DIANE HARRISON 1

Believe Your Eyes!

Believe Your Eyes!

It’s simple human nature to believe more of what you see than what you hear. The human brain is wired to process
visual information more easily than contextual words. According to a June 15 Washington Post article, ‘ Charts
Change Hearts And Minds Better Than Words Do ,’ charts are a more effective visual than tables of text. Data,
particularly complex or vast amounts of data, which is arranged in a graph or other summary picture, is better
understood when translated into an optic.

SHOW AND TELL

Pictures can tell compelling stories. When trying to sell an alternative investment concept, the strategic use of
graphics can punctuate the point you are trying to make, such as Alternative Asset Selling Point 101―portfolio
allocation performance increases while volatility decreases with the inclusion of alternatives into traditional asset
classes. How much stronger is this point made when showing the impact alternatives have on a portfolio mix such
as the comparison does below?

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Believe Your Eyes!

Most numerical conclusion points can be strengthened by accompanying the wording with some form of visual
marker. Alternatives marketers frequently show multiple asset class performance comparisons in an effort to
convince investors to allocate more of their funds to the alternatives category. It’s clearly a more powerful statement
to make for alternatives to showcase the strong relative performance this asset class reflects over a medium to long
period of time, such as on the Morningstar graph following:

Morningstar autopost

But it doesn’t just apply to showing the numbers story. Visuals can also be useful to capture investor sentiment
preferences and survey data conclusions. Preqin’s INVESTOR OUTLOOK: ALTERNATIVE ASSETS H1 2017 included a
particularly powerful graphic for summarizing investor sentiment regarding several asset classes as shown here:

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 DIANE HARRISON 3
Believe Your Eyes!

KISS (KEEP IT SIMPLE, S****D)!

Synthesizing lots of information or complex information into a clean and simple format is always a positive
marketing tool. A key selling feature of alternative assets is to be able to demonstrate the benefits of its non
correlation to traditional asset classes and its performance when these traditional asset classes are stressed.

For example, one of the strongest selling points for including managed futures into an overall portfolio to increase
diversification and uncorrelated market performance is to demonstrate how divergent the performance of this asset
class has been in past decades. This point is often referenced by alternatives marketers through referring to
statistical studies and research, but that is a dry and clinical format in most cases. The graph following, courtesy of
Witherspoon Asset Management, visually encapsulates the outperformance of managed futures, as represented by
the BTOP50 Index, versus stocks emphatically for potential investors.

THE PERFORMANCE OF MANAGED FUTURES

HISTORICALLY HAS EXCELLED DURING PERIODS OF SEVERE US STOCK MARKET DECLINES

The performance for the Barclay BTOP50 Index does not reflect any fees or expenses for the index as a whole, but does reflect the underlying
fees and expenses of the managers contained therein.

The previous graphic is a good example of aggregating multiple concepts into one clear image. Too much data when
described in a series of statements to make a single point often gets diluted in impact with the volume of
information contained. Sometimes, though, you want to emphasize a single point, perhaps as an opening to a topic
which will be addressed in a longer fashion. Here is another important opportunity to have a strong visual graphic
lend its focus to the topic at hand.

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 DIANE HARRISON 4
Believe Your Eyes!

For example, the graph which follows illustrates the following statement with a lot more visual punch than this
description: “Crude oil was in an extended slump since the third quarter of 2014. Demand was muted due to weak
global economic growth, while production was increasing even as inventories were building.”

Comparison of S&P 500 Index and West Texas Intermediate Crude

September 2007 through December 2015

Source: Macrotrends.net

When marketing alternatives to investors, it’s important to communicate a clear message and develop a consistent
selling strategy. The inclusion of graphics that help tell that story and sell the concepts within can go a long way to
assist in the success of this effort. Wherever possible, think of ways in which you can illustrate the information that
you are trying to convey and develop a library of graphics that reinforce the information which can be used across a
variety of media formats.

Diane Harrison is principal and owner of Panegyric Marketing, a strategic marketing

communications firm founded in 2002 specializing in alternative assets. She has over 25 years’ of expertise in hedge fund and private equity
marketing, investor relations, articles, white papers, blog posts, and other thought leadership deliverables. 2018 AWARD WINNER: Acquisition
International's Sustained Excellence in Specialized Marketing Communications - USA | Corporate Insider's Excellence in Marketing
Communications – USA. 2017 AWARD WINNER: Global Fund Awards 2017 Financial Services Marketing Firm of the Year - NY, USA |
Corporate Insider Business Excellence Awards 2017 Financial Marketing Firm of the Year - USA | M&A Insider Awards 2017 Financial
Services Marketing Firm of the Year - USA | Corporate LiveWire Innovation & Excellence Award 2018 shortlisted. A published author and
speaker, Ms. Harrison’s work has appeared in many industry publications, both in print and on-line. To read more of her published work in
alternatives, please visit www.scribd.com/dahhome. Contact: dharrison@panegyricmarketing.com or visit www.panegyricmarketing.com.

PANEGYRIC MARKETING | July 2018