Investor and Consultant Survey: Investment Management Best Practices

Survey time to complete: ≈10 minutes

This survey is completely anonymous. We will not share any identifying information unless you voluntarily choose to provide and disclose it.

Thank you for your time.

Screener/firmographics

Question Title

1. Which best describes your organization? (Required.)

Public pension

Corporate pension

Endowment

Foundation

Investment consultant

OCIO

RIA or wealth manager

Private bank

Single-family office

Multi-family office

Fund-of-funds

Insurance general account

Sovereign wealth fund

Healthcare system

Union of Taft-Hartley plan

Other

Other (please specify)

Question Title

2. Approximate assets your organization manages or advises on (Required.)

Under $500M

$500M–$2B

$2B–$10B

$10B–$50B

$50B-$100B

Over $100B

Question Title

3. Years working in institutional investing (Required.)

Under 5 years

5-10 years

11-20 years

Over 20 years

Question Title

4. Roughly how many manager meetings or calls do you take a month? (Required.)

Fewer than 10

10-20

21-30

More than 30

Survey Questions

Question Title

1. List the top 3 reasons that influence your decision to invest — select exactly 3 (Required.)

Experience of the team

Alignment of interests (meaningful GP/principal commitment)

Trust / existing relationship with the team

Strong track record / past performance

Cash yield / current income / distributions

Fits a specific allocation or fills a portfolio gap

Low correlation / diversification benefit

Downside protection or risk reducing

Differentiated strategy, edge, or access I can't get elsewhere

Attractive terms (fees, structure, liquidity)

Referral or recommendation from someone I trust

Other (please specify)

Question Title

2. Please rank the following manager traits (1 being the least important & 5 being the most important) (Required.)

	1	2	3	4	5
Reliability, Integrity and honesty (doing what they say they will)	Reliability, Integrity and honesty (doing what they say they will) 1	Reliability, Integrity and honesty (doing what they say they will) 2	Reliability, Integrity and honesty (doing what they say they will) 3	Reliability, Integrity and honesty (doing what they say they will) 4	Reliability, Integrity and honesty (doing what they say they will) 5
Responsiveness, Transparency and open communication	Responsiveness, Transparency and open communication 1	Responsiveness, Transparency and open communication 2	Responsiveness, Transparency and open communication 3	Responsiveness, Transparency and open communication 4	Responsiveness, Transparency and open communication 5
Perceived expertise and competence	Perceived expertise and competence 1	Perceived expertise and competence 2	Perceived expertise and competence 3	Perceived expertise and competence 4	Perceived expertise and competence 5
Humility	Humility 1	Humility 2	Humility 3	Humility 4	Humility 5
Work-Ethic/Competitiveness	Work-Ethic/Competitiveness 1	Work-Ethic/Competitiveness 2	Work-Ethic/Competitiveness 3	Work-Ethic/Competitiveness 4	Work-Ethic/Competitiveness 5
Long-Term Thinking	Long-Term Thinking 1	Long-Term Thinking 2	Long-Term Thinking 3	Long-Term Thinking 4	Long-Term Thinking 5

Question Title

3. Pick the top 3 things you want to understand after a first meeting? (Required.)

Firm and team

Investment process (education) and edge/alpha

Strategy and market view

Prior deals, track record and attribution

Timing & Fundraising

Other products or future plans

Learning more about our organization or my portfolio needs

Answering my questions

Question Title

4. Thinking about manager meetings over the past year, how often does each of the following happen? (Required.)

	All the time	Most of the time	Some of the time	Hardly ever	Never
The manager spends too much time talking relative to listening	The manager spends too much time talking relative to listening All the time	The manager spends too much time talking relative to listening Most of the time	The manager spends too much time talking relative to listening Some of the time	The manager spends too much time talking relative to listening Hardly ever	The manager spends too much time talking relative to listening Never
The manager asks a question about our organization	The manager asks a question about our organization All the time	The manager asks a question about our organization Most of the time	The manager asks a question about our organization Some of the time	The manager asks a question about our organization Hardly ever	The manager asks a question about our organization Never

Question Title

5. Which of these do managers most often get wrong about your organization? (select all that apply) (Required.)

Our asset class mandate

The check size we can write

Our approval process

Our timeline and commitment cadence

Our existing exposure

Who the decision-maker is

Whether we use a consultant

Whether we can invest in first-time funds

Restrictions we have

Nothing — they generally get it right

Question Title

6. What is the right length for first-meeting presentation materials? (Required.)

10 pages of fewer

11-15 pages

16-25 pages

26-40 pages

More than 40 pages

Question Title

7. Given the same content, which would you prefer? (Required.)

One 32-page document

Series of standalone 4-page pieces

No preference

Question Title

8. Would you like to see a "Key Takeaways" or TL;DR at the top of information that is sent to you by Funds/Managers? (Required.)

