybe they worked for “everyone else”… but not for specialists like us.
Maybe we’re meant to lead with something different...

because we authentically are. ❤️

Boutiques grow when they stay anchored in their uniqueness
and unafraid to evolve everything around it.

---

Grateful for the panel.
Grateful for the room.
Grateful for this community building the future of active management.

Lucky and honored to be a part of it

💐

My friends at a $10B fam office are my London lifeline (and British decoder ring). I underestimated something kind of big.

Yesterday, we talked about entrepreneurial spirit and growth mindset...

*Is this easier to tap into for Americans than the British?*

🤔

Many brilliant people struggle to tap into their entrepreneurial spirit.

Not because they lack ideas.
Not because they lack ambition.

But because they’ve been conditioned to believe:

- Growth should feel safe.
- Investing in yourself is risky.
- And if you stretch… you’ll be confronted, not supported.

(That word confronted is sticking with me as it's the opposite of what our clients feel.)

Entrepreneurial spirit isn’t a personality trait.

It’s a muscle.
One that anyone can build.

Here are 3 ways we can start tapping into it:

---

1️⃣ Make a micro-bet on ourselves

Not a moonshot.
Not a quit-your-job-jump-without-a-parachute bet.
A micro one.
The kind that expands our identity without collapsing our nervous system.

Sign up for a workshop

Launch a tiny pilot

Test an idea with 3 trusted people

Micro bets → micro wins → macro confidence.

---

2️⃣ Trade perfection for iteration

Entrepreneurs don’t wait for the perfect plan.

We take the next step.

Ship.
Learn.
Adjust.
Repeat.

When we stop insisting “I must be ready" before I make a move, we start discovering “I can figure this out” now while I move.

---

3️⃣ Surround ourselves with people who believe in growth

Environment is everything.

We rise in rooms where:

- Investing in growth is normal

- Stretching is celebrated

- Support replaces scrutiny

Progress > perfection

Entrepreneurial spirit is contagious, yes, but only in the right company.

---

Here's my promise to you:

Growth is worth investing in.
And it doesn’t have to feel painful.

It can feel supported.
It can feel expansive.

It can feel like the moment we finally remember who we’ve been all along.

(That last one 🙌)

👉 If this resonated, I’d love to hear which of these 3 help you tap into a growth mindset? 

And of course I am here for any additional learnings on American // British culture and personality nuances

PS I am your biggest fan. ❤️

= 
If you are going to AIMSE today in London, see you there! 

(Entrepreneurial spirit will be a vibe.)

40,000+ followers on LinkedIn now?? (10X the size of my college)

Feels like the right moment for a re-introduction.

And a whole lot of gratitude. Thank you. From my heart to yours. ❤️💐❤️

👉 Who I am

I’m an outsider who became an insider in an industry that wasn't built for me

A blue-collar kid who got the wrong degree (English Literature) from the wrong school (a state university) who didn’t get the memo on how the investment industry is supposed to work

I am a female founder in an a male dominated space. 

All the "wrongs" about me, the things I thought were disadvantages, they turned out to be all right, the secrets to my success

Turns out in an industry built for men who love numbers there was a place for a girl who loves words

I built my career (and company) by doing things differently mostly  because I didn’t know there was another way.

👉 Who I serve

Yes, I work in finance and investment management

Yes, my company helps fund managers and sales teams use a new playbook to grow asset management firms

But at my core, I serve founders

Founders who are:

-- Building something meaningful

-- Tired of sounding like everyone else

-- Brilliant at their craft but need expertise in sales and marketing 

Because whether you’re raising capital, leading a team, or scaling a firm, wherever you are in your evolution, 
the founder journey matters.

👉 Why I show up 

It might feel like a couple big firms run the world, but the reality is founders do

Small and medium sized businesses drive the economy 
And the odds against us keep getting worse

I've got over $8 billion dollars that say those odds can be beat
Rules can be broken
Ceilings can be shattered 

👉 What makes me different

I don’t believe growth comes from "biggest is bestest" mentalities, from louder decks or busier fact sheets.

My work sits quietly at the intersection of these 3 uniques:

🎭 The art of storytelling: because people buy people and the heart buys first

🧠 The science of human behavior: because decisions (even with lots of commas and zeroes) aren’t 100% rational, they are 100% human

✨ The power of personal brand: because who we are and why we do what we do is more important than what we do and how we do it

---

We help founders turn story into strategy
And strategy into momentum

Success starts with story and it doesn't stop

There is always a next chapter

And I believe it's on each of us to 
Own it
Write it
Use it
To shape our succeess

If you’re here because you have an entrepreneurial dream
One you are already living 
Or one you hope to live

If believe that there is more for your firm
For you personally

You are in the right place.

