Chris MihosAllocators read a manager’s factsheet long before they meet the team, and what they take from it is as much about how the operation runs as about how the strategy performed.
For most allocators, a manager’s factsheet is the first thing they see and the thing they see most often, and it shapes their impression of the team well before any meeting. Allocators want more than returns from it, because they want to understand risk, exposure and drawdowns, and above all they want to know which numbers they can rely on. A factsheet that’s generated automatically from verified data, published on a predictable schedule, and clear about where each figure came from gives allocators that insight without extra work on either side. It also projects something that’s hard to say directly: that the team has its operation under control and has nothing to hide.
What allocators actually want from a factsheet
Returns are where every factsheet starts, but experienced allocators look past them quickly. They want to see drawdowns and how long recovery took, volatility and the shape of the return stream, exposure and leverage, the length of the track record, and the terms, including fees, liquidity and capacity. Surveys of hedge fund allocators have consistently found that they consider exposure and leverage information important, and that most want reporting at least monthly.
Above all, they want to know which figures are reliable. A return figure on a factsheet might have been reported by the manager, observed directly from a trading venue or calculated and verified by an independent administrator, and those three things carry very different weight. Most factsheets don’t say which is which, so allocators either assume the worst or spend time in due diligence finding out.
Why manual factsheets undermine confidence
When factsheets are assembled by hand each month, a few problems tend to appear. They arrive at slightly different times, which suggests a stretched team. Figures occasionally fail to match the NAV pack or the previous month’s factsheet, which raises questions even when the explanation is innocent. The track record starts at a date that seems convenient, or the methodology changes without explanation. None of this has to involve bad faith, but each inconsistency gives an allocator a reason to look harder or to wait.
There’s also a newer consideration, which is that allocators increasingly use AI tools to read, compare and summarise managers’ materials, and those tools work best with data that’s consistent and clearly sourced. A factsheet whose figures are labelled and traceable is easier for both a person and a machine to interpret correctly, while one built by hand invites misreading.
Automation projects control
An automated factsheet, generated from the same reconciled data that drives the NAV and the fees, solves most of these problems at once. It arrives on the same day every period, because nobody has to build it. Its figures match the NAV pack and the fee calculations, because they come from the same source. Each number can carry a permanent label showing whether it was self-reported, observed or verified, and the length of the track record can be shown beside the performance figures, so the allocator decides for themselves what’s enough.
The effect on allocators is subtle but real. A manager whose reporting is consistent, punctual and transparent about its sources looks like a manager who runs a tight operation, and that impression carries into every other part of due diligence. It tells an allocator that the team has thought about what they’ll want to know and has nothing it needs to smooth over.
How MakeBanc handles factsheets
On MakeBanc, factsheets are generated from verified data: balances read directly from the trading sub-account and the custodian, and NAV calculated by a third-party administrator and reconciled daily. Every figure carries its source and date, labelled as self-reported, observed or verified, permanently and on every chart and export, and a number without a source isn’t shown. Track records show their length beside the label. Managers can also see who has opened their factsheet and who has gone quiet, as described in Managing allocator interest without a CRM team.
Performance shown on MakeBanc is reported by the asset manager and labelled by source. MakeBanc doesn’t verify or endorse it beyond what those labels state.
Frequently asked questions
What should a hedge fund factsheet include for allocators? Returns over several periods, drawdowns and recovery times, volatility, exposure and leverage, the length of the track record, and the fund’s terms, including fees, liquidity and capacity. Ideally each figure also shows its source, such as whether it was reported by the manager or verified by an independent administrator.
Why automate factsheets? Because automated factsheets arrive consistently, match the NAV and fee calculations, and can label the source of every figure. That removes the inconsistencies that raise questions in due diligence and signals that the operation is well run.
What is data provenance in a factsheet? It’s a label showing where each figure came from, for example self-reported by the manager, observed directly from a trading venue, or verified by an independent administrator, so allocators can judge how much weight to give it.
Sources
- Intralinks and Opalesque, Hedge fund investor transparency survey, 2014
- Keiter, Survey reports continued need for transparency for investors
- Hedgeweek, AIMA allocator report, January 2026
- Rogo, Platform overview (source citation in AI tools used by financial firms)
MakeBanc is a technology platform that provides infrastructure to independent asset managers and connects them with investors. MakeBanc does not provide investment advice, custody services or banking services. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance data is reported by the strategy operator and has not been independently verified by MakeBanc beyond the labels shown.