Today's Fundraising Environment with Casey Peters of Pacenote Capital

On this episode of Fund Flow, host Jon Finger is joined by Casey Peters, a managing partner at boutique placement agency Pacenote Capital. They discuss the mandates that formed Pacenote and how maintaining a high touch and selective lens has shaped the company.  

Casey founded Pacenote Capital in response to market feedback that there was a desire for value-added through high-performing, young, and hungry sponsors. This was the kicking-off point for his firm.

For Casey and his partners, adding value to relationships went beyond bringing on LPs. He explains how they work to be active with independent sponsors on pre-fund deals. This includes providing coaching on how to view deal attribution and relationship building, along with the functional benefits of applying their expertise to catch errors before the launch of a fund.  

“We're boutique — we try to be super hands-on. We have WhatsApp chats with all of our GPs, even our GPs that aren't in market right now. Every day we're talking to each of our GPs. And definitely if we're in market with them, it's all day, eight until eight, just messages firing back and forth. We try to look, feel, and act like we are truly an extension of our GPs, rather than them just being another name on our list,” Casey says.

Throughout this episode, Casey provides insights that emerging managers can use to formulate and improve upon their strategy and pitch. He uses his unique approach with Pacenote to provide tangible examples of why relationships are king and how emerging managers can differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace. 

💡 Featured Guest 💡

Name: Casey Peters

What he does: Casey is the Founding and Managing Partner at Pacenote Capital. He is focused on LP coverage in the Southeast, Midwest, and Western U.S.

Organization: Pacenote Capital

Connect: LinkedIn

🗝️ Key Points 🗝️

Top takeaways from this episode

★ Video communication is here to stay. According to Casey, the pandemic has created some lasting changes in the processes for raising a fund, predominantly around video communication. He believes it’s important to have strong Zoom etiquette because the efficiency of video meetings introductions aren’t going away anytime soon. 

★ Fund structures are getting more creative. In today’s environment, it’s not a one-size fits all deal structure. Some funds have moved away from traditional annual management fees to annual budgets. Other trends include longer-dated funds and the proliferation of GP-led secondaries and continuation funds.

★ Differentiate yourself as an emerging manager. It’s no surprise that returns are the ultimate indicator of success. If you don't yet have outperformance on the backend, Casey believes that strong communication with LPs is one of the easiest ways to stand out in the market. 

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