What Is a Placement Agent?

A placement agent is a firm that acts as an intermediary between those seeking to raise capital and potential investors. Their role is to raise capital for private equity funds from a variety of institutional investors, like pension funds, insurance companies, or family offices. Some placement agents focus on a particular type of investor, like US pension advisors for pension for corporate and public pension funds, while others focus on a variety of investors. A placement agent may be an individual from a one-person firm or as large as a division of a global investment bank. Placement agents are compensated through fees either as a percentage of the capital raised or from the fund/company they are representing.

Functions of Placement Agents

Placement agents are engaged to sell the limited partnership interests of a fund. Their primary function is to raise investor commitments to private equity funds efficiently, which is done by introducing fund managers to investors. However, they can serve several purposes, including strategic advisory and creating marketing materials, which can be particularly helpful for new fund managers or managers who have limited contacts. In private equity, placement agents usually focus on raising capital for equity financing for start-ups or growth companies, mezzanine capital (a hybrid of debt and equity financing with a risk level in between senior debt and equity), or specialized financing like government loans.

Placement Fees

Placement fees are the fees paid to placement agents for introducing investors to private equity funds. Placement fees tend to range from around two to two and a half percent of the capital raised for the fund. Usually, placement agents are compensated once the fund has had a successful placement with the introduced investors. However, if the investor terminates their agreement, the placement agent gives up commissions, unless there is a provision stating otherwise in the agreement between the fund and agent. Many agents decide to take a portion of their fee and invest it back into the fund. This aligns the interests of the placement agent and the investors and also reduces the cash payment to the agent by the fund.

Evolving Payment Structures

The needs of equity funds evolve as the private equity market changes. Recently, placement agents have increasingly taken on a variety of roles, like providing marketing services. The more roles they assume, the rarer a standard fee-based compensation gets. It is becoming more common for there to be complex payment structures for placement agents. Some agents categorize their services and charge flat rates for advisory services and take a percentage-based compensation for investments they attract. Others have incentive-based agreements and earn a higher percentage of money as they raise more capital.

Conclusion

In the simplest terms, private equity funds need large sums of money to be able to invest, and placement agents can help them raise money through a variety of fundraising services. In the most common scenario, a placement agent will connect a fund to investors and take a percentage of the money they bring in. Many agents offer additional services that may require different payment structures, such as negotiating, marketing, or developing strategies. It is a job best suited for people with many connections to individuals with large amounts of investable money. Fundraising is vital for private equity funds, so placement agents are generally compensated well.

Before founding 3E in 2016, Managing Member Eric Bergin was Director at Rockpoint Group, where he was responsible for for the Finance Group, as well as acquisitions, asset management, and investor reporting activities.