All Things Fundraising

We cover job changes across the wealth management, insurance, and institutional investment space, including moves at Deutsche Bank AG, Avantis Investors, and Chubb National Insurance Company. On the RIA/M&A front, we highlight an advisor trio's move from Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network to launch independent RIA Pelorus Capital Management, plus a new independent RIA launch in Bethesda, MD. We also share updates on commitments from the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, and the Rhode Island State Pension. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma and the Falmouth Retirement System. We also cover fundraising from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, Taiwania Hive Ventures, and Mamor Capital Ventures — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

Master sales with four game-changing principles: Focus on what matters, target the right people, craft the perfect pitch, and follow up like a pro. Packed with actionable tips, this guide helps you turn meetings into deals—fast! 💼🔥

What's the real difference between an API and an MCP connector — and which one is right for your team? In this Dakota Marketplace product webinar, Pat Tighe (Head of Product) and Rob Robertson (President) sit down with CTO Priya Stanley to break down how each technology works, when to use conversational MCP access versus bulk API pulls, real customer use cases across CRM and BI workflows, data security and compliance considerations, and a live walkthrough of the Dakota API portal and playground. Whether you're evaluating AI-driven data access or building custom integrations, this episode covers everything you need to know. 

We cover job changes across the endowment, pension, and family office space, including moves at Brandeis University Endowment, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, and Georgia Tech Foundation. On the RIA/M&A front, we highlight Wealth Enhancement's acquisition of Cloud Investments, an advisor duo's move from Cetera to LPL, and a new independent RIA launch in Durham, NC. We also share updates on commitments from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, the Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association, and the District of Columbia Retirement Board. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Marin County Employees Retirement Association, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and the Illinois Police Officers Pension Fund. We also cover fundraising from KKR, HiDream.ai, and Ábaco Technologies — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

In Episode 46 of the Emerging Manager Growth Show, Gui Costin is joined by Dakota President Rob Robertson to break down how emerging managers can do more with less. They cover the fundamentals: running a consistent quarterly webinar, structuring cold outreach to keep five cities active on the calendar, and warming up cold emails through research. They also discuss lesser-used channels like bank platforms and funds of funds, why RIAs and family offices should be the first call, and how pairing a CRM with AI-generated meeting notes creates outsized leverage. They close with tips on building a personal brand on LinkedIn.

Welcome to the Dakota Events Playbook — a new series on how Dakota builds the in-person events (Dakota Cocktails, Dakota Conferences, and Data Summits) that drive real relationships with investors and allocators.In this first episode, Dakota's two in-house events experts, Catherine and Dominique, break down the roadblocks that keep firms from ever getting an event off the ground:Answering "who, what, when, where, and why" before anything elseWhy too many opinions and approval layers kill momentumStarting small instead of chasing a big vision from day oneSetting a per-head budget that creates freedom, not restrictionDeciding who from the team actually attendsWhy no event is perfect — and how a strong team handles it when things go wrongPractical, hard-won lessons from a team that's run 30+ events a year for five years running.

We cover job changes across the endowment, pension, and family office space, including moves at Brandeis University Endowment, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, and Georgia Tech Foundation. On the RIA/M&A front, we highlight Wealth Enhancement's acquisition of Cloud Investments, an advisor duo's move from Cetera to LPL, and a new independent RIA launch in Durham, NC. We also share updates on commitments from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, the Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association, and the District of Columbia Retirement Board. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Marin County Employees Retirement Association, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and the Illinois Police Officers Pension Fund. We also cover fundraising from KKR, HiDream.ai, and Ábaco Technologies — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

We cover new RIA launches as well as RIA M&A activity, including OneDigital's acquisition of Rosenthal Wealth Management Group and LPL's full acquisition of Good Life Advisors, plus Moors & Cabot's addition of the Coker & Palmer team. We also share updates on commitments from the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System, the Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System, and the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System, the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System, and the Medford Contributory Retirement System. We also cover fundraising from Hines, Ant International, and Augustus — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

In this episode of Dakota Insights, Chris and Alex unpack GP stakes investing — buying minority equity interests in the management companies that run alternative asset funds, rather than in the funds themselves, and what that means for both allocators and fund managers.They cover how a typical deal is structured (10–30% stakes, priced at 10–15x management company EBITDA), the market's evolution from Petershill and Dyal's early days through Blue Owl's rise to a $75 billion platform, and why the center of gravity has shifted decisively toward middle-market managers since 2022. They walk through why GPs actually sell — founder liquidity, succession planning, platform capitalization — and why LPs have piled in, including a performance comparison where Blue Owl's GP Stakes Fund III posted a 3.00x net MoIC and 21.6% net IRR with no J-curve, beating traditional PE benchmarks.They also dig into the wealth channel's first entry into the strategy through semi-liquid and tokenized evergreen vehicles, the adjacent GP seeding strategy and where the line between the two has blurred, and the live open question hanging over the market: how 2016–2020 vintage put rights will resolve as they begin to vest for the first time.

