Flagship paper
Look-through: seeing the portfolio you actually own
Reconcile holdings, underlying exposures and coverage gaps into a reviewable allocator portfolio view.
By Katriona Lee, Reuben AI. Last reviewed .
The short answer
Allocator portfolio reconciliation connects reported fund holdings with underlying assets, direct positions and co-investments to reveal where economic exposure overlaps. State the reporting date, ownership basis and missing coverage before interpreting the portfolio. Look-through does not make unavailable holdings visible or make estimates certain; it makes the boundaries of the available evidence explicit.
- 01
Establish the holdings perimeter
Every manager, fund, vehicle and direct deal in scope.
- 02
Resolve identities and relationships
Shared companies and links across managers made visible.
- 03
Reconcile exposure and coverage
Look-through exposure, with gaps in data coverage flagged.
- 04
Review the mandate implications
Concentrations and limits reviewed against the mandate.
Evidence stays linked through every step; judgement stays human.
Build the record, step by step
Establish the holdings perimeter
List fund interests, vehicles, direct investments and co-investments with source dates and ownership bases. Reconcile the portfolio list before drawing conclusions from underlying company data.
Resolve identities and relationships
Link underlying assets across managers and structures where the evidence supports a match. Preserve uncertain matches as questions, not confirmed overlaps, and distinguish an asset from the transaction used to access it.
Reconcile exposure and coverage
Explain how ownership interests and overlapping structures are treated. Separate reported, estimated and unavailable holdings and avoid combining amounts with incompatible dates or measurement bases.
Review the mandate implications
Bring concentrations, uncertain coverage and material changes to the relevant investment and risk reviewers. Record the response and follow-up requests without presenting the view as an automatic allocation recommendation.
Common mistakes
- Adding direct and indirect holdings without checking for double counting.
- Showing estimated holdings as if they were manager-reported facts.
- Comparing exposures with different reporting dates without qualification.
Explore the section
Use these focused pages for the workflows and audiences within this paper.
Questions and answers
How does this paper differ from a look-through definition?
It focuses on reconciling an allocator portfolio: perimeter, identity, overlap, dates and coverage. The linked look-through explainer defines the underlying analysis.
Can every underlying holding be identified?
No. Disclosure varies by manager and structure. Report missing coverage and uncertainty instead of implying a complete view.
How should co-investments be treated?
Record the direct interest and its relationship to fund exposure in the same asset. Make the ownership basis explicit before aggregating exposure.
Does Reuben AI make investment decisions?
No. Reuben AI links evidence, findings and decision rationale; judgement stays human. Accountable investment teams and committees make the decisions.
Where is data stored?
Data residency is Australia by default. Other regions are available for enterprise clients and partners only.
Reuben AI is built as one linked record across all six levels of private markets. See it on your own deals, or explore what it could add for your platform's clients.
Read next: The six levels of private markets diligence or browse the Resource Hub.