Your story is money. 

I will run thru a wall to help you harness that magic. 

=

📌 If this resonates, I go deeper in my weekly newsletter.

Stories.
Frameworks.
Lessons from building and advising founders inside and outside of finance.

👉 Join me. Sign up. It's time to own your story. 
https://lnkd.in/eAiiCUmk

"Traditions aren't about adding more to your busy schedule, but filling it intentionally."

That quote hits after a weekend of Thanksgiving and traditions.

The word "Intentional" gives things a different spin tho. A more heart-filled spin. More weight attached to even the lighter things we do. 

Here are a few of mine:

Is it even Thanksgiving if we don't... 

-- Start the day with a 3.1 mile "Pie Run"

-- Screw up at least 1 recipe 

(this year it was the pumpkin pie for me, made it twice if I'm honest) 😬

-- Have a dance party in the kitchen

-- Watch Christmas movies, drink red wine, and cry 😭 🥰

Those things could be happenstance
But I think they are intentional

Traditions don't always have to be shiny fancy sparkly
or highly starched tight collared stuffy

Sometimes they are messy and cozy and comfortable 

And those moments are some of the best.

My heart is full of gratitude going into the 49th week of the year.

Here's to more intention.

Your turn. 

👉 Add to the list! Is it even the holidays if we don't... 

(🥧 pie run over the years 📷)

I overheard a fund salesperson throwing shade at a conference.
Plot twist...

It was said about a multi-billion allocator (which is bizarro bc Hi, that's a dream client for you but ok)

The salesperson was ragging on the fact that this allocator posts on LinkedIn and has a newsletter.

(let's insert crickets chirping so we can process the absurdity for a minute)

Now, let's count the ways this is wrong.

1. If I heard them talking smack, others did too. It's not a good look generally. Call me pollyannic but nobody got time for negativity and nastiness. 

2. Shade is often a big glass of hater-ade in disguise. Whenever we feel jealousy or envy towards someone, it's actually a clue that we may want something they have. 

3. LinkedIn is right here for all of us. For free. And if you are still sleeping on its power, that's a you problem. There's a whole crew of us that got the memo and are making it count. 

(that's just 3 things but please add to the list bc there's so much more wrong and missing)

---

If you think (secretly or overtly) that LinkedIn and building a personal brand is "arrogant," I am going to politely suggest, in the words of Ice Cube, that you check yourself before you wreck yourself.

It's not arrogance to be sharing our thoughts authentically... 

it's ignorance not to.

👉 What would you add to the list of wrongs or what would you advise this shade thrower to consider?

=

+ In finance? Wondering if LinkedIn could help you build a brand (and a business)? We got you (and yes, it can)

+ Dec 12 workshop with Anna. No shade shall be thrown. See you there!

I missed a big opportunity in our London expansion. Obvious, even.

UK fund managers want access to the US market. 

(Ohhhh - why didn't you just tell me! 😉)

We have been helping London-based fund houses sharpen their story,
build a narrative that moves investors,
embrace behavioral-finance-based sales strategies,
and leverage LinkedIn to grow.

I overlooked a foundational element, target market.

The outcome many UK boutiques want most?

Access to U.S. investors.

When I came to London this trip, I was struggling a bit with our offer, I decided to ask a point blank question

What do you want? 
Really. Tell me. 

And slowly but surely it answers started to make sense

On our AIMSE panel, Dani Hristova said how tough the UK market is for boutiques.

Conversations with fund managers and C-suite execs who point blank said, we want access to the US.

And me, v not Captain Obvious, saying: riiiiight, I get it (now)
🤦‍♀️

Because here’s the reality:

🇬🇧 It’s getting more difficult to grow in the UK.
Pension and wealth channels are 
consolidating.
Family offices are tough to crack.
Launching a boutique is still incredibly challenging.

And yet…

🇺🇸 The grass is greener in the U.S.
Not because it’s easy.
But because it’s *possible*.

Here are 3 reasons the U.S. market is a fit for non-U.S. managers:

1️⃣ Access to a broader, more diverse allocator ecosystem

Pension funds, endowments, foundations, consultants, multi-family offices, RIAs: the U.S. has depth and diversity that gives boutiques room to find their people.

2️⃣ A culture that rewards specialization

U.S. investors actively seek differentiated shops.
Story, narrative, and edge matter here, especially for boutiques who know who they are.

3️⃣ A more open door for global perspectives

Many allocators want outside-the-U.S. ideas: new geographies, new frameworks, new edges.

Being non-U.S. is an advantage.