Master sales with four game-changing principles: Focus on what matters, target the right people, craft the perfect pitch, and follow up like a pro. Packed with actionable tips, this guide helps you turn meetings into deals—fast! 💼🔥

In this episode of the Dakota Insights Manager Interview Series, hosts Chris LeRoy and Alex DeMarco sit down with Stephen Otter, Managing Director and Global Head of Private Markets Royalties at Partners Group. Otter traces his career from energy M&A in London to energy royalties in Switzerland, before joining the Partners Group founders' family office in 2021 to build a cross-sector royalties strategy from scratch. In early 2024, that strategy was formally adopted as Partners Group's fifth asset class — the first new asset class the firm has launched in nearly 20 years — and has since grown to $2 billion AUM.Otter opens with a foundational explanation of what a royalty actually is: a contractual percentage of revenue generated from day-to-day consumption of assets the investor owns but does not operate. Rather than funding costs or managing operations, royalty investors hold the underlying IP — copyrights, patents, license agreements, land title, or subsurface rights — and receive revenue participation from a third-party operator. Because they bear no cost exposure, royalty investors are insulated from cost inflation and benefit directly when pricing increases.What distinguishes Partners Group's approach is its cross-sector construction. Every prior royalty strategy focused on a single sector — music, healthcare, or energy. Partners Group is the only private markets manager to treat royalties as a standalone asset class spanning three core sectors: healthcare and life sciences (post-FDA approved products only), entertainment (music, film and TV, video gaming, books, YouTube, brands, and sports), and energy transition (US natural gas, green metals, carbon, and water). Because there is no meaningful correlation between a music royalty, a pharmaceutical royalty, and a gas royalty, the blended portfolio carries very low correlation to equities, credit, or infrastructure.The strategy deploys capital through three transaction types: buying existing royalty streams, lending against royalties secured by the revenue stream, and creating new royalties by providing upfront capital in exchange for a negotiated revenue share. On a trailing twelve-month basis, the split has been approximately 40–45% buying, 30–35% lending, and 10–15% creation. Each transaction type carries a different risk-return profile, and the combination helps further stabilize portfolio-level outcomes.Return targets are built on a conservative underwriting discipline: every investment must generate low-to-mid-teen returns on a buy-and-hold basis, with exits priced as upside only. The strategy targets net returns of 8–10% with a 4–6% annual yield distribution. In seven years of operation, the portfolio has recorded only two negative quarters. Three recent exits have come in at IRRs ranging from approximately 25% to over 40%.Otter closes by making the case for the evergreen structure as the natural home for royalties. Closed-ended funds force premature sales; listed structures reintroduce public equity correlation. An evergreen vehicle matches the long-dated duration of royalty assets, supports the diversification required across 20–30 investments per year, and allows consistent yield distribution without dependence on exit timing — precisely the characteristics that make royalties a compelling portfolio stabilizer.

In Episode 45 of the Emerging Manager Growth Show, Gui Costin and Tim Dolan focus on family offices as an increasingly accessible channel for emerging managers. They trace the channel's growth to 15 years of private equity, private credit, and alternatives expansion, which has produced a wave of first-generation family offices run more like RIAs, actively seeking deal flow and new managers. Gui and Tim also walk through Dakota's core operating model: city scheduling against RIAs and family offices, the quarterly webinar as free brand-building, and CRM discipline powered by Claude for meeting notes. A key insight: family offices don't compete for capital, making the channel unusually referral-friendly for consistent managers.

We cover new RIA launches as well as RIA breakaways, including the departure of Michael "Mike" Ellis from Sowell Management to launch Ellis Wealth Advisors, and Apella Wealth's split from Symmetry Partners following an ownership change. We also share updates on commitments from the Los Angeles Water & Power Employees' Retirement Plan and the Texas County & District Retirement System. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Denver Employees Retirement Plan and South Korea's National Pension Service. We also cover fundraising from CVC Capital Partners, Proxima Fusion, and Csquare — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

In this episode of the Dakota Insights Interview Series, hosts Chris Leroy and Alex DeMarco sit down with Marius Vigantis and Richard Banks, founding partners of Soling Partners, a boutique advisory firm focused exclusively on the Middle East. Together, Marius and Richard bring over 50 years of combined experience in the region, and they walk through everything a fund manager needs to know before engaging the Gulf — from how to think about the allocator landscape to the patience and partnership required to succeed.Marius founded Soling in 2015 after a decade at Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, and three years with HH Mohammed bin Rashid's Executive Office in Dubai. Richard joined in 2016, bringing deep expertise in financial communications and business development across MENA built over 30 years. Today, Soling advises 15 clients managing roughly $4 trillion in assets and has helped facilitate approximately $1.92 billion in capital out of the region.The conversation opens with a framework that any manager approaching the Middle East should internalize: the four engagement quadrants. These range from passive sovereigns investing into fund structures, to tailoring sovereigns like ADIA, Mubadala, and QIA that actively shape their capital partnerships, to pensions and family offices seeking operational relationships, to regional aggregator platforms that syndicate capital from a long tail of families. Understanding which quadrant a prospective allocator sits in is essential before the first conversation.From there, Marius and Richard make clear that the entire region operates on two foundational principles: partnership and patience. The GCC is a verbal, consensus-driven culture where trust is built through sustained dialogue over time — not a transactional market where a pitch deck closes a deal. The baseline engagement arc is two years, with two to three in-person visits required just to establish a relationship. Managers who treat the region as a quick capital raise and disappear when results don't come immediately risk reputational damage that is hard to undo.On the current environment, Richard notes that recent geopolitical events have created near-term drag — allocators who came into the year bullish are now largely in a holding pattern through the summer. Soling's advice to clients is to stay close through relationship management and be ready to re-engage aggressively in the autumn. The disruption is tactical, not structural.The discussion also covers what separates managers who crack the GCC from those who don't. The answer, consistently, is platform-level engagement. Managers who present their full suite of capabilities and align those capabilities with the region's economic diversification priorities — rather than leading with a single product — are the ones building real, lasting partnerships. Blue Owl, Blackstone, Apollo, and Brookfield are all cited as firms that have done this well.Finally, Marius and Richard address co-investment and GP stakes, now expected across virtually the entire allocator spectrum, and break down the nuances of Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, and Kuwait as distinct markets each requiring a tailored approach.

