Build your LP base
without a placement agent.

The LP outreach problem for emerging managers

Raising a first or second fund is a different challenge from raising a startup round. You're not pitching to 20 VCs — you're building a whole LP base. A typical first close requires reaching 200–500 qualified LP contacts. With a 1–5% conversion rate on cold outreach, top-of-funnel volume matters. See our guide on how to find limited partners for a breakdown of every source — or the dedicated emerging fund managers guide for the specific LP strategy for Fund I and Fund II managers.

The problem: LP contact data is fragmented, expensive, and hard to find. Generic tools like Crunchbase and PitchBook weren't built for LP outreach — see our full comparison of Crunchbase vs PitchBook vs LinkedIn for LP contacts. Once you've closed your fund, you'll also need LP management software for reporting and investor relations.

• Family offices rarely publish contact details — most have no website
• Endowments and pensions have public names but no direct contact emails
• Placement agents are effective but cost 1–3% of capital raised
• Building your own LP list from scratch takes months of manual research

The placement agent comparison

Altura Data isn't a replacement for a placement agent's relationships, reputation, and deal-closing capabilities — but for emerging managers who want to run their own early LP outreach, build a contact universe, or test the market before committing to an agent, it's the most cost-effective starting point available.

One-time purchase vs. subscription — which is right for Fund I?

LP data platforms like LPbacked charge $99–$249/month — $1,188–$2,988 per year. Altura Data charges once. For fund managers raising a first or second fund, the math is straightforward:

Subscription tools are built for IR teams who need ongoing mandate tracking, team-move alerts, and monthly refresh cycles — a legitimate product for established GPs with dedicated IR staff. But emerging fund managers raising Fund I don't need a recurring product. You need to close your LP base once, run outreach over 6–18 months, and move on. A one-time purchase fits that cycle better than a subscription that starts billing after month 2 of an 18-month close.

What's in the LP database

Every contact includes the fields fund managers actually need to qualify and prioritise LP outreach:

How to use it for first-close outreach

Step 1: Filter for LP appetite. Start with family offices (SFOs and MFOs) — they are statistically more likely to back emerging managers than institutional LPs. Filter by AUM range to match your target check size. A $50M SFO writing $500K checks is a better target than a $5B endowment with a $10M minimum.

Step 2: Layer on geography and sector. Cross-border LPs and those whose sector thesis matches your fund strategy are more likely to respond to cold outreach. Use the cross-border flag and sector fields to identify warm-adjacent contacts.

Step 3: Build a 50-contact initial list. Don't spray the full database. Pick your highest-probability 50 contacts, personalise each outreach, and track responses. A 5% conversion on 50 well-targeted contacts outperforms a 0.5% conversion on 500 generic emails.

Step 4: Expand in waves. Once you have a first close signal, broaden outreach to endowments and pensions — they move slowly but write larger checks and provide credibility for future closes.

Which product is right for you