Seeing the Whole, Not Just a Part

In Part I of Insight is Beautiful, we looked at how better signals help sales teams know who to speak to—and when. In Part II, we turn to market visibility itself: how seeing the full field—not just the familiar names—unlocks opportunity and supports smarter, more balanced distribution strategies.

Seeing the Whole, Not Just a Part

There’s a familiar pattern in fund distribution. Most teams—regardless of size—tend to concentrate their efforts on a shortlist of firms. The names are recognisable. The selectors are known. The relationships are long-standing. And so, the rhythm of outreach repeats itself across the same subset of the market.

This isn’t for lack of effort. It’s simply habitual. And it’s a natural consequence of how many distribution teams have grown: organically, reactively, and often without the infrastructure to confidently expand coverage.

Over time, however, a cost emerges, not just in missed opportunities, but in blind spots that shape how a firm might think about the market itself.

When visibility is limited, it becomes easy to assume that demand is limited too.

Comfort Zone vs. Commercial Opportunity

In Part I, we explored the idea that too much time is still spent on discovery: on finding the next right conversation. But sometimes, the problem isn’t just who you’re speaking to. It’s who you’re not even seeing.

It’s no accident that the same names often show up on prospect lists. Distribution teams are rational actors, prioritising those relationships most likely to drive flows. In wealth management, a clear power law shapes that logic.

A small number of large wealth managers attract a disproportionate share of attention. From a sales and marketing perspective, this makes sense: fewer conversations can lead to larger wins. But this pattern creates missed opportunities to capitalise on growth. Larger wealth management firms often feel overwhelmed, fielding a flood of inbound requests that rarely reflect their real needs. Without timely insight into their priorities, even high-effort outreach can miss the mark.

Meanwhile, the long tail of smaller wealth managers—numbering in the thousands—collectively manage assets comparable to the top end of the market. Yet they remain underserved—not because of low potential, but because discovery is too time-consuming at scale.

Fund selectors don’t just sit at the top of the market. Smaller firms still run mandates. Regional offices still allocate capital. There’s real commercial value in the long tail—if you know where to look.

But many teams still operate with an implicit hierarchy of visibility: the better known the firm, the more attention it receives. The less visible, the more easily it’s ignored.

What’s often missing isn’t effort—it’s a true picture of the opportunity landscape. Not a static list, but a dynamic, evolving view of where decisions are made, how influence flows, and what’s shifting beneath the surface.

What Whole-of-Market Visibility Enables

This is where data has a different kind of impact. Not just in accelerating pipeline or surfacing leads—but in reshaping distribution strategy altogether.

When teams have access to the full addressable market—when they can see not just the top 100 firms, but the 1,100+ that exist across the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands—they start to work differently.

They spot gaps in coverage. They identify decision-makers outside the obvious hubs. They build brand equity in places where it’s been thin. And they compete on more than just size.

This matters especially for boutique or mid-sized managers, who may not have the headcount or legacy footprint to match larger competitors. But it also matters for global firms looking to expand reach, strengthen regional presence, or diversify inflows.

We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of relevant attendees at our regional events since using Fundpath to aggregate the individuals we target. The ability to create strong and accurate contact lists for events is invaluable, and Fundpath have been instrumental in helping to formulate these.”

– James Norden, Head of UK Wholesale, AXA Investment Managers

Whole-of-market visibility isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a strategic lever.

Wealth Managers See the Difference

For wealth managers, this kind of coverage carries weight too. When an asset manager reaches out not because of proximity or legacy, but because they’ve seen a live investment requirement or tracked recent structural changes within the firm, the engagement feels intentional.

It broadens the range of voices they hear from. It increases the relevance of the conversations they’re having. And it avoids the fatigue that comes from being over-targeted by the same few players.

Market-wide visibility doesn’t just enable sales. It improves relationships—and levels the field.

The outreach we receive from asset managers using Fundpath is of higher quality. They are more tailored to our fund buying interests and so lead to more fulfilling conversations.”

– Michael Barr, Senior Investment Director, TrinityBridge

Going Beyond the Familiar

We often hear that sales is about pattern recognition. But patterns are shaped by what we pay attention to—and it’s easy to mistake the visible part of the market for the whole of it.

The best teams are starting to correct for that. They’re expanding not just outreach, but awareness. They’re moving from relationship concentration to audience diversification. From contact lists to coverage maps.

Because ultimately, growth doesn’t just come from working harder. It comes from seeing the whole, not just a part.

Coming Up Next

In Part III, we’ll explore what happens after a relationship is built—how forward-looking data helps protect assets and anticipate risk before it becomes visible on the surface.

Because distribution isn’t just about growing. It’s about holding ground and knowing where things might shift next.

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