RFP tracking that finds the manager search in the board minutes, before the RFP lands
Manager searches seen about a quarter before the RFP, every signal cited to its page.
See one case, screen by screen ↓RFP tracking is the work of finding the manager searches institutional investors run — the investment manager RFPs that pension plans and other asset owners issue to hire a manager — and following each one to a pursuit decision. RFP Tracking does it before the RFP lands: seven agents read the board minutes, packets and notices of 2,014 plan sponsors in their own languages, forecast each coming search with a probability and an expected RFP window, match it to a strategy and check the contact rules. The RFP coordinator proposes each pursuit and the Head of Consultant Relations approves it.
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RFP tracking usually starts when the RFP is posted, and by then the manager search was decided months earlier. A board puts a manager on watch, the consultant reviews the asset class, the board votes to terminate or to fund a new allocation, and only then does an RFP appear — often with a 30-day response window and a consultant shortlist already forming. All of it happens in public: US public pension boards post agendas and board packets and keep minutes, and many plans abroad publish their board decisions in their own language. But RFP alerts and monthly lists of investment management RFPs report a search after it is announced, a packet can run to hundreds of pages, and no consultant relations team reads the board documents of 2,000 plans every month.
Finding the search is only half of it. One board sentence about “emerging markets debt” can fit three strategies with different benchmarks, minimums and capacity, and a wrong pick wastes a finals slot. Contact with a government plan is regulated: one covered contribution to an official who can influence the hire can bar a manager from being paid by that plan for two years under SEC Rule 206(4)-5, and a trustee dinner during a quiet period can disqualify the bid. And the pipeline in the CRM often holds rumors with no source, so nobody can show the CIO or an auditor why one search was pursued and another passed.
Estimated split for one public pension manager search, from the first board signal to an approved pursuit in the CRM, by hand and with the solution.
Seven agents read every board packet, find, check, match and score each coming search, and check contact rules; a coordinator proposes, the head of consultant relations approves.
Ridgeline County Employees' Retirement System — an $18.4 billion county plan with Calloway Partners as general consultant, and a Quillfield Capital client since 2019 with $410 million in US Core Fixed Income — voted on September 16 to terminate its emerging-markets debt manager. The approved minutes were posted on October 19. It is Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 8:50 a.m. in New York. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Owen's day opens on four numbers: 2,014 plan sponsors watched, 146 searches forecast (an estimated $38.6B, 88 of them matching Quillfield strategies), 7 decisions waiting for him, and 52 of 61 RFPs this year seen first, a median 96 days before the RFP. Under “Needs you”, each item has one next step; the first is Ridgeline County ERS. Beside it, the overnight log: the Reader agent read 412 documents from 188 plan sponsors between 1:00 and 3:40 a.m., among them Dutch, German and Japanese originals and 9 meeting videos.
Check agent, 4:05 a.m.: “Re-read 14 sources: confirmed 12, vetoed 1 (Upland Valley Police: the quote was not on the cited page), asked a person about 1 (Seto Inland, 81%).”
The search forecast lays the board meetings of the plans in view across August to January, with a line for today. Meetings whose packets hold a sentence that signals a manager search carry a lit marker with the page. Owen selects Ridgeline's “p.14”: the motion opens under the timeline, joined by a thin line to the predicted search it became — PS-2611, emerging markets debt, $736M, 70%, expected February 10, 2027, matched to Emerging Markets Debt Blend. Below, the forecast strip sorts every predicted search by the month its RFP is expected.
“MOTION: Trustee Alvarez moved, seconded by Trustee Marsh, to terminate the emerging-markets debt manager; staff and consultant to issue an RFP in Q1 2027 for an active emerging-markets debt mandate … Motion carried 7–2.”
The Reader agent read the approved minutes of the September 16 regular meeting, 22 pages, posted October 19 with the October 21 packet, and stored a hashed copy. Click the citation and the page opens with the motion and the roll call highlighted, next to what the agents took from it. The Signal agent, at 96%, found item 7.B: a 7–2 vote to terminate and a Q1 2027 RFP, sized at the 4% target of an $18.4B fund, about $736M. Calloway Partners had reported the portfolio trailing its benchmark by 2.1% a year over three years.
It follows the March watch-list placement — the first signal, scored at 20%.
Before any forecast exists, the Check agent opens the posted PDF itself, not the Signal agent's text, compares the motion word for word, checks the roll call — 7 ayes, 2 noes, 9 trustees present — and confirms the minutes were approved on October 7. Confidence 97%. The Match agent then compares three Quillfield strategies on eight criteria: asset class, benchmark, vehicle, minimum, track record, capacity, fee range and relationship. Emerging Markets Debt Blend fits 92 — blended mandate, 15-year record, $100M separate account minimum, capacity open — ahead of EM Local Currency at 71 and EM Corporate Debt at 58.
“I re-read page 14 on my own. Body, date, motion text and the 7–2 roll call match, and these minutes are approved, not draft.”
