Reporting and sharing critical fund and account level information is essential for any hedge fund, private equity, and traditional asset manager to meet investor, advisor, and regulator demands for transparency. Many firms have digitalized how they distribute documents and reports by adding a secure document portal to their asset management website. Whether you generate thousands of documents across share classes and languages per month or just a handful of fund level documents, here are 4 qualities that your document portal should absolutely not exist without: 

1. Clear Document Categorization

Making fund level documents available to investors, prospects, and advisors on demand is a great first step in digitalizing your communication and information sharing efforts. Many firms take this a step further by expanding the types of documents they share, like market commentary, research, or account-level documents. While making more types of content available is an effective tactic for increasing engagement rates within your portal, it can easily overwhelm website visitors if it is not properly organized. Utilizing a menu to break out documents by type, such as "Account Documents" and sub-types like "Financial Statements," makes it easy for investors to navigate and find content.

2. Document Search And Filters

Ensuring your document library is equipped with a robust search and filter bar is an absolute MUST! These features may seem simple and obvious, but ultimately have the power to make or break the user experience of your document portal. Adding filters on qualities, such as date, fund, account, or topic, make it super easy for website visitors to find what they are looking for and even discover new content that piques their interests. 

3. A Distinct Draw to Newly Posted Content

Make your newly available content shine! Add a distinct section or unique design elements to draw website visitors' attention to the new documents and content you just posted, helping to ensure investors and advisors don't miss new information. Some even take a step further by using asset management investor portals with automatic notification features to send email alerts to permissioned individuals anytime a new document is available for viewing. Features like these available in the right CMS platform naturally help to increase engagement with minimal effort. 

4. Ability to Securely Download Documents

Increasing transparency with your investors, prospects and advisors is an effective way to build trust. Still, you also want to ensure you're sharing information in a secure way that protects your firm. Leveraging tools like built-in watermarking and document rights management (DRM) help discourage the distribution of information outside of your document portal. 

Adding a document portal to your asset management website helps firms demonstrate their thought leadership prowess, build trust through transparency with their investor base, and ultimately serve their clients better.

Are you thinking about launching or redesigning your fund document portal?
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