Edinburgh Fund Managers has garnered a significant US equity brief for an initial $10m (e11.1m), set to rise to $50m by the year end, after European consultant UNICO, a representative of European family offices, widened its manager selection net via a search on the IPE-QUEST mandate match website.
UNICO appointed Edinburgh to the brief – a US equity sub fund for a client’s Luxembourg Sicav - after the fund manager sent out a three strong team to pitch to the client on the back of the IPE-Quest link-up.
Jackie Noble at Edinburgh Fund Managers, comments: “We would not have heard of the opportunity any other way. The cost of marketing in these markets is high.
“ When this client contacted us after we submitted the website’s template and the request for proposal (RFP), we were so sure of their interest that we sent the deputy chief investment officer and the head of the US desk alongside the head of European sales – a far stronger team than we would normally send.”
A spokesperson for UNICO, comments: “We think IPE-Quest is perfect. We have been in this business for some time working with our partners and using our networks.
“IPE-QUEST has been very valuable in adding to the information from these sources and we will use it for further manager searches. The trend is going towards specialist rather than global mandates, so it is very valuable to have names appear that you do not know.
“Using the service for the first time and selecting one of the managers on the list is a pretty good strike rate.”