Master sales with four game-changing principles: Focus on what matters, target the right people, craft the perfect pitch, and follow up like a pro. Packed with actionable tips, this guide helps you turn meetings into deals—fast! 💼🔥

In this episode, we cover new RIA launches as well as RIA acquisitions, including the acquisition of Mill Creek Capital by Pathstone and the acquisition of Jackson Wealth Management by Carson Group. We also share updates on commitments from the Firefighters' Retirement System of Louisiana, Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System, and Monroe County Employees Retirement System. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Falmouth Retirement System, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Employees' Retirement System, and New York City Comptroller. We also cover fundraising from Argosy Strategic Partners, Blume Ventures, and AttoTude — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event. 

We cover new RIA launches as well as RIA acquisitions, including the acquisition of Mill Creek Capital by Pathstone and the acquisition of Jackson Wealth Management by Carson Group. We also share updates on commitments from the South Carolina RSIC, New York State Common Retirement Fund, and Chicago MWRD. On the search front, we highlight activity from Cook County Annuity and Benefit Fund, Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, and Boston Retirement System. We also cover fundraising from Benchmark Capital, Longship, and Supabase— plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

In Episode 44 of the Emerging Manager Growth Show, Gui Costin and Andrew O'Shea explore practical, high-leverage marketing tactics for small investment firms, covering where allocator capital is flowing — hedge funds, credit strategies, active ETFs, and private markets — heading into 2027. The episode focuses on content marketing consistency, from quarterly webinars as cost-effective brand-building tools to disciplined, a16z-style content strategies that compound into real pipeline over time. It closes with actionable advice on using AI tools like Claude and LinkedIn for professional copywriting and outreach, plus leveraging AI-powered call notes via Slack to transform every meeting into searchable institutional knowledge.

Master sales with four game-changing principles: Focus on what matters, target the right people, craft the perfect pitch, and follow up like a pro. Packed with actionable tips, this guide helps you turn meetings into deals—fast! 💼🔥

We cover new RIA launches as well as RIA acquisitions like the acquisition of Hoff Bujnoch & Associates by MCF Advisors, Sherpa Wealth Strategies by Wealth Enhancement, and Savant Wealth Management's two latest additions. We also share updates on commitments from Mass PRIM and the Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension System. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Cook County Annuity and Benefit Fund. We also cover fundraising from Fundamentum Frontier Advisors, Yolo Investments, and Régia Capital — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

In this episode of The Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Dan Amir, Managing Director of Investor Coverage at Crow Holdings, for a wide-ranging conversation on building a wealth distribution team, applying institutional rigor to the wealth channel, and leading a sales organization through a difficult fundraising environment.Dan grew up in New Jersey, spent the first 13 years of his career in New York at BNY Mellon and Morgan Stanley in relationship and distribution roles, and made the pilgrimage to Dallas in 2017 — pre-COVID, before it was cool to go south. He joined Crow Holdings, the Dallas-based real estate investment and development firm founded by Trammell Crow, which today operates a development platform across multifamily and industrial sectors in 20 offices nationwide and an investment management business spanning industrial, multifamily, manufactured housing, self-storage, retail, and student housing.Crow Holdings Capital started its partnership journey in the institutional world — foundations and endowments first, then pensions and sovereign wealth. Over the last six years, the trajectory of growth in private real estate has shifted decisively toward the individual wealth community, which is why Dan was hired to lead a dedicated wealth coverage effort. His team of four (going to five) is structured geographically rather than channelized, with deliberate diversity of backgrounds — RIA, wirehouse, and non-linear distribution paths — to create overlap with how RIAs, wirehouses, and private banks actually behave in a market.Dan and Gui dug deep into the discipline of communication: starting every year with a written business plan, measuring weekly against benchmarks, and once a quarter looking back at the original plan. Communication up to leadership is succinct by design — pull data from Salesforce, summarize the position on each strategy, and engage the executive team only on genuinely strategic decisions. Dan emphasized the judgment of knowing when you need executive input.The CRM is the backbone of the operation, and AI sits on top of it. Dan ranked the CRM as indispensable for activity tracking, goal measurement, meeting note memorialization, and populating pre-meeting briefs across the broader client engagement team. Gui shared Dakota's pro tip for using Claude to dictate call notes in the lobby immediately after a meeting — eliminating the typing friction that has historically been the biggest barrier to capturing IP. Both agreed that AI is only as good as the data going in, and that picking one source of truth and training the team on it is now a strategic business decision, not a data decision.The conversation closed on leadership, trust, and culture. Dan's philosophy centers on understanding individual motivations, holding everyone accountable consistently, and trusting the team to do their jobs without micromanaging. In a difficult fundraising environment, maintaining team motivation comes from giving people the room to build durable, non-transactional relationships. Dan credited Crow Holdings' top-down culture as the reason he has never felt more like himself professionally — and the reason the team can apply institutional rigor to the wealth channel without losing the human element.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

We cover new RIA launches as well as RIA acquisitions like the acquisition of Hoff Bujnoch & Associates by MCF Advisors, Sherpa Wealth Strategies by Wealth Enhancement, and Savant Wealth Management's two latest additions. We also share updates on commitments from the The City of Fresno Retirement Systems. On the search front, we highlight activity from the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System, the Fresno County Employees Retirement Association, and the Oakland County Employees' Retirement and Deferred Compensation Board. We also cover fundraising from Admaius Capital Partners, Verdane, and SPARX Group — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

In Episode 43 of the Emerging Manager Growth Show, Gui Costin and the Dakota team take on the pension channel and how emerging managers should think about Emerging Manager Programs (EMPs). Gui debunks four of the most common myths around marketing to public pensions — from track record and AUM minimums to consultant gatekeeping — and walks through how pensions actually define emerging managers across vintage, track record, and AUM, with examples from CalPERS, Texas Teachers, Maryland State Retirement, and LA Fire & Police. The episode also covers diverse/women & minority-owned EMPs, a market update on where Dakota is seeing wins across long-only equity and alternatives, and closes with fundraising best ideas spanning city scheduling, email creation, the quarterly webinar playbook, and a pro tip on using Claude to take call notes off your plate entirely.

