The language around capital raising is loose. Introducer, adviser, broker, placement agent and consultant are used almost interchangeably, often by people who would struggle to describe what separates them. The distinction is not academic. It determines what a party is permitted to do, what a counterparty is entitled to rely on, and where responsibility sits when a transaction disappoints.
What an introduction is
An introduction connects two parties who might otherwise not have met, on the basis that there is a plausible fit between what one is seeking and what the other does. The introducer forms a view about relevance. It does not form a view, on behalf of either party, about the merits of proceeding.
The parties then conduct their own diligence, form their own opinions and negotiate their own terms. If they transact, they do so because each has independently concluded it is in their interest.
What advice is
Advice involves a recommendation. It carries an implicit or explicit statement that a particular course of action is suitable for a particular party. In the United Kingdom, advising on investments is a regulated activity, and carrying it on by way of business without the appropriate permission or exemption is a criminal offence under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
The boundary is crossed more easily than people expect. Telling an investor that an opportunity is attractive, that the terms are fair, or that they should participate, may all take a conversation across it, whatever the parties intended.
Why the discipline is useful
Beyond the legal position, the discipline improves the work. An introducer who is not selling has no incentive to overstate. The screening becomes genuinely selective, because the only asset an introducer holds is the willingness of capital to take its next call.
An investor who receives three relevant opportunities a year from a source that says nothing about their merits will read all three. An investor who receives thirty, each accompanied by an assurance of quality, will read none.
How Juliet Rose operates
We assess whether an opportunity falls within areas where we hold relevant capital relationships. We identify capital sources whose stated mandates appear to fit. We make an introduction, with the materials the company has prepared.
We do not recommend opportunities to investors. We do not advise companies on structure, valuation or terms. We do not represent that any opportunity is suitable for any party. Those judgements belong to the principals, who are better placed to make them and who bear their consequences.
This is a narrower role than some in the market claim. It is also a clearer one.
This article is general commentary. It is not investment advice, a recommendation or an offer, and it does not take account of the circumstances of any particular party. Juliet Rose Capital introduces only and does not provide advice on investments.