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Private Equity Marketing Specialists


About

Exploring this Job

There are many ways to learn about marketing and private equity. One way to obtain hands-on experience is to create a marketing campaign for a made-up product, or even a PE fund, and then pitch it to your friends or family. Ask your business teacher for some tips on creating an effective marketing strategy. You can also talk with marketing professionals about their careers. Almost every organization has some sort of marketing department or position, so a quick survey of your friends and family will probably allow you to identify a marketing contact that you can interview. LinkedIn is also a good place to find potential information interviewees. Following groups such as Hedge Fund, Private Equity & Alternative Investments Sales, Marketing & Investor Relations Group will introduce you to the PE industry and provide some interview leads.

If you’re in college, consider attending the American Marketing Association (AMA) International Collegiate Conference to participate in professional development opportunities, competitions, and networking events. You can meet with potential employers to ask questions about a career in marketing. Visit https://www.ama.org/events/conference/2020-ama-international-collegiate-conference for more information.

The Job

Successful private equity firms are known for providing strong returns for their limited partners (and healthy profits for partners). But with many PE firms generating strong returns these days, competition for investment funds is increasing. A positive message about the firm’s track record, managing partners, and available funds provides PE firms an edge over their competitors. As a result, marketing specialists are playing an increasingly important role as they help PE firms convey this information to potential and current investors (e.g., high-wealth individuals, funds of funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and family offices).  

Duties vary for marketing specialists by the size of the firm and other factors, but most have the following responsibilities: 

  • creating, managing, and coordinating private placement memoranda that provide details on the fund’s investment strategy, investment team, and track record for current and potential investors
  • preparing pitch books in order to pre-market future funds
  • writing and promoting press releases, annual reports, and other types of communication
  • acting as the organization’s representative with the media
  • designing and updating the firm’s Web site and social media channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.), as well as implementing strategies to drive traffic to these sites via search engine optimization and other approaches
  • creating password-protected data rooms (website portals) for prospective investors that list investments made by predecessor funds, audited financial statements of predecessor funds, and other due diligence–related content
  • creating video case studies of the firm’s investments and successful exits
  • creating and managing databases of current and potential investors and using customer relationship management software to interact with these groups
  • serving as the liaison between the marketing department and the investor relations department and investment team to create a unified and focused marketing strategy
  • continuously performing market research on the private equity industry (including the firm’s competitors) in order to develop and execute new marketing strategies that help their employer stay competitive
  • serving as a member of their firm’s strategic initiatives steering committee
  • developing short- and long-term plans and budgets for the marketing department