I'm reviving this thread since it still ranks so highly on google and a lot of people probably still come here looking for an answer to this question.
The OP really just mentioned needing a document management solution, which is really basic functionality, but I'll point out some more robust alternatives as well.
Here are a few different approaches and solutions at various levels.
Solution 1 - Use a Document Management Software
Pros
1. Cost
Using a software like Google Drive or Dropbox are a great way to start without dropping a lot of money.
2. Ease of use
Both of these are existing, established solutions that are going to be pretty easy to figure out and that your team can all use as your company grows.
3. No frills
Another benefit is that you're not going to have to pay for any features that you don't need.
Cons
1. Not scaleable
While that option is great for a lot of smaller syndicators, managing everything in an access based folder structure becomes really unwieldy as you get more and more deals and investors.
2. Firm-centric rather than investor-centric
While your investor's documents are more centralized for you using these solutions, they aren't necessarily more centralized for investors.
For example, if an investor wants access to last years K1s, they might have to go back through emails to find a link, in which case they'll probably just ask you to re-add them the the folder or send them another invite.
That wastes your time and theirs.
3. No Investment Performance
Another con is that the functionality is limited to only documents.
At a minimum, modern investors want an easy way to see their investment performance without digging through a bunch of documents.
Solution 2 - Have a Portal Custom Developed
Another solution, as mentioned earlier in the thread, is to have a custom development team build a portal.
If cost is your biggest concern, a Wordpress team would be one way to do this on the cheap (try Upwork.com, or a local web development team).
Pros
1. Branding
Having a portal custom developed for your company means you control the branding and look more professional to investors.
2. Custom functionality
A development team is going to be able to build whatever functionality you need if you can come up with the cash.
Cons
1. Managing Cost
While it's tempting to think you can do everything cheaper yourself, building software takes a lot of time and money. It is definitely possible to have an investor document portal for a couple grand or less, but in my experience as a developer and leading development teams, if you don’t have professional experience leading a product team, costs are going to be very difficult to control.
Managing a development budget is necessarily as clear cut as managing a renovation budget, and unforseen circumstances can make things skyrocket or totally tank the project in a hurry if you’re not careful.
2. Managing A Development Team
Managing a development team is not easy (ask me how I know :) ), and if you want to do things cheaply, that’s the best place to save costs.
Developers tend to think about things very differently than entrepreneurs and communicating across that gap can be a huge pain.
3. No Industry Knowledge
It’s easy to underestimate how important knowledge of your specific industry is when it comes to building custom tools, but if you’re planning to incorporate investment performance, distributions, and more, you should think about hiring a team who specializes in this area.
4. Cybersecurity
I’ve personally worked with and led some very smart software development teams and can tell you with certainty that most web developers, even very smart and experiences developers, don’t have the foggiest idea about how to build things securely.
Hiring any old team might be perfectly acceptable for basic document management and reporting, but when it comes to storing sensitive investor information, you need to look for a team that knows the industry and holds themselves to a very high standard when it comes to cybersecurity.
How To Achieve Good Results With A Custom Portal Development Team
The two ways you can really make sure things go well are to choose the right team and to be extremely clear and detailed in your deliverables.
Some of the things to think about are cost, features and functionality, quality of materials (yes, that’s a think in software too), design, timeline, and more.
The good news is that if you choose a really good development team, they’re going to be able to help you think through those things in an organized manner.
1. Hire an agile team.
If you go this route, I recommend you find a development team that takes an “Agile” approach to project management.
“Agile” basically means they have a process for iterative development that isn’t all or nothing. That approach helps them account for the unexpected and makes sure they can always hit your budget, even if one part of the project takes more time than expected and you have to reduce your ambition in other areas.
2. Hire a team who specializes in investor portals.
A team who specializes in investor portals is going to save you time by having developed similar solutions over many years and they’re going to be familiar enough with your industry to be able to fluently communicate in your language and build exactly what you need without a bunch of misunderstanding.
Solution 3 - Use An Existing Investor Portal Solution
Over the last few years a lot of investor portals have come on the market with various levels of functionality.
Some of the big names are IMS (Investor Management Services), which was recently sold to RealPage (starts around $1k/mo) and Juniper Square, which is build for bigger real estate fund managers (starts around $30k/yr).
There are a slew of small investor portal companies you can find with a quick google search that all have different features and functionality.
Some of the common features include investor reporting, distribution management, document management, and more.
It's a bit of a stretch to do a full feature comparison here of all the options, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our solution. Investor Deal Room is an investor portal software that provides a clean and intuitive option that syndicators and smaller firms can use without hiring a big team to manage it.