In this episode of The Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Dominica Ribeiro, Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer at Breckinridge Capital Advisors, the legendary asset manager based in Boston. The conversation covers Dominica's non-traditional career path, the structure and discipline of Breckinridge's distribution team, and the leadership philosophy that has shaped how she runs sales and marketing as a single integrated function.Dominica started full-time in the industry directly out of high school at Putnam Investments, working through her associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees while building her career. After 5 years at Putnam, she spent 14 years at Fidelity, including a long stretch at Pyramis Global Advisors in Smithfield, Rhode Island, where she worked institutional marketing in lockstep with the distribution team. That alignment of marketing and sales, unusual in the industry, became the foundation for her current role at Breckinridge, where both functions sit under her leadership.Breckinridge is a 30+ years old independent asset manager with roughly $55 billion in AUM (as of 3/31/26) and 89 employees across offices in Boston and San Diego. The firm specializes in investment-grade fixed income and equity income portfolios delivered through customized separately managed accounts. Despite its size, the firm operates with a deliberate boutique feel, and Dominica's 20-person distribution and marketing team is structured to reinforce that. She walks Gui through how the team is organized, two regions split east and west of the Mississippi, with specialized state-level coverage, plus dedicated private wealth, institutional, national accounts, and distribution strategy teams.A key theme of the conversation is continuity of relationship. Breckinridge does not hand prospects off from sales to a separate relationship management team. The same person who brings the client in stays with them through quarterly updates and ongoing engagement, which Dominica believes drives better retention and cross-sell. That continuity is reinforced by a transparent scorecard that incentivizes business development, retention, execution, and collaboration, shared with the team in January so reps know exactly how they will be measured.Dominica is candid about CRM implementation. Breckinridge uses Salesforce, and her advice to boutique managers considering a CRM rollout is simple: don't do it without a dedicated sales enablement or operations resource. The cost only pays off when someone is responsible for data discipline and reporting consistency. Gui shares how Dakota has integrated Slack, Salesforce, and Claude to make meeting note capture nearly frictionless, eliminating the most common source of CRM data decay.The conversation closes on leadership. Dominica describes herself as leading with empathy while holding a high bar, direct when the team falls short, transparent about expectations, and clear that proactive communication is non-negotiable. Her advice to early-career salespeople is to trust their gut and communicate constantly, even in internal-facing roles. Looking ahead, she names focus as her biggest challenge: at 89 employees, the firm has to be disciplined about where it invests its time, talent, and resources, and the feedback loop from clients and prospects is what drives those decisions.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

We cover new RIA launches like SagePoint Capital Partners and Kintra, as well as RIA acquisitions like Fiducient Advisors' deal for Sellwood Investment Partners and Cerity Partners' acquisition of Covenant Partners. We also share updates on commitments from the City of Knoxville Pension Board, The Boston Retirement System, and The Indiana Public Retirement System (PRS). On the search front, we highlight activity from the Boston Foundation. We also cover fundraising from True Anomaly, Ground State Ventures, and EQT — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

We cover new RIA launches like Hesmer Wealth Management LLC as well as RIA acquisitions like Covenant Partners LLC and Corient. We also share updates on commitments from Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS), The Virginia Retirement System, and California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). On the search front, we highlight activity from Taunton Contributory Retirement System, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), and El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund. We also cover fundraising from pH7 Technologies Inc., Victory Giant Technology Huizhou Co., and Slate Auto — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

In this Dakota Insights interview, Chris LeRoy and Alex deMarco sit down with Ben Easterlin, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Infinity Capital Partners, to explore the firm's commercial real estate credit strategy and what makes it stand out in today's market.Infinity Capital Partners has been around since 2002, originally built as a hedge fund-of-funds platform serving RIAs, foundations, and endowments. Over time, the firm expanded into new verticals, always through the lens of finding niche, defensive opportunities for its clients. Commercial real estate entered the picture in 2018 with a focus on low-income housing, and by 2023, Ben's experienced CRE credit team joined to launch the firm's commercial lending platform.The strategy centers on senior secured first lien loans against stabilized commercial properties,  primarily multifamily, but also retail, industrial, and self-storage. Ben is deliberate about what "stabilized" means: these are cash-flowing assets with operating history, not transitional or construction-era deals. Target returns sit in the mid-teens, with quarterly dividends paid to investors. As Ben puts it, CRE credit is a strategy where you can count on income from day one, no reliance on appreciation, no waiting on an exit.Underwriting is where Infinity truly differentiates itself. The firm reviews a high volume of deals annually but approves fewer than 6% of them. Each loan passes through a multi-stage process,  from an internal green light memo to third-party property reports, sponsor analysis, and two separate credit committee reviews. Institutional asset managers, some overseeing tens of billions in CRE, sit on those committees, bringing a market perspective that sharpens every credit decision.Portfolio construction is equally disciplined. The team enforces hard concentration limits by property type, geography, sponsorship, and tenant, reviewed weekly. No single deal gets approved in isolation; it's always evaluated against what's already in the portfolio. Loan parameters reinforce this conservative posture: loan sizes range from $10–$50 million, LTVs are held at 65–70%, and minimum debt yields and coverage ratios are required at entry to ensure meaningful equity cushion under stress.The market backdrop has been a significant tailwind. Regulatory pressure has forced regional banks, historically the dominant lenders in this middle market space, to pull back sharply. Infinity has stepped into that void, with loan volume reaching approximately $8 billion in 2025, doubling from the prior year. With an estimated $940 billion in CRE maturities expected in 2026 and $2.5 trillion by end of 2027, the opportunity set shows no signs of slowing.Looking ahead, Ben remains most convicted in multifamily, despite broader sector concerns. He draws a clear line between the troubled transitional loans driving headline delinquency numbers and the stabilized assets Infinity targets. A persistent housing shortage and affordability crisis, he argues, make rental demand a long-term structural story, one the firm is well-positioned to serve.Disciplined, niche-focused, and deeply experienced, Infinity Capital Partners has built a CRE credit platform that prioritizes capital preservation without sacrificing returns, exactly what its institutional client base is looking for.