The wild part?

This opportunity has been in front of us the whole time... and I nearly missed it.

So now, we’re leaning in. 

👉 Did I get it? What else am I missing? What is in the way of US  distribution?

Then: 3 am wake-ups (weekly) to race meeting to meeting raising capital 

Now: 3 am wake-ups (rarely) to spend an entire day strategizing, planning, and training

Heading to Toronto to spend time with one of our newest clients and (my good friend) Greg Dean, CFA and the team at Langdon Equity Partners.

The last time I saw Greg was in London with a great group of boutique investment friends

This time I get to visit Greg's office  in Toronto and immerse myself in all things Langdon

📌 What does a day like this look like?

-- lead the team through a business planning session starting with their 10 BAGr (their 10 yr big audacious goal)
-- work backwards to a 3 yr vision 
-- then a 1 yr plan
-- then start breaking the 1 yr into quarterly goals

(sound like EOS a bit? yes v inspired by it!)

-- work with the team on comms training
-- how can biz dev run a powerful meeting with behavioral science as the base
-- how can the investment team build confidence in their role in the capital raising process

and then?

-- Practice in a safe space with friends and teammates 

bc if we can't do it there we will struggle to do it in a meeting

(and hopefully we will fall down a little bc if we aren't falling down we aren't trying hard enough ⚽)

-- Dinner and drinks for team building to round out an amazing day of hard work with some fun mixed in 

---

So. Back to the 3 am wake-up.
Is it worth it?

1000%

Helping boutique founders build the business they dreamed of... I will get up at any hour and run through any wall for that

I love my job ❤️

Look forward to seeing you all, Team Langdon. 

👉 What's 1 thing you do to have a great business strategy session?

6 little lies we tell ourselves as boutique fund managers


1. Investors will find me.

They are busy. They don't have time to search for you. 


2. It will only take 6 months to fundraise.

Double or triple expectations. 12 - 18 months average due diligence cycle. 


3. Large allocators will give us a small percentage.

They can't. It's not worth their time and energy to make 100s of small allocations. 


4. I can skip the marketing costs now and do it later.

If we don't market now, there may not be a later.


5. This cheap fix will last until I can replace it with something better. 

We get what we pay for. Cheap fixes break and then we have to fix them ... which is expensive. 


6. Once I hit $X, I will be able to relax. 

Bc markets move, bc clients need hand holding, bc people redeem, bc as high achievers we keep striving for more. 

👉 Which one of these hits hardest??

📌 I will be breaking 2 of these down for the next 3 weeks in beach walk and talks. 

Follow Stacy Havener and ring the bell 🔔 to get the 🎥🌊

I built a multimillion-dollar business while hiding behind an introvert curtain (and then I got stuck)

When I stepped out? We doubled.

And that’s when I realized something:

Being introverted isn’t the problem.

Staying hidden is.

For the first 10 years of our business, we had a strong reputation.
Referrals flowed.
Work was meaningful.

But I wasn’t building the business of my dreams.
I was building the business I could manage… quietly.

Eventually, we all face a choice if we want to level up our success (actually, three):

---

1️⃣ Create moments of extroversion

Not a new personality. Not a new identity.
Just intentional flashes of visibility.

-- Pick one platform and show up once a week. (hiya LinkedIn you game changer you)

-- Say yes to one stage a quarter - big or small. (webinars count)

-- Share one story about your why (not your credentials).

💡 Pro-tip: You may need a coach (I did and we can help you if you do)

This will drain your social battery so protect your energy before and after.

Small sparks can light an entire business.

---

2️⃣ Find someone who complements you - and leads from the front

This isn’t outsourcing your courage.
It’s assembling a business that can win.
It's unique ability teamwork.

-- A co-founder, partner, or teammate who enjoys being the face.

-- Someone who can amplify your story, deliver your message, while you focus on your craft.

A duo dynamic: your depth + their visibility = unfair advantage.

Introverts don’t always need extroversion. But then we do need collaboration.

💡Pro-tip: I did this one too. Hired a biz dev person and a personal brand manager. Game changed.


---

3️⃣ Stay hidden… and accept the ceiling that comes with it

This one is tough love.

-- We can be brilliant and invisible.

-- We can be respected and unknown.

-- We can be successful and stuck.


But we can’t scale a dream if no one ever sees us.


---

Our personal brand and story is the center point of our growth engine. Visibility is the ignition.

When I finally stepped into the light, everything changed.

👉 Got 1 tip for us to challenge our inner introvert to stop hiding?