Yes

Depends on the document type

If yes, why? *optional*

Question Title

9. How valuable is each of the following from a manager? (Required.)

	Actively unwelcome	Noise	Neutral	Useful	Essential
Quarterly letter	Quarterly letter Actively unwelcome	Quarterly letter Noise	Quarterly letter Neutral	Quarterly letter Useful	Quarterly letter Essential
Monthly performance update	Monthly performance update Actively unwelcome	Monthly performance update Noise	Monthly performance update Neutral	Monthly performance update Useful	Monthly performance update Essential
Market or macro commentary	Market or macro commentary Actively unwelcome	Market or macro commentary Noise	Market or macro commentary Neutral	Market or macro commentary Useful	Market or macro commentary Essential
Research or white papers	Research or white papers Actively unwelcome	Research or white papers Noise	Research or white papers Neutral	Research or white papers Useful	Research or white papers Essential
Individual investment case studies	Individual investment case studies Actively unwelcome	Individual investment case studies Noise	Individual investment case studies Neutral	Individual investment case studies Useful	Individual investment case studies Essential
Firm, portfolio or personnel news	Firm, portfolio or personnel news Actively unwelcome	Firm, portfolio or personnel news Noise	Firm, portfolio or personnel news Neutral	Firm, portfolio or personnel news Useful	Firm, portfolio or personnel news Essential
Educational primers	Educational primers Actively unwelcome	Educational primers Noise	Educational primers Neutral	Educational primers Useful	Educational primers Essential
Video or audio updates	Video or audio updates Actively unwelcome	Video or audio updates Noise	Video or audio updates Neutral	Video or audio updates Useful	Video or audio updates Essential
Webinars	Webinars Actively unwelcome	Webinars Noise	Webinars Neutral	Webinars Useful	Webinars Essential

Question Title

10. Approximately how many emails do you receive from managers or prospective managers in a typical week? (Required.)

Fewer than 10

10-25

26-50

51-100

101-200

More than 200

Question Title

11. After you have not responded to a manager, how many follow-up messages are reasonable before it becomes intrusive/annoying? (Required.)

	None — silence is an answer	One	Two	Three	Four or more
E-mail	E-mail None — silence is an answer	E-mail One	E-mail Two	E-mail Three	E-mail Four or more
Phone	Phone None — silence is an answer	Phone One	Phone Two	Phone Three	Phone Four or more

Question Title

12. Which of these have you experienced from a manager in the past twelve months? (select all that apply) (Required.)

Contacted after I had already declined

Added to a distribution list without being asked

A deadline or urgency claim I did not believe

Contact at a personal email or mobile number

A claimed mutual contact who did not actually know them

Being pitched a strategy we do not invest in

None of these

Question Title

13. How many separate manager or fund portals do you currently hold login credentials for? (Required.)

None

1-5

6-10

More than 10

I have lost count

Question Title

14. If you needed a specific document a manager sent you six months ago, how long would it take to find? (Required.)

Under a minute

A few minutes

Fifteen minutes or more

I would ask the manager to resend it

I would assume it is gone

Question Title

15. How often have you declined or deprioritized a manager you considered otherwise qualified, primarily because of how they communicated or behaved rather than performance, strategy or terms? (Required.)