In this episode of The Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Stephen Tiller, who joined Sterling Global Financial roughly 13 years ago after a 35-year career across some of the most respected names in real estate finance and investment banking. Sterling, founded by David Kosoy more than 50 years ago, manages roughly $7–8 billion in assets across six countries and runs a platform that includes private credit lending funds, development and construction businesses, trust companies, and banks. Stephen describes it as a microscopic-scale version of the Brookfield or Blackstone model, with real estate as its DNA.The conversation opens with Stephen's origin story growing up in a northern Ontario mining town, playing varsity hockey at Western, and starting his career at CB Richard Ellis as it was first entering Canada. He spent the 1990s working out distressed real estate and financial companies at RBC Capital Markets, an experience he credits as foundational to how Sterling underwrites and builds products today. He later ran the merchant bank at Brascan under Bruce Flatt, and led global investment real estate banking at Bank of Montreal before joining Sterling.On sales, Stephen explains that distribution is Sterling's number-one priority. The firm's Canadian retail engine runs through FundServ the platform owned by the major Canadian banks and dealers which connects the firm to thousands of retail investors. Once approved, the platform allows an IA in Vancouver to invest a client on Friday after a Thursday request. But the efficiency of the back end only works if the front end is covered: Sterling's sales team is built around managing the IA and RIA channels, understanding each advisor's book and decision-making.Communication inside the firm is high-touch and high-frequency, with twice-weekly calls at critical junctures. Stephen leans heavily on time-tested sales discipline tell them what you're going to do, do it, then tell them what you did combined with a modern tech stack including HubSpot, Asana, and a growing AI layer. He's candid that Sterling is "on the 5-yard line" with AI but treats it as a top-down priority, with senior executives leading the rollout themselves.On leadership, Stephen credits founder David Kosoy, who at 60+ years in the business is still first in the office. He emphasizes buy-in by example, boots-on-the-ground decision-making, and picking up the phone which he argues has become a real leadership differentiator as email turns into a CYA tool. His marina infrastructure example captures it: only by being physically on site did the team realize they didn't have a development site with a marina, they had a marina with a development site.His advice for young professionals: ask better questions and anticipate where the puck is going, not where it is. He closes on the biggest challenge facing the industry today the pace of regulatory and geopolitical change and his answer to it: grow or die. Constant improvement, reinvesting in people, and adapting the business, because the people are the business.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

Master sales with four game-changing principles: Focus on what matters, target the right people, craft the perfect pitch, and follow up like a pro. Packed with actionable tips, this guide helps you turn meetings into deals—fast! 💼🔥

In Episode 42 of the Emerging Manager Growth Show, Dakota's Tim Dolan breaks down why the RIA channel is the #1 priority for emerging managers looking to raise capital. With roughly 6,500 RIAs in Dakota Marketplace actively using outside managers, Tim explains how to identify the right targets — particularly nimble $200M–$5B firms eager for differentiated strategies. He covers key custodians, TAMP platforms, product structures, and the due diligence process RIAs expect. Tim also shares one of the most overlooked sales tactics: following up inside the meeting by asking the two critical questions that tell you exactly where you stand.

In this episode of the Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Mike Castino, President of Sound Capital Solutions, for a deep dive into the mechanics of ETF creation, distribution, and the accelerating structural shift reshaping investment management.Mike's career began on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where he spent 12 years as an independent futures trader before transitioning into the investment management industry. His first sales role came at Claymore ETFs — one of the original ETF families, eventually acquired by Guggenheim and later Invesco — where his trading floor instincts translated directly into his commercial style. From there, Mike spent over a decade at U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, building out the business development function for ETF administrative and custodial services from the ground floor into a high-revenue operation. Sound Capital, the firm he co-founded with Claymore veteran Nick Dalmasso, was born from a shared entrepreneurial itch and a clear view of where the industry was heading.Sound Capital operates two complementary businesses: a white label ETF advisory service, where the firm serves as the registered advisor for clients who want to launch funds without building their own infrastructure, and a solutions provider offering that supports asset managers before, during, and after launch. Unlike traditional consultants who parachute in with a plan and leave, Sound Capital positions itself as a long-term partner focused on helping clients both build and retain AUM.A major theme of the conversation is the mechanics behind getting an ETF to market — and the parts that most first-time issuers underestimate. Revenue sharing with broker-dealer platforms is more complex and more negotiable than it appears, with fees ranging from flat access charges to AUM-based percentages to paid data packages. Market maker relationships are similarly misunderstood: firms like Jane Street and Citadel are not standing by as utilities for any issuer that arrives. They are selective partners who respond to seed capital, credible distribution plans, and meaningful trading relationships.Mike and Gui also discuss the transparent versus non-transparent active ETF debate, where Mike is direct: the flows have settled the argument. Non-transparent structures have failed to gather meaningful organic assets, while transparent active ETFs have surged — and the front-running fears that once justified opacity are largely overstated for anyone outside of micro-cap strategies.The conversation closes on two forward-looking topics. First, the dual share class structure — now approved for 30+ firms beyond Vanguard — which Mike sees as the long-term bridge that will unlock sticky mutual fund assets as intermediaries build switching infrastructure. Second, the challenge of building a young firm's credibility in a market that prizes institutional tenure. Mike is candid: individual experience only goes so far when prospects are evaluating the firm itself, and the answer is simply to deliver exceptional work, every day, one client at a time.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