=

+ If you are in finance or funds and want to know how LinkedIn can fuel your future growth, join our upcoming webinar on Dec 12th

https://lnkd.in/e5jvrARV


+ Anna Robinson pushed my personal brand forward. (and pulled me out of the shadows)

Forever grateful.

Maybe it's your turn now. ❤️

Growth unlocks hide in unlikely places. (This $1 billion backstory starts with a box in the garage.)

Check it:

$1 billion raised in 3 years.
For a new fund.
From a base of $1 million of the founder's own money.

No track record? 
No data?
No problem.

A new strategy and a new vehicle launched by an existing founder-led $4B hedge fund.

My mandate was the launch of this new fund and most of the firm was super skeptical about.

(like massive eye roll)

I wasn't. I was confident and I went right for the goods.

The founder's words.

A box of old letters
Commentaries over the years 

When I think back to my most successful capital raise, the thing that moved allocators wasn't the performance or the pitch deck.

It was decades of investor letters that were pulled into a collection.
Sitting in the founder's garage in a water logged box.
Yellowed pages.
Coffee stains.

The letters gave a glimpse:

-- Good times and bad times.
-- How they thought through the '08 crisis.
-- How they positioned when everyone else panicked.
-- What they saw that others missed.

The letters were gold.

Because here's what we forget:

Capital raising isn't about investing in numbers.
It's about investing in the people who generate those results.

How they think differently.
What they see that others don't.
What they do that others won't.

The allocators who took a chance on this new fund weren't buying a bulletproof process.
They were buying beautiful minds.

A way of thinking that had weathered decades.
A perspective that had been pressure-tested.
A voice that stayed consistent and edgy when markets went mad.

We spend so much time perfecting our pitch decks.
Polishing our performance charts.

But the real differentiator?

It's in how we think.
How we communicate that thinking.
How we've thought through problems over time.

That founder didn't just have returns.
He had receipts.

Proof of how his mind worked.
Evidence of his decision-making.
A paper trail of his principles.

And that's what moved the money.

Not the numbers.
The narrative behind them.

So before you update that deck for the 47th time
Before you add another shade of blue into the chart of those performance metrics 😘

Ask yourself:

Are you showing them the numbers
Or are you showing them the mind behind them? 

Because investors don't back businesses.
They back the brains that build them.
The people with the beautiful minds.
You. ❤️

👉 Do you think LinkedIn is collection of people's thoughts like a digital box of letters? 

=
+ Got words?

+ Join us Dec 12th to workshop how old letters and commentaries can fuel your growth flywheel.

+ (The gal in this pic is aces. Hint: it's not me )

Havener + Marmite. Behind the scenes with a client 

(and flowers to an allocator friend)

Marmite. You either love it or you hate it.

This is what my friend Simon Evan-Cook told me in one of our first chats. 

He explained that this is the type of fund managers he likes to see. People who have strong beliefs and high convictions and aren't afraid to attract and repel. 

Many of our fund clients at Havener are marmite.

One of them is British. 

He loves marmite. Specifically twiglets. 

(Stay with me bc this American girl was v lost too) 😂

So at one of our events a few years ago, Jonathan brought twiglets. 

And we made a video of a few of us tasting these bitter little snacks at the Castle Hill Inn Summit by the Sea.

I won't spoil the results of this experiment but I will say...

I get it. I get why Marmite is a good metaphor for managers who think differently and bravely. 

-- Whether you like Marmite or not, maybe you like managers who aren't afraid to take a stance and go against consensus. 

-- Maybe you think emerging markets are having a moment and want to hear from someone whose been investing in them for 20 years. 

If that's you, join me for a chat with Jonathan Binder next week. 

It will be fun. 

BYOM. (Bring your own marmite. Or gin as the case may be. No judgement here)

👉 Are you thumbs up or down on Marmite? Twiglets? 

💐 To our great allocator friends and clients. You remind me why I love my job. ❤️

🎥 video credit: Anna Robinson and cameo appearance by Arun Kaul

=
+ Join Jonathan Binder and me for a chat on frontier emerging markets on Dec 10 at 1 pm EST

+ Register: https://acesse.one/XFmQ5

Want to create urgency in your sales funnel? 
(Steal this framework.)

It's based on the age old classic sales narrative from a Harvard professor of the drill and the hole in the wall. 

First, let's back up. 

A well-crafted narrative moves people to do something.

But before people will do something they need to feel something. 

So to catalyze people on our funnel to take action, we need to make them feel something first. 

Framework: What How Why 

What is the product or service
How is the action it delivers
Why is the result it creates

Get clear on that for your target client

Then

Invert it

For maximum impact

Urgency comes from the feeling we create. 

Hearmenow: The. Feeling.

