Specialist advisers who assist institutional investors in their private equity allocation decisions. Institutional investors with little experience of the asset class or those with limited resources often use them to help manage their private equity allocation.

Gatekeepers usually offer tailored services according to their clients' needs, including private equity fund sourcing and due diligence through to complete discretionary mandates.

Many large institutions find themselves with money in employee retirement plans that needs to be managed, but by whom? The senior management of an airplane manufacturer or pharmaceutical company, for example, may not be the most qualified at knowing how to invest the funds of its employees' pensions.

In addition, they may not have the expertise to pick the right portfolio manager to do this for them. This is where the institutional investment consultant comes in. These are the "gatekeepers" that allow asset managers the chance to manage money for large institutions. This article will give you a general idea of what an investment consultant does and how they help their clients with manager selection.