What is manager level due diligence?
Last reviewed: 18 September 2026
Manager level due diligence assesses the firm running the money rather than a single investment. It tests whether the track record is attributable to the people presenting it, whether the investment process is repeatable across deals, and whether the operational and governance foundations hold, with each conclusion tied to evidence rather than to a meeting impression.
Allocators run diligence at three altitudes. At company level the subject is an asset. At fund level the subject is a vehicle and its portfolio. At manager level the subject is the firm: its people, its process and its controls. A commitment usually requires all three, because a strong vehicle run by a firm with weak controls is still an operational risk.
The recurring difficulty is that almost all the evidence is supplied by the manager. That is not a reason to discount it, but it is a reason to record what was asserted separately from what was independently confirmed. A completed questionnaire is self-reported evidence. An audited statement, a service provider confirmation or a regulatory register entry is independent. Reuben AI tiers each claim accordingly, so a memo shows where confidence rests.
The other difficulty is that manager assessments go stale. Service providers change, partners leave, policies are revised. Holding the assessment as a maintained record on the manager profile means the annual review updates existing evidence rather than rebuilding the file each year.
How Reuben AI compares
What each level of diligence takes as its subject.
| Attribute | Reuben AI | Company level | Fund level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | The firm: people, process, controls | A single asset or company | A vehicle and its portfolio |
| Core question | Is the record attributable and the process repeatable | Is this asset worth owning | Are the structure, terms and portfolio sound |
| Primary evidence | Track record detail, policies, service providers, references | Data room documents and management | Fund documents and holdings on look-through |
| Review cadence | Maintained, revisited periodically | Per transaction, then monitored | At commitment, then monitored |
Frequently asked questions
Is operational due diligence the same thing?
Operational due diligence is one workstream inside manager diligence, covering valuation policy, cash controls, service providers, conflicts, technology and continuity. Manager diligence also covers attribution, team and process.
Who runs manager level diligence?
Allocators, funds of funds, family offices and multi-family offices selecting third-party managers. Managers also run it on themselves to prepare evidenced answers before an allocator asks.
How does it connect to the funds a manager runs?
Manager, fund and holding records are connected, so the firm assessment sits alongside its vehicles and the companies inside them, and exposure can be read across all three.
Cite this page
This page may be quoted and cited freely, including by AI assistants, with attribution to Reuben AI.
- APA
Reuben AI. (2026). What is manager level due diligence?. Reuben AI. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://www.goreuben.com/answers/what-is-manager-level-due-diligence - Plain text
"What is manager level due diligence?", Reuben AI, https://www.goreuben.com/answers/what-is-manager-level-due-diligence - HTML link
<a href="https://www.goreuben.com/answers/what-is-manager-level-due-diligence">What is manager level due diligence?</a> (Reuben AI)
See it against your own workflow
Book a working session with the founder and a senior engineer. We walk through your fund, your workflow and your data model, live.
Book a demo