The Score agent gives a 70% chance that an active RFP Quillfield can enter opens, most likely around February 10, 2027, in a window from January 15 to March 31 — up from 20% after the March watch list. Up: the 7–2 vote, and Ridgeline sent 9 of its last 11 terminations to a public RFP within 150 days. Sofia Brandt has already proposed the pursuit. Owen asks the agents on the search why it is not higher, and the answer comes back cited.
“Three things hold it at 70%. The staff memo keeps a passive index option open, at 0.28% a year less. Two of Ridgeline's last 11 terminations went to an existing manager, not an RFP. And the motion says Q1 but not a date.”
Stichting Pensioenfonds Veldmark's board minutes of September 24 are read in Dutch. Page 6 of 11 sits on the left, the English translation, checked against the original, on the right, with the decision highlighted in both. The search: European small-cap equity, €1.2B (about $1.39B), 55%, expected March 2027, matched to European Smaller Companies at fit 88. Check agent 94%. Hannah Okafor proposed it; at $1 billion or more it needs two approvals, Owen's and Catherine Wells's.
“The board decides to replace the current European small-cap manager and asks the fiduciary manager to start a selection process in the first quarter of 2027 for a mandate of about €1.2 billion.”
A Japanese public mutual aid association plans a public tender for an active foreign bond manager in fiscal 2027, about ¥90B (≈ $600M). The Check agent read the original Japanese, not the translation, and found the sentence says “foreign bonds” while the reference line says investment-grade corporate only. At 81%, below the 85% line, it stops and asks Leo Fischer, the distribution intelligence analyst. Owen's Confirm button stays locked: nobody can pursue it until the analyst decides.
“… so I am at 81%, below the 85% line. Leo Fischer, please confirm before this goes forward.”
For Ridgeline, the Contact Rules agent found no quiet period yet — it starts when the RFP is issued — and one covered contribution in the two-year look-back: Marcus Delgado's $250 to Treasurer Dana Ruiz, an ex officio trustee, within the $350 de minimis and pre-cleared. Contact is allowed. This week it checked 18 planned contacts and held one: Marcus's October 28 dinner with a Westmark Teachers trustee, inside the quiet period of an RFP issued October 2. Rachel Kim in Sales Compliance decides before October 23.
“Quiet period active since October 2: RFP §2.6 allows contact only with the Procurement Officer; violation may disqualify. Proposal: Decline the dinner; attend the public panel only; send questions to Alicia Moreno by the October 23 deadline.”
Sofia Brandt, the RFP coordinator, proposed the pursuit on October 20 at 4:12 p.m.: owner Marcus Delgado, RFP kit by December 15, a meeting request to Calloway Partners in November. At $736M it sits in the $250M-to-$1B tier, so the Head of Consultant Relations approves. Owen picks the reason code PURSUE-FIT · Strategy fits the mandate, and the approval will not go through until he ticks that he has reviewed the source page and the contact rules.
“You are the checker. Sofia Brandt proposed it; your approval and reason code go on the record with the evidence.”
The search turns to Pursuing, and the Pipeline agent runs its five steps in view: it creates opportunity OPP-26-1187 in the CRM with the approval as its reference, assigns Marcus Delgado as owner and Sofia Brandt for the RFP kit, sets an RFP watch on Ridgeline's procurement portal and Calloway Partners' announcements, and logs the decision with PURSUE-FIT and the evidence page. The consultant meeting request is drafted and waits for Rachel Kim's contact clearance.
The Pipeline agent drafts the meeting request for Rachel Kim to clear; nothing is sent by the agent.
The same manager search, seen by five of the people who carry it — what finding it looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents read every board packet, find, check, match and score each coming search, and check contact rules; a coordinator proposes, the head of consultant relations approves.
Reads agendas, board packets, minutes, investment committee packs, meeting video transcripts, procurement notices and consultant announcements of 2,014 plan sponsors, in their own language, and keeps a dated, hashed copy of every document.
Finds the sentences that start a manager search — watch list, termination, new target, pacing line, structure review, “issue an RFP” — and extracts plan, body, date, asset class, size and vote, each with its page.
Re-reads the source page on its own and confirms quote, body, date, motion and vote before a predicted search exists; vetoes on a mismatch and asks a person below 85%.
Ties each search to Quillfield strategies on asset class, benchmark, vehicle, minimum, track record, capacity, fee range and relationship, with a fit score and reasons.
Gives the probability that a search Quillfield can enter opens, and the expected RFP window, with the drivers it weighed and its calibration.
Checks every planned contact with a government plan against its quiet period, the firm's political-contribution records under Rule 206(4)-5 and the placement-agent policy, and holds anything doubtful for Compliance.
After a person approves, writes the opportunity to the CRM, assigns owners, sets the RFP watch and SLAs, drafts the brief, and hands landed RFPs to the RFP team.
Maker, checker, contact clearance. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask the agents about the selected search, a screen or a record — or tell them what to do. Every answer cites its page, and an instruction becomes a proposed edit for a person to approve.