We cover new RIA launches like Soulence Wealth Management, as well as RIA acquisitions by firms such as Maridea Wealth Management and Creative Planning. We also share updates on commitments from The New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC), Seattle City Employees Retirement System, and Boston Retirement System. On the search front, we highlight activity from The Tulare County Employees’ Retirement Association (ERA), Boston Retirement System, and Plymouth County Retirement Association. We also cover fundraising from Leafgreen Capital, Inflexion, and Starcloud — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

We cover new RIA launches like Maridea Wealth Management and Soulence Wealth Management as well as RIA acquisitions by Creative Planning. We also share updates on commitments from North Dakota State Investment Board (SIB) and City of Phoenix Employees' Retirement System. On the search front, we highlight selections from The Firefighters’ Retirement System of Louisiana, The Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund, and The Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS). We also cover fundraising from Conduit Health, Nadia Care, and Orion Resource Partners — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

Gui Costin and Tim Dolan make the case that investment sales teams are leaving enormous analytical value on the table by not fully leveraging their CRM data alongside AI tools — specifically Claude. Using Formula 1 racing as an analogy, the episode frames the gap between how professional sports use granular performance analytics and how most sales organizations still operate. The core argument: Salesforce is only as powerful as the data entered into it, and Claude can transform that data into real-time, PhD-level insights that previously required a dedicated analytics team.

Master sales with four game-changing principles: Focus on what matters, target the right people, craft the perfect pitch, and follow up like a pro. Packed with actionable tips, this guide helps you turn meetings into deals—fast! 💼🔥

In this episode of the Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Paul Stanton, a partner at Thesis Driven and PTB, a real estate investment banking boutique. The conversation spans Paul's career journey, the power of content marketing in the investment world, and the transformative potential of AI for business builders.Paul's path into real estate began after college at the University of Richmond, where he started in brokerage at Newmark before moving to the investment and development side. He later pursued a forward-thinking thesis around flexible office space, acquiring boutique Class B office buildings and operating them under co-working brands, a strategy that was derailed by COVID-19. Rather than retreating, Paul pivoted and launched an investment bank focused on operationally complex, niche real estate strategies, including outdoor hospitality, sports infrastructure, and surf infrastructure. This work eventually merged with Thesis Driven, a real estate media company he co-founded with entrepreneur Brad Hargreaves, focused on innovation in the built world through a capital markets lens.A central theme of the conversation is the untapped opportunity for investment managers to build audiences through content marketing. Paul and Gui agree that the investment management industry represents the largest white space in content marketing today, most firms hide behind corporate brands and compliance concerns rather than humanizing their story. Both point to Jon Gray of Blackstone and Andreessen Horowitz as rare examples of founder-led brands that have embraced media to build trust at scale. Paul notes that the psychology behind this is rooted in parasocial relationships, when someone sees your face and hears your voice consistently, their brain begins to feel like it knows you, which creates a powerful foundation for trust in capital raising.Paul shares his own experience building a LinkedIn presence over the past year, emphasizing that the mental shift that got him started was reframing content creation from self-promotion to education. By sharing what he was seeing in the capital markets and emerging asset classes, he found an authentic voice that resonated with his audience. Gui echoes this, noting that the most engaging posts are never about funds or accolades, they're about real experiences, lessons learned, and genuine insight.The episode closes with a discussion on AI and its implications for business. Paul introduces the concept of agentic AI, specifically his experience setting up an AI-powered capital markets analyst named "Sarah" using an open-source local infrastructure tool. Sarah reasons through tasks, builds databases, drafts email campaigns, and conducts research autonomously. Paul describes the experience as the most mind-blowing development he's seen since first using ChatGPT, underscoring the idea that AI agents are beginning to function like real employees.When asked about his biggest challenge, Paul cites focus, the entrepreneurial temptation to chase every new AI-driven opportunity rather than staying disciplined on core priorities. It's a fitting note to end on: in a world of expanding possibility, clarity of purpose remains the competitive edge.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this Dakota Research Interview, Chris Leroy and Alex deMarco sit down with Phil Durr, Co-founder and Managing Partner of PeakSpan Capital, a growth equity firm with $2.6 billion in AUM focused exclusively on bootstrapped business software companies. Phil shares his journey from ROTC and Morgan Stanley to founding PeakSpan in 2015, and explains how the firm's pragmatic, founder-first approach — targeting owner-operators at roughly $6M in revenue — has produced a capital loss ratio of under 2.5% against an industry average exceeding 50%. The conversation covers PeakSpan's differentiated expert network, their AI-powered internal tools, and Phil's conviction that generative AI represents the biggest tailwind for business software since the internet.

In Episode 41 of the Emerging Manager Growth Show, Gui Costin and the Dakota team break down the consultant channel — what it is, how to navigate it, and why it should complement rather than anchor your distribution strategy. The episode walks through Dakota's three categories of consultants, from emerging manager-dedicated firms to large consultants with formal programs to OCIO groups that invest early in a manager's lifecycle, and outlines the key considerations for engaging each. Gui also shares timely market insights on why Registered Advisors and family offices remain the fastest-growing channels for emerging managers, makes the case for new media as a brand-building engine using the a16z New Media Manifesto as a blueprint, and closes with actionable fundraising best ideas covering city scheduling, cold email construction, and quarterly webinars — along with updates on upcoming emerging manager conferences and Gui's newest book, Be Kind.

