Over the past decade, a pervasive "Trust Recession" has swept across industries, eroding confidence in institutions, governments, businesses, media, and brands. Trust in financial institutions remains near historic lows – no one is immune to this widespread skepticism.
 

For investment managers and investor relations teams, this continued erosion of trust has brought new challenges: skeptical investors, longer diligence cycles, and a growing demand for transparency.
 

Recent summaries suggest the average person now processes as much as 74 GB per day, covering media from TV, computers, smartphones, tablets, billboards, and more—akin to streaming 16 movies daily, with 6,000 to 10,000 advertisements each day across various platforms.
 

The explosion and commoditization of opinions, market data and financial advice means that competence alone is no longer a differentiator. This on-storm of information, the rise “fin-fluencers” and AI-generated content which basically everyone can create, and distribute, add to the challenge. No wonder that clients become more discerning about the authenticity and human element behind the information they consume.

Here are key areas where investment managers can focus their efforts to combat the trust recession.
 

1. Pass the “Human Test”: Show who you are. Don’t hide behind numbers or formulas.
 

Here some ideas how to do that:
 

1.1 Embrace Radical Transparency and Proactive Communication
 

• Lead with Truth: Be forthright about your investment strategies, potential risks, and fees. If mistakes occur, acknowledge them promptly and clearly. Outline the steps being taken to rectify the situation and prevent future recurrences. Always present a true picture of both successes and failures. Clients appreciate honesty, especially during tough times.
• Managers have typically no idea how investors interact and exchange information and experiences – about investment managers. Therefore, treat every investor with the highest respect and integrity.
• Regular Updates: Provide consistent communication through newsletters, emails, videos, and meetings. This keeps clients informed and engaged.
• Disclosure: Be open about fees, risks, and potential conflicts of interest. Transparency in these areas can build trust and credibility.

Productivity Hack 1: Schedule quarterly "Transparency Talks" with clients, where you walk through portfolio decisions and market outlooks in a live or recorded session. This small time investment can yield significant trust dividends.
 

1.2 Cultivate Authentic Relationships and Personal Connection

• Showcase Unique Value: Clearly articulate what differentiates your firm. That’s paramount. Your firm and your offering must be unique and differentiated. Highlight your unique expertise, insights, and the specific investor benefits and value you bring to the client relationship.
• Consistent Delivery on Promises: Ensure that what you promise aligns with what you can realistically deliver. Consistently meeting or exceeding client expectations is fundamental to building sustained trust.
• Prioritize Understanding: Invest time in truly understanding each client's unique financial goals, risk tolerance, and personal circumstances. Express genuine interest and actively listen to their concerns and aspirations.
• Seek and Act on Feedback: Regularly solicit feedback from clients and demonstrate that their input is valued by incorporating it into your service delivery and communication strategies.

Productivity Hack 2: Implement structured feedback loops using surveys or one-on-one check-ins. Tools like Typeform or Google Forms can collect client input efficiently, while AI-driven sentiment analysis can flag recurring themes.

• Train IR teams to ask open-ended questions during client meetings, such as, “What’s your biggest concern about your portfolio right now? Which parts of the markets have recently spiked your interest?” Document responses in your CRM for follow-up and dedicate 30 minutes weekly to review client feedback or inquiries. Use this to refine your messaging and address recurring concerns in your next communication cycle. You could also set up a recurring “Client Pulse” survey every six months to gauge trust levels and satisfaction. Use the data to adjust your approach and share improvements with clients to show you’re listening.
• Personalized Engagement, Empathy and Care: Beyond financial discussions, reach out to clients to show you care about their broader well-being and life events. This fosters deeper connections and reinforces trust beyond just investment performance.

Productivity Hack 3: Leverage CRM systems to segment clients based on their investment goals, risk tolerance, or communication preferences, and personalize communication. Automate tailored updates (e.g., via email or client portals) that address specific client needs, such as tax implications for high-net-worth individuals or ESG considerations for socially conscious investors. Sophisticated CRM and email tools can help IR teams track client interactions and ensure no one falls through the cracks.
 

Create a stronger bond and trust through personalized communication, showing you understand their unique goals and concerns.
 

Productivity Hack 4: Community Building. Host investor forums or networking events at your office to deepen engagement.  If budgets are a challenge, consider teaming up with other firms (other funds, service providers etc.) for a jointly organized event.
 