(yes, even in investment biz dev we all up in the feelings here my friends)

-- We don't buy a drill
-- We don't even buy the hole in the wall 
-- We buy the peaceful beautiful feeling we have from the art we hang on said wall

Feel something => Do something

👉 How else can we tap into feelings in sales and biz dev??  

Breaking it down at the beach 
🎥🌊🙌

---
Art of storytelling +
Science of human behavior =
New Playbook Success

6 warning signs of a toxic fund manager / sales relationship

(If this relationship is broken, your growth will be too.)


1. When performance is strong, fund mgr takes credit for asset raising success. When performance lags, fund mgr blames sales for not closing deals.


2. Sales manages the relationship, sets up the meeting, knows the prospect... but fund mgr doesn't let sales run the meeting. The meeting is the fund mgrs show.  


3. Sales respects (even admires) fund manager. That feeling is not mutual. 


4. Fund manager expectations of sales are not realistic. Never enough money, never fast enough.


5. Fund manager is annoyed by sales' requests for prospect meetings and also angry deals aren't closing.


6. When a deal closes, fund manager doesn't say thank you or celebrate sales success.

---

The truth?

If fund managers and sales teams don’t communicate, collaborate, and respect each other, they won't close deals together either.

But when you fix the relationship, you unlock:

Better meetings

Faster cycles

More conversions

Stronger culture


All things allocators feel immediately by the way.


👉 Which of these hits hardest? got any adds?

---

📌This hit close to home? You aren't alone.

We help teams bridge this exact gap with communication & collaboration training built for boutique asset managers.

Send me a DM. (always confidential)

6 slides you need in your fund pitchbook

Go for these 6 in a total <15.
Not 26.
Not 40.

Also not 15 plus an Appendix that has another 30 pages in it.

(saw you trying to sneak that in there 😘)

If we can’t win belief in 15 slides, more slides won’t save us.

Here’s the list of the critical 6 👇

1️⃣ The Why Slide

Why this fund exists

Why the world needs (another and specifically) this strategy

Why now 


2️⃣ The Problem Slide

What’s broken in the market

What peers/other funds may be underestimating or mispricing

What allocators my be underexposed to


3️⃣ The Edge Slide

What we do differently (for real tho, insert truism test)

Why that difference matters

Why it’s hard to replicate


4️⃣ The Team Slide

Why we are the ones to do this

Relevant scars, not just resumes (and please no cumulative years)

Something interesting bc bullet point bios are typically boring


5️⃣ The Proof Slides 
(there will probs be a couple of these in the 15)

Process, discipline, decision-making (3 repeatable points per)

Evidence that the edge shows up in exposures and results

Performance, alpha (yes, of course)


6️⃣ The Business Slide

What kind of partner we are (demographics and psychographics)

How allocators succeed with us

The future firm we’re building together (and our staying power to get there)

---

If these six slides are there (and are powerful) we have context and depth to guide our conversation. 

Conversations > presentations. 

📌 What slides do you love to see in a pitchdeck?

=
If 2026 is the year you finally redo your fund pitchbook

(not to add more pages, but to sharpen edges and tell a powerful story)

We’re here when you’re ready. 🙌

1 move has 3Xd quality and quantity of prospect meetings for our clients
(Do it from your desk)

(Literally "from the desk of..." is the vibe)

1/ Prep before we play

- Tier your funnel
- Identify your faves
- Regardless of stage
- Your A Team like 20ish 

Faves = prospects you would *love* to have as clients

Like run thru a wall to have them bc they are ideal clients for you

(ideal doesn't just mean big $$$ aum btw)

2/ In addition to your newsletter that goes to everyone on the funnel and distribution list

Fund managers write a custom note ad hoc to Tier 1 prospects

3/ "From the desk of" 
As in it is sent by the fund manager (not the salesperson)

-- Thoughts on the market
-- Updates on a position 
-- Developments on the biz side

Think of what you would write to your internal team

Adapt it for Tier 1 prospects externally 

Do this with no ask of them
It's a give 💐

4/ When you're ready to build a trip, reach out to them as anchor meetings.

Watch your meeting calendar fill with meetings so good you'd drag your suitcase down the street in the snow for 'em 

🙌

💡 Why does it work?
Science of human behavior

People like to feel special

We have a fundamental need to feel valued and unique

And in typical sales that's watered down mass everything (even more so with AI) human-first actions like this stand out.

👉 I am not saying AI isn't cool, but outsourcing the special bits is a mistake. Feel me?

=

PS these are the types of campaigns we create for clients to help them get more meetings with better prospects

and then we help close em

if you like more better meetings, call us ☎️

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