We cover RIA acquisitions by the likes of Choreo, Cerity Partners, and First Manhattan. We also share updates on commitments from and. On the search front, we highlight activity from Plymouth County Retirement Association, Dahab Associates, and Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi. We’ll also cover fundraising from Canyon Partners, Inhouse, and Phoenix Group — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

We cover newly launched RIAs like Ocean Path Advisors, Madson Wealth Advisors, and Stephen Smith Financial. We also share updates on commitments from Maine Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS), and University of Alabama System Endowment. On the search front, we highlight activity from Lexington Policemen's and Firefighters' Pension Plan, St. Louis Public School Retirement System, and City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement. We’ll also cover fundraising from Vista Equity Partners, SatVu, and Anduril Industries — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this special episode of The Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin is interviewed about his book Be Kind. He reflects on early leadership missteps marked by volatility and ego, and the turning point that reshaped his approach to culture and accountability. Gui challenges the belief that high performance requires harshness, arguing instead that kindness and hard standards can coexist. He draws a key distinction between being “nice” and being “kind,” emphasizing direct, respectful feedback over avoidance. The episode reinforces a core leadership principle: words, tone, and daily behavior from the top ultimately define culture and performance.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In Episode 26 of the Dakota Insights Podcast, we explore how family offices are evolving into fully institutional capital platforms—and why this shift is reshaping private markets.Drawing from Dakota’s 2025 Global Family Office Report, we examine how improved liquidity in 2025 accelerated professionalization, earlier diversification, and formalized governance. Family offices are no longer passive pools of capital; they are building structured investment teams, expanding direct deal activity, and leading transactions across sectors.We also discuss the strategic importance of geography, the growing role of private markets in portfolio construction, and why talent is becoming the key constraint as offices scale.The message is clear: family capital is becoming more structured, selective, and central to global private markets.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

Master sales with four game-changing principles: Focus on what matters, target the right people, craft the perfect pitch, and follow up like a pro. Packed with actionable tips, this guide helps you turn meetings into deals—fast! 💼🔥Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this Dakota Research Interview, Dr. Andrew Hohns, Founder and CEO of Newmarket Capital and Battery Finance, explains how the firm is redefining private credit by integrating Bitcoin into real estate and asset-backed lending. He discusses how Bitcoin-backed loan structures can help investors protect purchasing power, reduce credit risk, and generate inflation-resilient returns without taking on mark-to-market volatility. Andrew also shares real-world examples of Battery Finance loans, outlines where borrower demand is strongest, and highlights opportunities across multifamily, project finance, and mission-driven investments. For investors seeking innovative credit solutions with downside protection and long-term upside, this conversation offers a compelling look at the future of Bitcoin-integrated private credit.

In this episode of The Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Michael Sidgmore, Partner and Co-Founder of Broadhaven Ventures and Founder of Alt Goes Mainstream, to unpack one of the most important structural shifts in asset management today: the convergence of private markets and private wealth.Michael begins by walking through his path from growing up outside Washington, D.C., to studying at the London School of Economics, where he first gained exposure to private markets by leading one of the world’s largest student-run hedge fund and private equity conferences. That early immersion led to roles at Goldman Sachs’ Principal Strategic Investments group, early-stage operating experience at Mosaic, and ultimately a formative stretch at iCapital, where he helped build distribution efforts pre-product, with a blank slate approach to the wealth channel.That experience shaped his long-term thesis: private markets are becoming mainstream, and the infrastructure supporting them must evolve accordingly.At Broadhaven Ventures, Michael invests across fintech, asset management, and market infrastructure businesses that sit between general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs). His focus centers on the “plumbing” of private markets, from pre-investment distribution to post-investment reporting and analytics, particularly as more capital flows in from the wealth channel.The conversation then turns to Alt Goes Mainstream (AGM), Michael’s media platform designed to educate both private markets professionals and wealth managers about their growing intersection. His “north star” is clear: education drives allocation. As large asset managers increasingly prioritize private wealth distribution, they must rethink branding, marketing, and direct engagement. Meanwhile, wealth managers must better understand how private markets firms operate, structure products, and build long-term partnerships.Gui and Michael explore the evolving role of brand in asset management. Distribution, they note, is expensive and operationally complex, but firms that invest in both boots-on-the-ground sales and aerial marketing support can “own the narrative.” In an environment where attention is fragmented and algorithms are controlled by third parties, direct communication, whether through podcasts, newsletters, or owned media studios, has become a strategic advantage.Ultimately, the episode highlights a defining industry shift: distribution is no longer optional for firms seeking scale. As private markets expand into wealth, success will favor those who combine infrastructure, education, and authentic brand-building to meet in the middle.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In Episode #40 of the Emerging Manager Growth Show, Gui Costin and the Dakota team explore how the rise of new media is reshaping fundraising and why content has become a critical growth lever for emerging managers. The discussion blends practical fundraising advice with timely market insights, covering how managers can use content marketing more effectively, what family offices are prioritizing today, and where allocators and managers should be showing up in 2026. Gui also walks through the core principles behind The Dakota Way, sharing lessons on setting expectations, targeting the right investors, sharpening messaging, and executing disciplined follow-up. The episode includes a fundraising roundup focused on family offices, highlights topical themes such as tax-friendly income, secondaries, and co-investments, and closes with best practices managers can apply immediately—along with a preview of what’s coming next on the show.

