Enhance your operational due diligence checklist with technology

Operational due diligence (ODD) is an important part of assessing a fund manager’s suitability for managing a fund allocator’s investments. Before the allocator can confidently allocate funds to the manager, they need to conduct thorough and comprehensive operational due diligence, in line with their operational due diligence checklist. This is to ensure that any operational risks the fund manager faces bear no significant impact on the potential investment and its performance.

This process does, however, come with a number of challenges that allocators need to account for and mitigate where possible. To try to do this and streamline their operational due diligence process, many fund allocators are turning to technology. Below, we explore the advantages of using technology for operational due diligence, how it can solve the common challenges that come with conducting operational due diligence, and how it can ultimately contribute to a more comprehensive operational due diligence checklist.  

Challenges in conducting operational due diligence

While straightforward in principle, operational due diligence looks at a number of factors and moving parts, which should all ideally be stipulated in an allocator’s operational due diligence checklist ahead of commencing the assessment process. These various factors can make the process particularly challenging for a number of reasons, and often, the operational due diligence checklist in use isn’t necessarily exhaustive.  

The typical ODD checklist includes a number of different document types that need to be accessed, processed and filed in line with regulatory requirements. Collecting and working through these documents is time and resource intensive and relies on a standardised and consistent approach to run smoothly. The documents required may also vary from one fund manager to the next, so the checklist needs to account for all possible documents needed.  

However, despite most allocators’ best efforts to have a standardised and comprehensive approach to their operational due diligence checklist and process, they still struggle with limited access to the information they need. Additionally, delays in obtaining this information, which are common, can have a knock-on effect on the rest of the process, especially when there’s a limited timeframe it needs to be completed in.

With all of these challenges in mind, an allocator may realise that their processes and operational due diligence checklist are lacking. This makes standardising the procedure for future ODD activities difficult, as the same limitations initially experienced will just keep cropping up time and time again.

How technology can enhance your operational due diligence checklist

Advancements in technology have made the operational due diligence process easier for fund allocators, as intuitive data and automation solutions offer the capabilities needed to optimise the ODD process while offering support for every step of the process within a single, all-in-one platform. This, in turn, enables allocators to make more informed decisions, both in terms of their investments as well as the scope of their operational due diligence checklists and procedures. 

Here are some of the ways technology enhances ODD for allocators:

1. Automation - With technology, many aspects of the ODD process are automated, including data collection and analysis, which not only saves allocators valuable time but also reduces the risk of human error and improves the accuracy and detail of their data insights.
2. Document and record management - With the documentation sharing, storing and management capabilities available with modern technology solutions, allocators and fund managers can quickly and easily share documents with each other, while the system supports optimal document storing and management. This streamlines exchanges between involved parties, speeds up internal reviews and helps ensure full transparency and auditability.
3. Due diligence questionnaire support - Most modern technology solutions provide digitised, industry-standard due diligence questionnaires as well as support for custom questionnaires, which can easily be shared, completed and stored within a centralised platform, in a fraction of the time. 
4. Risk management - Modern technology solutions are able to provide insights and data that can help allocators identify, assess and mitigate threats pertaining to cybersecurity, environmental (e.g. natural disaster) and market risks that can impact their investment should the fund manager they’re assessing take on the management of their investment. 
5. Compliance monitoring - Technology can be used to closely monitor a fund manager's compliance with regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and SEC regulations, by tracking and analysing their regulatory filings on a regular basis.

Benefits of using technology for your operational due diligence 

Leveraging the above-mentioned capabilities of a modern technology solution when conducting operational due diligence can provide a number of benefits for both fund allocators and fund managers alike, including:

• Increased efficiency and time-saving throughout the ODD process
• Better, more streamlined communications between allocators and managers
• Standardised and more consistent data collection
• Greater data accuracy and insights across data sets and information stores (emails, documentation, systems and controls, financial statements, risk exposure, returns, etc.)
• Increased transparency and tracking across the entire ODD process
• Better risk management
• Enhanced compliance monitoring, meaning more consistent compliance
• Improved documentation sharing, processing and storing
• More insightful, accurate, and detailed reporting

With the support of technology and the benefits that result from a streamlined operational due diligence process, allocators can spend more time using the insights they’ve gained from the process to improve their operational due diligence checklist for future ODD checks. 

How AlternativeSoft’s Operational Due Diligence software can enhance your operational due diligence checklist 

Operational due diligence technology solutions, such as those offered by AlternativeSoft, can help you achieve a more methodical, streamlined and effective due diligence process to support your investment portfolio goals overall. 

With our solutions, you can define your ODD workflows and checkpoints, then the system helps keep your process consistent while allowing for automated decision making where possible, minimising the need for human intervention. This means a more timeous, high quality ODD process, and more accurate insights to help improve your operational due diligence checklist.

Software features that can help you enhance your operational due diligence checklist

Used by some of the world’s largest pension funds, family offices, funds of funds, private banks, endowments, foundations and wealth managers, our easy-to-use, all-in-one SaaS ecosystem:

• Supports the creation, customisation and sharing of due diligence questionnaires, using our proprietary templates.
• Provides instant access to, and organising of, fund fact sheets and reports.
• Acts as a single point of exchange for allocators and managers.
• Enables the extraction and analysis of previously obscured data sitting on legacy platforms and disparate channels.
• Incorporates best-in-class enterprise analytics for improved information gathering and holistic data overviews.
• Merges qualitative and quantitative data to enhance investment analysis.
• Enables optimal fund manager and compliance oversight.
• Is modular in design, so it can be easily adapted as your requirements evolve, without needing to replace the system entirely.
• Can be deployed locally or hosted in any private cloud environment. 

With AlternativeSoft, fund managers can be more confident during their ODD review, and fund allocators can enhance their ODD processes and checklists for more informed investment decisions.

Summary

Operational due diligence is a demanding but necessary process for managing risk in today’s investment environment. While traditionally time-consuming and resource-intensive for fund allocators and managers, technology solutions now offer the capabilities to make ODD easier for everyone involved.

By leveraging an effective solution, allocators can enjoy an optimised and holistic operational due diligence process, which can contribute to the creation of a more comprehensive ODD checklist that they can depend on, both now and in the future.

To learn more about AlternativeSoft’s ODD technology solutions, download our Due Diligence Anaytics brochure, or read our ebook of expert tips on how to conduct your investment due diligence correctly. Alternatively, you can contact our friendly team to learn more about how we can help streamline your due diligence process.