Often

A few times

Hardly ever

Never

Question Title

16. What are the top 3 presentation practices erode credibility in a manager? (Required.)

Taking credit for gains but attributing losses to external factors

Ambiguity about whether returns are net- or gross

Unlabeled or cherry-picked benchmarks

Truncated or selectively chosen time periods

Write-offs or prior strategies excluded from the track record

"Representative" deals rather than all deals

Attribution to team members who have departed

Unexplained adjusted or pro-forma figures

Hidden reasons for performance, i.e., leverage

Question Title

17. Over your career, how often has each of the following happened? (Required.)

	Often	A few times	Hardly ever	Never
I learned material news about a manager from a third party before hearing it from them	I learned material news about a manager from a third party before hearing it from them Often	I learned material news about a manager from a third party before hearing it from them A few times	I learned material news about a manager from a third party before hearing it from them Hardly ever	I learned material news about a manager from a third party before hearing it from them Never
A manager made me feel unsophisticated for asking a question	A manager made me feel unsophisticated for asking a question Often	A manager made me feel unsophisticated for asking a question A few times	A manager made me feel unsophisticated for asking a question Hardly ever	A manager made me feel unsophisticated for asking a question Never
I chose not to ask a question because it was not worth the friction	I chose not to ask a question because it was not worth the friction Often	I chose not to ask a question because it was not worth the friction A few times	I chose not to ask a question because it was not worth the friction Hardly ever	I chose not to ask a question because it was not worth the friction Never
A manager asked me how they were doing as a partner	A manager asked me how they were doing as a partner Often	A manager asked me how they were doing as a partner A few times	A manager asked me how they were doing as a partner Hardly ever	A manager asked me how they were doing as a partner Never

Question Title

18. How often is the wrong person in the room, for example, IR with no investment decision-maker present? (Required.)

Often

Sometimes

Hardly ever

Question Title

19. Do you prefer a structured presentation or an open conversation? (Required.)

Structured

Open Conversation

Question Title

20. Is it reasonable to expect a manager to have read the information on your website (or other public information about you) before the first meeting? (Required.)

Yes

Question Title

21. Have you received follow-ups that made clear the manager had not listened in your meeting? (Required.)

Yes

Question Title

22. Which is the more common failure — managers who hide problems, or managers who over-explain them? (Required.)

Hide

Over-explain

Question Title

23. Would a read-time label change whether you open something? (Required.)

Yes

Question Title

24. Should managers explain what they are not good at? (Required.)

Yes

Question Title

25. Attribution preference (Required.)

A. I am willing to be quoted by name and organization

B. Quoted anonymously with a descriptor — e.g. "a $10B public pension"

C. Quoted by organization type only

D. Not quoted at all

If yes to A or B, please fill in information here:

Question Title

26. Would you like the report when published? (Required.)

Yes

Question Title

27. Would you be willing to do a more in-depth interview? (Required.)

Yes

Question Title

28. Would you like to be added to the LP Loop Allocator’s Circle Newsletter and receive updates, insights, and news from LP Loop? (Required.)

Yes

Investor and Consultant Survey: Investment Management Best Practices

Survey time to complete: ≈10 minutes

Question Title

* 1. Which best describes your organization? (Required.)

Question Title

* 2. Approximate assets your organization manages or advises on (Required.)

Question Title

* 3. Years working in institutional investing (Required.)

Question Title

* 4. Roughly how many manager meetings or calls do you take a month? (Required.)

Question Title

* 1. List the top 3 reasons that influence your decision to invest — *select exactly 3* (Required.)

Question Title

* 2. Please rank the following manager traits (1 being the least important & 5 being the most important) (Required.)

Question Title

* 3. Pick the top 3 things you want to understand after a first meeting? (Required.)

Question Title

* 4. Thinking about manager meetings over the past year, how often does each of the following happen? (Required.)

Question Title

* 5. Which of these do managers most often get wrong about your organization? (select all that apply) (Required.)

Question Title

* 6. What is the right length for first-meeting presentation materials? (Required.)

Question Title

* 7. Given the same content, which would you prefer? (Required.)

Question Title

* 8. Would you like to see a "Key Takeaways" or TL;DR at the top of information that is sent to you by Funds/Managers? (Required.)

Question Title

* 9. How valuable is each of the following from a manager? (Required.)

Question Title

* 10. Approximately how many emails do you receive from managers or prospective managers in a typical week? (Required.)

Question Title

* 11. After you have not responded to a manager, how many follow-up messages are reasonable before it becomes intrusive/annoying? (Required.)

Question Title

* 12. Which of these have you experienced from a manager in the past twelve months? (select all that apply) (Required.)