Why is Ridgeline at 70% and not higher?
Three things hold it at 70%. The staff memo keeps a passive index option open, at 0.28% a year less. Two of Ridgeline's last 11 terminations went to an existing manager, not an RFP. And the motion says Q1 but not a date. If the January 6 agenda carries the RFP release, I will move to about 85%.
Which searches could open in Q1 for our EM strategies?
Three, all matched: Ridgeline County ERS, EM debt, $736M, expected February 10 at 70%; Cascadia PERB, EM equity, $1.1B, January at 65%; Lakeshore Municipal Teachers, EM debt, $200M, January at 76%. Ridgeline waits for your approval.
Can we contact Westmark trustees right now?
No. Westmark issued its direct-lending RFP on October 2, and section 2.6 allows contact only with the Procurement Officer until the award. The Contact Rules agent held Marcus Delgado's October 28 dinner with a trustee; Rachel Kim decides.
Can I trust the 70% band?
Yes, within a point: of 34 searches scored at 60–80%, 24 opened (71%). At 80% or more, 19 of 22 opened (86%), a little under the score given, so version 2.4 lowered the top band by two points.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
How searches are confirmed, shown, approved and written to the CRM — every setting proposed by one person, applied by an approver and recorded on the audit trail.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Check agent confirms before a forecast exists | 85% | Below this, a person decides |
| Show on the forecast strip from | 30% | Probability |
| Approval tier 1 | 1 approver | Under $250M: Head of Consultant Relations or Head of Consultant Relations, Americas |
| Approval tier 2 | 1 approver | $250M to $1B: Head of Consultant Relations |
| Approval tier 3 | 2 approvers | $1B or more: Head of Consultant Relations and Head of Distribution |
| Bulk approval | On | Only under $250M and at 75% or more |
| Reason code on every decision | Required | Pursue: 3 codes · reject: 8 codes, OTHER needs a note |
| CRM write | Always | Only after approval, with its reference |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · “target” = the design goal, measured in a pilot · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (Cerulli Associates, U.S. Institutional Distribution Dynamics 2025 — the five largest consultants advise on 70% of worldwide assets; Cerulli via Institutional Investor, 2019 — 91% of managers surveyed struggle with RFP and DDQ deadlines; SEC Rule 206(4)-5 — a two-year time-out after a covered contribution, with $350 and $150 de minimis exceptions). Quillfield Capital and the plan sponsors, consultants, strategies and people named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
RFP tracking is the work of finding the manager searches institutional investors run — the investment manager RFPs that pension plans and other asset owners issue to hire a manager — and following each one to a pursuit decision. RFP Tracking does it before the RFP lands: seven agents read the board minutes, packets and notices of 2,014 plan sponsors in their own languages, forecast each coming search with a probability and an expected RFP window, match it to a strategy and check the contact rules. The RFP coordinator proposes each pursuit and the Head of Consultant Relations approves it.
The search starts in public, in the board's own documents: a manager put on watch, a consultant's structure review, a vote to terminate or a new allocation in a pacing plan. The Reader agent reads every agenda, packet, minutes, investment committee pack, meeting video and procurement notice of the watched plans, and the Signal agent finds the sentence, the page and the vote. In the working solution, 52 of 61 relevant RFPs this year were seen first, a median 96 days before they landed.
Yes. Board documents are read in their original language — Dutch, German, French, Norwegian and Japanese among them in the working solution — and shown beside a checked English translation, with the passage highlighted in both. The Check agent compares the figures against the original, and when the original and a reference line disagree it asks the analyst instead of guessing.
Before anyone calls, meets or dines with a government plan, the Contact Rules agent checks the plan's quiet period, the firm's political contributions in the two-year look-back under Rule 206(4)-5 and the plan's placement-agent policy. Anything doubtful is held for Sales Compliance with the rule cited; the agent never clears a contact or sends anything itself.
Every forecast is a probability with its drivers, and calibration is tracked against the RFPs that actually opened. In the working solution, of 135 forecasts over 12 months, searches scored at 60–80% opened 71% of the time and those at 80% or more opened 86%. A search below 30% is not shown on the forecast strip.
Only after a person approves the pursuit. The Pipeline agent then creates the opportunity with the approval as its reference, assigns the owner and the RFP coordinator, sets an RFP watch on the plan's procurement portal and the consultant's announcements, and logs every write. Until then, the CRM holds nothing the agents found.
Yes. The RFP coordinator or a sales director proposes, a different person approves — two approvers at $1 billion or more — and every decision, yes or no, carries a reason code. No-product, capacity and fee-floor rejections feed a product-gap report, and every step is on a hash-chained audit trail.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your watchlist of plan sponsors, your approved strategy records, your approval tiers and contact rules, and the CRM it writes to — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. First-time setup includes a back-test that re-reads the last 12 months of board documents against the RFPs that landed.
Every consultant profile current each quarter, every figure tied to its source.
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