Questions about FactRight?
This FAQs page is designed to answer some general questions about third party due diligence. If you’re looking for more information, consider visiting our pages on FR Risk Management and FactRight’s due diligence reporting services.
Anything not a stock, bond, or cash investment is generally considered an alternative investment. Examples of common alternative investments include hedge funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), private placement funds, closed-end 40 Act funds, and Reg A companies seeking capital.
Like a traditional stock or bond investment, alternatives have their pros and their cons. Disadvantages include the potential for high initial fees, less liquidity, and a longer investment horizon. But alternatives also can have distinct advantages over the traditional investment market, such as lower correlation to the broader markets, tax benefits, or protection against inflation. For the right investor or financial advisor, alternative investments can be a useful tool to diversify a portfolio.
When looking to outsource due diligence, you want to be sure you are getting a complete, unbiased picture of the investment or sponsoring organization. Good questions to ask are: How does the due diligence provider work with the sponsor? What other information sources do they use? What types of experts do they employ and what are their specific areas of expertise? Finally, what time frame can you expect to see information in? A report showing a well-rounded picture of an investment has much less value if the information is out-of-date. FactRight delivers up-to-date information that can be used to guide decision-making today.
This concern is very valid. Third party due diligence is often paid for directly by product sponsors, and the users of the report (the financial service professionals who work with alternatives) receive the information for free. Regulatory agencies have historically accepted seller-funded diligence as long as it remains impartial. We believe, however, that this method may come under increased scrutiny by regulators as the financial services industry more widely adopts fiduciary standards and principals.
How does FactRight remain impartial? By scrutinizing every piece of information available. Our financial and legal experts dissect the sponsor or offering, looking specifically for gaps in information or questionable interpretations. We also bring in data from other market-relevant sources to create a holistic, unsentimental picture of the sponsor/offering.
Once factual review is complete, the sponsor is allowed to verify the accuracy of the data from an abridged draft report—one without any discussion of risks, strengths, or conclusions or recommendations. Suggestions on this material are only considered if the sponsor can provide significant supporting evidence. When the report is finalized—including our overall findings—it is published on our Report Center, to which the sponsor does not have access.
For financial services firms that are interested in requesting their own sponsor-free due diligence reviews and platform recommendations, we offer our custom FR Risk Management service.
No one can keep their eye on everything all the time. FactRight’s team of financial and legal experts are always watching and reviewing the constantly changing environment of alternative investments so that you don’t have to.
At FactRight, we specialize in understanding and explaining the complex world of alternative investments. We determine where an investment is strong or risky and explain how fluctuations in regulations or the market will affect those investments. This is all we do and we do it well. Partnering with FactRight allows you to focus on the specific needs of your business and the individualized needs of your clients.
Outsourced Risk Management Solutions
Recent Blogs from FactRight
- Investment Committee Best Practices for Wealth Managersby Julie Olsen on April 27, 2022 at 6:23 pm
An investment committee (IC) provides wealth management firms a formalized mechanism for improved due diligence, ongoing monitoring, and decision-making. A good IC aligns organizational goals, roles, and processes and enhances accountability, clarity of purpose, and shared knowledge among the team.
- Largest Interval Funds - A Due Diligence Guideby gavin@factright.com (Gavin Aydt) on April 6, 2022 at 5:14 pm
An interval fund is a subcategory of closed-end funds and is a Regulated Investment Company (RIC), which is subject to 1940 Act regulation. Shares of interval funds are not generally “redeemable,” which is why the funds are classified as closed-end rather than open-end funds. Interval funds are so named because they must offer to repurchase shares at pre-determined “periodic intervals.” Although interval funds are closed-end funds from a legal standpoint, they also have features that are usually related to open-end funds, which is why they are sometimes described as a hybrid.
- Highlights from FactRight's RIA Spring Due Diligence Conferenceby Kate@FactRight.com (Kate Stephany) on March 23, 2022 at 4:43 pm
Was it just me, or did our most recent conference in Scottsdale feel, dare I say it, almost normal? I mean, the sun was shining, the palms were swaying, and the beer burro was melting hearts.
- Inflationary Pressures on Credit-Focused Alternative Investment Programsby jake@factright.com (Jacob Heidkamp) on March 3, 2022 at 6:55 pm
Inflationary pressures have increased markedly in the global economy over the last year. CPI prints have recently reached levels not visited in almost four decades.
- Using Non-Listed REIT Metrics: FFO, AFFO, and MFFO Due Diligenceby Julie Olsen on February 16, 2022 at 7:16 pm
Many real estate investment trusts (REITs) voluntarily report supplemental performance metrics. Industry organizations established non-GAAP metrics to build credibility and broader capital markets acceptance of REITs by enhancing comparability of operating performance across funds. Two decades ago, Nareit established Funds from Operations (FFO) for publicly traded REITs, and a decade ago, the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA) established Modified Funds from Operations (MFFO) guidelines for non-listed (NL) REITs. In addition, many traded and NL REITs report Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO) or other variations such as Core FFO and Funds Available for Distribution.