1.3 Use Independent Signals of Credibility
 

If an investor doesn’t know you, they’ll look for external validation. Third-party assessments go a long way in bridging the trust gap.

• Use an established audit firm or operational due diligence (ODD) provider. Castle Hall’s Due Diligence Exchange (DDX) Verification Report verifies and addresses the majority of operational due diligence questions upfront, and in a format allocators are already familiar with.
• Provide references from current LPs (where appropriate). These third-party signals serve as trust accelerators.

1.4 Thought Leadership Through Education
 

Share your expertise through high-quality, relevant content such as articles, webinars, videos, or personalized insights that educate clients about market dynamics and help them make informed decisions.
 

Maintain a public presence: speak on panels, publish thought leadership, contribute to reputable media outlets. In a Trust Recession, clients gravitate toward managers who demonstrate deep knowledge and a steady hand. Thought leadership positions you as a trusted guide in turbulent times.
 

Productivity Hack 5: Collaborate with your extended team to produce high-impact content to be published at a defined interval (e.g. quarterly), such as a whitepaper on market trends, and distribute it to clients and prospects with a personalized cover note.
 

Create a content calendar to share insights via blogs, videos, or webinars without overwhelming your team. Repurpose existing research or market commentary into bite-sized posts for LinkedIn or your firm’s blog. Use scheduling tools like Buffer to streamline posting.
 

Productivity Hack 6: Build Reputation Capital Digitally
 

In complementing in-person meetings, digital presence becomes a proxy for credibility.

• Keep your LinkedIn current and active.
• Publish thoughtful commentary that reflects your investment worldview.
• Encourage visibility from existing investors, advisors, or collaborators.

2. Overcommunicate Your Process & Governance
 

Investors are wary of black-box strategies. The more you demystify your investment and operational process, the more trustworthy you appear.

• Walk prospects through your investment process step by step.
• Explain how decisions are made, how risk is managed, and how conflicts are addressed.
• Even small firms should publish governance and compliance practices.

Strengthen Cybersecurity & Data Protection: Investors need to know their data and assets are safe. Therefore, highlight security measures and compliance with regulations.

Clear process communication builds confidence and comfort.
 

3. Deliver Value Before the Allocation
 

Trust begins well before capital is allocated. Provide value early and often to establish goodwill.

• Share market insights or portfolio thinking that help LPs in their own work.
• Offer webinars, memos, or 1:1 time with the PM team.
• Avoid overly promotional content—focus on relevance.  With that, avoid overpromising; set clear expectations.

When you provide value upfront, you establish yourself as a partner, not a product.
 

4. Be Consistent Across Every Touchpoint
 

Trust is often lost in the details. Discrepancies between your deck, website, DDQ, and investor calls can create unease.

• Keep performance data and relevant information synchronized across materials.
• Ensure messaging aligns across all communication channels.
• Be responsive and reliable in follow-ups.

Productivity Hack 7: The “mystery investor”. In business, the mystery shopper is a tool used primarily in market research and quality control. It involves an individual, known as the mystery shopper, who poses as a regular customer to evaluate the quality of service, operations, or products of a business.
 

Once a year, someone from your team, or an external person, should start an entirely fresh interaction with your firm, posing as a potential investor, and scrutinizing every interaction and how the firm is perceived.
 

Consistency creates credibility.
 

5. Don’t Outsource the Relationship
 

Investors back people, not just performance. Authentic access builds trust.

• Ensure PMs and founders are visible in early meetings.
• Empower IR without making them a gatekeeper.
• Emphasize your size as a strength: you’re agile, accessible, and engaged.

Investment managers and IR personnel often find themselves in a complex net of relationship structures which often start with all types of introducers such as prime brokers, cap into teams, third party marketers, affiliates, referrers, and so on.
 

This can often be sensitive: “Who owns the (new) contact?”, but make sure you are offering yourself and your team as the direct access point, showing respect and appreciation to the client or potential client. A personal relationship with decision-makers makes all the difference.
 

The Bottom Line: By focusing on these practical strategies, investment managers can actively combat the "Trust Recession," build stronger client relationships, and differentiate themselves in a competitive landscape. Trust is earned through consistent action, genuine connection, and unwavering commitment to client success.

For more insights on enhancing productivity and refining your approach, explore other articles in our "Productivity Hacks for Investment Managers & IR Teams" series:

• FundManager.Tools Blog

Coming Next: Productivity Hack #7 - The "Investor CRM" System That Actually Works