In this special edition of the Rainmaker Podcast, host Gui Costin sits down with Spencer Lovejoy, Co-Founder and CEO of the National Squash League (NSL), and BG Lemmon, co-owner of the Philadelphia Lightning, to unpack what it takes to build a modern sports league from the ground up, and why squash is uniquely positioned for a team-based reinvention.The conversation opens with Spencer’s journey from junior squash in New Haven to competing professionally on the global circuit, and ultimately to co-founding the NSL alongside his partners. After years of playing an individual sport that often felt isolating, Spencer saw a clear gap in professional squash: the absence of teams, local identity, and a product that resonated with American sports fans. The NSL was designed to answer a simple but powerful question he was asked repeatedly as a pro: “What team do you play for?”BG Lemmon brings a complementary perspective, blending his background in competitive collegiate squash with his career in finance and private investing. As a co-owner of the Philadelphia Lightning, BG discusses how his involvement grew organically, from persistent interest as a fan to hands-on participation in league operations. His experience reinforces a central theme of the episode: early-stage organizations require everyone to wear multiple hats, regardless of title.A key focus of the discussion is how the NSL has intentionally broken from traditional squash formats. With six-player rosters, three-on-three matches, timed periods, substitutions, and power plays, the league prioritizes pace, strategy, and fan engagement. The power play, in particular, introduces a risk-reward dynamic that encourages aggressive, creative shot-making, something rarely seen in traditional professional squash.Looking ahead, Spencer outlines the league’s near-term and long-term vision: measured expansion into new U.S. markets, a more robust match calendar, and continued emphasis on high-quality live events. Both Spencer and BG stress the importance of disciplined growth, proving the product, building the right partnerships, and earning credibility before scaling too quickly.The episode closes with a discussion of the partnership between the NSL and Dakota, grounded in shared values around relationships, community, and bringing people together through sport. At its core, the conversation highlights how team culture, on the court and in business, can transform an individual pursuit into something much bigger.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this episode of Dakota's Fundraising News Podcast, we cover newly launched RIAs like Bright Advisors, BayTrust Wealth Management, and Farmers Asset Management. We also share updates on commitments from The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), The Wayne County Employees Retirement System, and Delaware Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). On the search front, we highlight activity from the Illinois Firefighters' Pension Investment Fund (FPIF), Plymouth County Retirement Association, and The Norfolk (MA) County Retirement System (CRS). We’ll also cover fundraising from SOLV Energy Inc., Incard, and Shield Technology Partners — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this Dakota Research Interview, Chris LeRoy and Alex DeMarco sit down with Kelsea Alexander, Director, and Michael Balcom, Managing Director in the Industrial Group at Crow Holdings Capital, to discuss the firm’s long-standing approach to industrial real estate investing and development. Drawing on Crow Holdings’ 75-year history and deeply tenured leadership team, the conversation highlights how cultural continuity, disciplined decision-making, and local market expertise shape the firm’s investment strategy.Crow Holdings Capital operates as both an investment manager and large-scale developer, with industrial real estate at the core of its platform. Kelsea and Michael explain how the firm’s vertically integrated model, spanning development, leasing, asset management, and disposition, creates alignment across teams, reduces friction, and lowers overall costs for LPs. The firm focuses on Class A, highly functional industrial assets in top U.S. markets, with an emphasis on infill submarkets, strong infrastructure access, and disciplined land basis.The discussion explores Crow’s investment philosophy amid a maturing industrial sector, where increased capital and competition have driven changes in building design and tenant requirements. Crow continues to prioritize markets with strong demographic growth, particularly in Sun Belt regions such as DFW, Atlanta, Nashville, and Florida, while remaining cautious in port-dependent markets exposed to trade volatility. Kelsea and Michael also outline how declining construction starts and sustained tenant demand are creating a favorable supply-demand backdrop for new development.The interview concludes with insights into secular tailwinds supporting long-term industrial demand, including e-commerce, onshoring and nearshoring, and a continued “flight to quality” among tenants. Crow Holdings Capital remains focused on doubling down on its proven strategy, leveraging deep local relationships, proprietary deal flow, and cradle-to-grave asset management to deliver durable, risk-adjusted returns for investors.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this episode of The Rainmaker Podcast, Dakota Founder and CEO Gui Costin sits down with Adam Rosen, founder of an email marketing agency that helps startups, unicorns, and large enterprises generate sales through cold email. The conversation offers a practical, experience-driven look at how cold outreach has evolved, and why it remains one of the most effective tools in modern sales when executed correctly.Adam begins by walking through his entrepreneurial origin story, from studying sport management in college to discovering entrepreneurship late in his academic career. That pivot led to his first startup, a college recruiting platform that worked with major global brands. Despite making early mistakes, Adam credits cold email as the single most important driver behind acquiring customers, raising capital, and ultimately exiting the business—experience that later became the foundation for his current company.A major theme of the episode is how dramatically the cold email landscape has changed since the mid-2010s. Adam explains that tactics that once worked, such as sending high volumes of emails from a primary domain, are now actively harmful. Today, success starts with infrastructure: properly set up sending domains, inbox warming, and protecting domain reputation. Without that foundation, even strong copy and targeting won’t matter because emails won’t reach the inbox.The discussion then shifts to measurement and optimization. Adam cautions against tracking open rates in cold email, noting both deliverability risks and unreliable data. Instead, he emphasizes reply rates as the most meaningful signal of success, since a reply confirms both inbox placement and message resonance. Sudden drops in reply rates, he explains, are often an early warning sign of deliverability issues.Beyond tactics, the episode dives into the psychology of cold outreach. Adam and Gui agree that the biggest barrier to success isn’t technology, it’s mindset. Cold email doesn’t feed the ego and requires resilience in the face of rejection. Adam frames email as nothing more than a tool to connect party A with party B, arguing that professionals who can stomach direct feedback and rejection will consistently outperform those who avoid it.The episode closes with actionable guidance on email construction, from concise, relevant subject lines to short, direct body copy that clearly states purpose, value, proof, and a call to action. The takeaway is clear: when paired with the right infrastructure and mindset, cold email remains one of the most scalable and reliable ways to build pipelines.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data.