The losses that end funds are operational, not investment.
Most private equity funds that fail do not fail because someone picked the wrong deal. They fail because of how the fund was run - commingled cash, unchecked valuations, an overwhelmed finance function, a service provider that existed only on paper. Operational due diligence is the discipline that finds these problems before they cost investors everything.
Operational Due Diligence in Private Equity is a complete, practical guide to the work allocators do when they look past the track record and examine how a fund is actually run. It is written for the professionals who protect institutional capital: ODD analysts, investment teams, fund-of-funds and consultant staff, family offices, and the fund managers who must satisfy them.
Across fifteen focused chapters, you will learn how to:
- Build a repeatable review framework and rating model
- Assess firm ownership, governance, and key-person risk
- Read fund legal documents and expense practices with an operational eye
- Evaluate the finance function, administration, custody, and cash controls
- Test valuation governance in illiquid assets
- Scrutinize auditors, compliance, cybersecurity, and business continuity
- Run an on-site visit, write the report, and monitor the manager over time
With realistic examples, common mistakes, practitioner's tips, a master questionnaire, a red-flag register, and a new-analyst action plan, this is the guide the field has needed - whether you are entering operational due diligence or sharpening a program you already run.
