Arrow Partners has stringent criteria for selecting new managers with whom we would like to work.

Why? In a word: experience.

Since we founded Arrow Partners in 1995, we have had our share of ups and downs. Lucky for us, we’ve seen more ups than downs. The key has always been to document our successes and failures in order to make the good even better, and avoid the bad altogether.

In our experience, the bad almost always has its roots in poor manager selection on our part.

Characteristics of a “bad fit” include:

• Managers who insist on short-term contracts. It means they fundamentally don’t understand, and have proven resistant to wanting to understand, the nature of marketing and sales in the industry.

• Insistence that assets will follow performance. While stories of wildly successful managers who did nothing other than let the product speak for itself are certainly compelling, those instances are not the norm. Our experience proves that in most cases a manager will need to make the case for their process and philosophy.

• Reluctance and tepidness. There are always reasons to delay. We want proactive, if not aggressive, managers working with us. Our best clients are confident about their business and thoughtful about the sales and marketing process.

• Grandiose claims of sales acumen and the firm’s capabilities. If they were accurate, then our services wouldn’t be needed. Such optimism suggests the manager isn’t leveling with us, or has a distorted view of his/her firm that could short-circuit our efforts.

• When the manager demands sole control over the firm’s “story.” We need to create a unified marketing and sales strategy. The narrative is a core part of that theory, and thus we must have input.

Criteria for selecting new managers
For assessing the compatibility of investment managers with our business, Arrow Partners has developed a 4-part “Investment Manager Selection Criteria Scorecard”:

• People & Organization
• Product & Strategy
• Investment Process
• Terms & Conditions.

Follow this link for a PDF of Arrow Partners’ Investment Manager Selection Criteria Scorecard.

If you would like to know more about partnering with Arrow Partners, contact us.