Asset management industry veteran Ole Rollag has launched Pueblo, a new venture which aims to simplify and improve the investor/manager engagement process, reducing the burden of speculative emails from unsolicited fund managers that arrive in investor’s inboxes every day.
Pueblo is a simple and free-to-use diary scheduling tool that allows professional investors to see which managers are visiting their area and request meetings, information or other follow-up activity. Pueblo aims to eliminate the need for professional investors and capital allocators to trawl through emails and inbound calls tfrom unknown and un-curated managers. Pueblo can also be used by investors to identify and request introductions with new and previously unknown managers in cities they may be travelling to, helping maximise the time value of their travel schedules. Investors maintain full control over all interaction, selecting only the managers they wish to connect with.
Managers upload their own information onto the Pueblo platform but must meet certain criteria in order to be accepted. The information provided is curated for the individual needs set by the investor, via pre-determined factors such as asset class focus, fund size, structure and other hard criteria. Pueblo then presents only the relevant managers. The service is available to the entire asset management industry, across long only, hedge funds, private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure funds. Pueblo is expected to appeal to the entire spectrum of professional investing institutions, including private banks, wealth management firms and advisers, Single and Multi-Family Offices, public and private pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, foundations and trusts.
Rollag has worked in the asset management industry for the past 20 years and has previously launched a number of successful ventures designed to facilitate and improve the manager/investor interaction process. Most notably, Rollag is the Founder of Murano, a bespoke investor connections and research firm.
Rollag, says: “This was such a simple and effective idea that we thought, why not? This is a relationship business and meeting with managers is an essential part of the discovery process. If we could find a way to consolidate this daunting process for both parties, it would improve industry efficiency.”
Registration is simple for investors, taking around 10 minutes of time. For fund managers, the sign-up process is a little longer, averaging 20 minutes. The registration and use of the site is secure and restricted to professional allocators and credible fund managers. Before gaining access to the service, each user is vetted by a member of the Pueblo team. The site is password protected with 2-factor authentication.
Pueblo has launched initially in its most simple form and intends to add other features to the service in the months ahead. Pueblo will be offered for free over successive quarterly periods while the business is scaled up. It will then become a subscription service paid for by the manager.
