An embedded broker model for capital advisors

How the engagement works at a glance

Most capital advisory firms hit the same ceiling: a strong deal book, a stretched thin placement team, and an investor universe that takes months to canvass for every mandate. Keystone solves that by embedding our own brokers into your internal team for the duration of a mandate.

Our brokers work as an extension of your firm, under NDA, under your senior banker, and against your client mandates. They use Keystone's proprietary investor intelligence platform (100,000+ verified allocators across VC, PE, family office, sovereign, and credit) to build, qualify, and run targeted outreach into the investors most likely to close.

The embedded model in detail

Embedded means embedded. A Keystone broker is dedicated to your mandate from kickoff through close. They sit on your internal Slack/Teams, join your weekly deal team calls, work from your CIM and data room, and represent the mandate using your firm's brand in every investor conversation.

What sits with Keystone

• A FINRA licensed broker (Series 7 / 63 / 79 as required by mandate type) embedded full time on your deal.
• Access to Keystone's full investor intelligence platform, 100,000+ verified allocators, mandate tracking, recent deployment signals, partner level contacts.
• Targeted list construction, sequencing, outreach, qualification calls, and IC ready feedback capture.
• Weekly pipeline reporting, CRM hygiene, and full audit trail of every investor touched.
• All compliance, supervision, and broker dealer registration of our placement personnel.

What sits with your firm

• The client relationship, the mandate, the engagement letter, and the senior banker calls.
• Pricing, structuring, and negotiation of terms with investors we surface.
• Final IC, term sheet, and close mechanics.
• Branding, every investor interaction goes out under your firm, not ours.

From kickoff to close: the placement process

We run a structured 5 stage placement process on every mandate. Most engagements run 8 to 16 weeks from kickoff to first close, depending on raise size, complexity, and investor universe.

1. Intake & mandate scoping (Week 0 to 1). We sit with your senior banker, read the CIM, agree the investor universe, check size band, sector cuts, and geographic priorities. We draft the outreach narrative and get sign off.
2. Universe build (Week 1 to 2). Using Keystone's platform we build the target list, typically 150 to 600 qualified allocators depending on mandate. Every name is gut checked against recent deployment, mandate fit, and dry powder signals before it enters outreach.
3. Outreach & qualification (Week 2 to 10). Our embedded broker runs sequenced outreach under your brand. We book intro calls, qualify interest, capture feedback, and hand warm investors directly to your senior banker for the pitch.
4. Diligence support (Week 6 to 14). We manage the data room flow, schedule diligence calls, and chase outstanding items so your senior team stays focused on negotiation.
5. Close & post mortem (Week 12 to 16). We document every investor touched, every reason given, and hand your firm a closeout pack, useful for the next mandate and for showing the client exactly what the market said.

The investor universe we bring to the table

Keystone maintains one of the most complete and continuously refreshed investor datasets in the market. Every record is re verified on a rolling cycle so partners, emails, and mandates stay current, and our brokers prioritize allocators with live, recent deployment signals over names that raised a fund three years ago and have gone quiet.

• 175,000+ venture capital firms across pre seed to growth.
• 100,000+ private equity firms across growth, buyout, and special situations.
• 60,000+ family offices, single and multi family, globally.
• 20,000+ sovereign wealth, pension, endowment, and foundation allocators.
• Credit funds, hedge funds, corporate VCs, fund of funds, and accelerators.

Commercials: a flat 25% performance fee

We deliberately keep our pricing simple so the conversation with your CFO is short.

The structure

• Zero retainer. Zero monthly fee. Zero setup cost.
• 25% of the placement fee your firm earns on capital we directly source and close.
• Invoiced at close, alongside your own placement fee, payable on the standard 30 day client terms you already operate.
• No fee on capital sourced by your firm's own team, we are only paid on investors we introduce and qualify.

Why this works for both sides

Embedded broker headcount is the single most expensive line on a capital advisory P&L. Our model converts that fixed cost into a variable cost that only triggers when the mandate actually closes. Your gross margin on every Keystone sourced dollar is 75%, with no hiring, no FINRA sponsorship of additional staff, and no idle capacity between mandates.

Compliance, registration & supervision

Capital introduction is a regulated activity in every jurisdiction we operate in. Keystone's placement personnel are registered representatives of a FINRA/SIPC member broker dealer, fully supervised under that firm's WSPs.

• Every embedded broker holds the licenses appropriate to the mandate type (Series 7, 63, 79, and where required 82).
• All electronic communications with investors are captured, archived, and supervised on our side under SEC 17a 4 retention rules.
• We sign a mutual NDA at kickoff and operate under your firm's written engagement letter with the client.
• BrokerCheck records for every placement professional are made available on request.
• We carry our own E&O coverage and name your firm as additional insured on any mandate exceeding $50M target raise.

Who this is built for

The model lands best with capital advisory firms in one of three positions:

1. You have more mandates than your in house placement team can credibly cover. You are turning away deals or under marketing the ones you take.
2. You want to push into a new investor segment (family office, sovereign, international LPs) where you don't yet have warm coverage and don't want to hire a full desk to test it.
3. You want to convert a fixed placement team cost into a variable, success based cost, particularly useful for boutiques scaling from 10 to 50 mandates per year.

It is not a fit for firms that consider their investor relationships proprietary and prefer to keep all allocator facing work in house. We are explicit about that upfront.

Frequently asked questions

Do your brokers represent Keystone or our firm to investors?

Your firm. From the first email to the close call, every investor sees your brand, your senior banker, and your engagement letter. Keystone operates as a white labelled extension of your placement team.

What if a Keystone sourced investor doesn't close on this mandate but closes on a later one?

Standard tail: 12 months from introduction. If an investor we introduced on Mandate A closes on Mandate B within 12 months, the 25% fee applies to the closed portion. Beyond 12 months the relationship is fully yours.

Can we use Keystone's platform without embedding a broker?

Yes, we offer software only access for firms that want the investor intelligence layer but already have placement headcount. Pricing is separate from the embedded model. Talk to us about either.

How fast can a broker be embedded?

Typical kickoff is 5 to 10 business days from signed engagement letter, dependent on conflicts clearance and mandate specific licensing. Rush kickoffs are possible for live deals.

Is there a minimum mandate size?

We are most efficient on raises between $10M and $500M, but we run smaller mandates where there is a clear path to follow on work with the same firm.