Question Title

* 13. How many separate manager or fund portals do you currently hold login credentials for? (Required.)

Question Title

* 14. If you needed a specific document a manager sent you six months ago, how long would it take to find? (Required.)

Question Title

* 15. How often have you declined or deprioritized a manager you considered otherwise qualified, primarily because of how they communicated or behaved rather than performance, strategy or terms? (Required.)

Question Title

* 16. What are the top 3 presentation practices erode credibility in a manager? (Required.)

Question Title

* 17. Over your career, how often has each of the following happened? (Required.)

Question Title

* 18. How often is the wrong person in the room, for example, IR with no investment decision-maker present? (Required.)

Question Title

* 19. Do you prefer a structured presentation or an open conversation? (Required.)

Question Title

* 20. Is it reasonable to expect a manager to have read the information on your website (or other public information about you) before the first meeting? (Required.)

Question Title

* 21. Have you received follow-ups that made clear the manager had not listened in your meeting? (Required.)

Question Title

* 22. Which is the more common failure — managers who hide problems, or managers who over-explain them? (Required.)

Question Title

* 23. Would a read-time label change whether you open something? (Required.)

Question Title

* 24. Should managers explain what they are not good at? (Required.)

Question Title

* 25. Attribution preference (Required.)

Question Title

* 26. Would you like the report when published? (Required.)

Question Title

* 27. Would you be willing to do a more in-depth interview? (Required.)

Question Title

* 28. Would you like to be added to the LP Loop Allocator’s Circle Newsletter and receive updates, insights, and news from LP Loop? (Required.)

Question Title

* If you answered "Yes" to questions 25-28 please enter your e-mail address here:

1. Which best describes your organization? (Required.)

2. Approximate assets your organization manages or advises on (Required.)

3. Years working in institutional investing (Required.)

4. Roughly how many manager meetings or calls do you take a month? (Required.)

1. List the top 3 reasons that influence your decision to invest — select exactly 3 (Required.)

2. Please rank the following manager traits (1 being the least important & 5 being the most important) (Required.)

3. Pick the top 3 things you want to understand after a first meeting? (Required.)

4. Thinking about manager meetings over the past year, how often does each of the following happen? (Required.)

5. Which of these do managers most often get wrong about your organization? (select all that apply) (Required.)

6. What is the right length for first-meeting presentation materials? (Required.)

7. Given the same content, which would you prefer? (Required.)

8. Would you like to see a "Key Takeaways" or TL;DR at the top of information that is sent to you by Funds/Managers? (Required.)

9. How valuable is each of the following from a manager? (Required.)

10. Approximately how many emails do you receive from managers or prospective managers in a typical week? (Required.)

11. After you have not responded to a manager, how many follow-up messages are reasonable before it becomes intrusive/annoying? (Required.)

12. Which of these have you experienced from a manager in the past twelve months? (select all that apply) (Required.)

13. How many separate manager or fund portals do you currently hold login credentials for? (Required.)

14. If you needed a specific document a manager sent you six months ago, how long would it take to find? (Required.)

15. How often have you declined or deprioritized a manager you considered otherwise qualified, primarily because of how they communicated or behaved rather than performance, strategy or terms? (Required.)

16. What are the top 3 presentation practices erode credibility in a manager? (Required.)

17. Over your career, how often has each of the following happened? (Required.)

18. How often is the wrong person in the room, for example, IR with no investment decision-maker present? (Required.)

19. Do you prefer a structured presentation or an open conversation? (Required.)

20. Is it reasonable to expect a manager to have read the information on your website (or other public information about you) before the first meeting? (Required.)

21. Have you received follow-ups that made clear the manager had not listened in your meeting? (Required.)

22. Which is the more common failure — managers who hide problems, or managers who over-explain them? (Required.)

23. Would a read-time label change whether you open something? (Required.)

24. Should managers explain what they are not good at? (Required.)

25. Attribution preference (Required.)

26. Would you like the report when published? (Required.)

27. Would you be willing to do a more in-depth interview? (Required.)

28. Would you like to be added to the LP Loop Allocator’s Circle Newsletter and receive updates, insights, and news from LP Loop? (Required.)

If you answered "Yes" to questions 25-28 please enter your e-mail address here: