New York (HedgeCo.Net) – September 25, 2013 – HedgeCo, a company designed to increase transparency and communication between hedge funds and accredited investors, announced today it has selected leading marketing and communications firm Cognito to provide a range of marketing and communications services for hedge funds.

The HedgeCo-Cognito Premium Communications Program comes as the passage of the JOBS Act and relevant rules ease restrictions on marketing and communication between funds, current and prospective investors and the media. New rules remove a long-standing ban on general solicitation for hedge funds and other private investment firms, allowing funds to advertise and communicate with a broader audience.

HedgeCo operates the industry leading HedgeCo.net database, which has data on more than 7,500 funds representing a combined $1 trillion in assets under management. The company also hosts conferences, events, and provides educational materials and networking opportunities for hedge fund professionals.

The teams at HedgeCo and Cognito are uniquely positioned to jointly launch this program: HedgeCo has raised capital exclusively for hedge funds for the last 11 years from their investor base of over 34,000 individuals and institutions. HedgeCo’s experience with raising capital for funds on a one on one basis is now available for fund managers to articulate their messages and attract additional capital using the various advertising mediums now at our disposal. Cognito’s own expertise lies in its proven ability to help clients communicate such messaging within the financial and alternative asset management sector.

The HedgeCo-Cognito Premium Communications Program gives hedge funds the tools to take advantage of the additional communications avenues. Key elements include:

• Strategy – Develop a firm’s story through a Discovery Day/messaging workshop and work to create PR and marketing plans, along with resource assessment, message development and social media strategies

• Marketing + Advertising – Create, design and implement physical and digital copy including materials for print, online, industry events, conferences, direct marketing and search engine optimization services

• Collateral – Create materials for distribution to clients, prospects and industry influencers, including pitch books, website production, development and repositioning and media kits

• Public relations – Create earned media opportunities in the business and trade press by identifying target reporters, conducting media training, interviews and drafting press releases and bylined articles

“HedgeCo is built on providing industry-leading tools for enhanced transparency and communications in the hedge fund space,” said HedgeCo Senior Vice President Andrew Rapoport. “In the same way our industry leading database led the way in allowing qualified investors to access accurate, up-to-date performance figures, our partnership with Cognito will give the leading funds of today and tomorrow tools to communicate their brand messages to current and future customers through advertising, branding and the media.”

“HedgeCo is a brand that hedge funds trust, and we at Cognito are honored that they’ve chosen to trust us with providing branding and communications services to their growing community,” said Cognito President Dan Simon. “With the passage of the JOBS Act and the continuing industrialization of alternative asset management, there is increasing opportunity for smart funds to position themselves to new sources of capital.”

More information about the HedgeCo-Cognito program can be found at www.hedgeco.net/cognito.

About HedgeCo
HedgeCo was founded with the goal of encouraging transparency and enabling easy communication between hedge funds and accredited investors. To further the goal of industry transparency, HedgeCo Networks created HedgeCo.Net, a free online hedge fund database. As hedge funds saw the value of a free database, the number of hedge funds that report to HedgeCo.Net grew, and HedgeCo.Net became the largest independent hedge fund database.  HedgeCo has invested heavily in the technology which powers the HedgeCo.Net database. Advanced search functionality was built to ensure that the high quality data that we gathered on the funds was easily accessible to investors who were looking for a fund that matched their investment profile. www.hedgeco.net

About Cognito
Cognito is an international PR, digital and marketing agency that specializes in the financial services sector. From offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore, Cognito works with financial institutions, investment companies and system/data providers to implement programs that help them improve their business’ profile, reputation, marketing and lead generation. Cognito’s research and technology division Cognito Analytics, enables companies to plan and execute more informed business and communication strategies based on thorough industry information, research and analysis. Cognito Analytics provides a suite of cloud-based applications that cover both traditional and social media. For more information, visit www.cognitomedia.com and www.cognitoanalytics.com.