How does due diligence differ at asset, vehicle, fund and manager level?
Updated
The workstreams are similar and the subject is not. At company or asset level the evidence base is a data room and the question is whether the asset is worth owning. At vehicle level the subject is the SPV, co-investment or continuation structure, so terms, rights and conflicts dominate. At fund level the subject is a vehicle, so structure, terms, jurisdiction and the portfolio through to underlying holdings dominate. At manager level the subject is the firm, so track record attribution, decision rights, process consistency and operational controls dominate.
Treating these as separate exercises is the common failure. An allocator committing to a fund is simultaneously underwriting the vehicle, the fund, the firm running it and the assets inside it, and a finding at one level frequently changes the reading at another. A valuation policy question raised in operational diligence changes how the reported performance of the fund should be read, and that in turn changes how the holdings are assessed.
Reuben AI runs the same engine at every level on one record. Workstream templates and evidence requirements differ by subject and by asset class, but the mechanics do not: each claim is bound to a source document and linked to its source, with open questions and evidence gaps recorded for team review, and the memo is generated from those findings rather than transcribed.
Because the records are connected, findings roll up to the full portfolio and exposure reads down. A holding inside a fund can be examined directly, and the same underlying company reached through more than one manager is visible rather than inferred.
How Reuben AI compares
How the four levels differ in subject, evidence and dominant risk.
| Attribute | Reuben AI | Dominant risk | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company or asset level | Data room, contracts, financials, team | Concentration and dependency | IC memo on a transaction |
| Vehicle level | Vehicle documents, terms, rights, approvals | Economics, rights and conflicts | Vehicle assessment linked to the asset |
| Fund level | Fund documents, terms, holdings through to underlying holdings | Structure, terms and portfolio construction | Commitment recommendation |
| Manager level | Track record, policies, providers, references | Attribution, process and operational control | Maintained manager assessment |
| Shared mechanics | Sourced claims, tiering, generated memo, audit trail | Asset class, strategy and jurisdiction | One investment record |
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to run all three?
No. Each level stands alone. Direct investors often need only company or asset level, co-investors add vehicle level, while allocators committing to third-party funds usually need fund and manager level together.
Does the asset class change the questions?
Yes. Evidence requirements are configured per asset class and strategy, because credit, venture, infrastructure and real assets do not share an evidence set.
Does jurisdiction change the assessment?
At fund level in particular. Vehicle types and their governance and reporting expectations differ by jurisdiction, so structures are assessed against local conventions rather than one global template.
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