Operational due diligence, run by an operator.
For hedge funds, private funds and digital asset managers, and for the allocators who invest in them. Deep Keel reviews operations, governance and controls. Not investment merit or performance.
I ran operations at hedge funds and at a digital asset fund of funds, and I have worked both sides of the DDQ: answering allocator ODD requests as a manager, and underwriting managers as an allocator. A manager’s readiness review is scored on the same rubric as an allocator’s report, so the manager sees the rating Deep Keel would issue to an allocator.
Know what the allocator’s ODD team will find, first.
Start with what is already public, then test the full file.
Deep Keel reads your Form ADV and other public filings the way an allocator’s analyst does before the first call, then maps your current profile against the diligence bar of each allocator type.
- ODD screen of the items an allocator would flag from public filings
- Allocator fit by type: which diligence bars you clear today and which you do not
- Public contact information for allocators, organized by allocation type
Best for: emerging managers preparing a raise.
Research only. Deep Keel does not make introductions, act as a placement agent or broker-dealer, or promise meetings or allocations.
A full review of your DDQ, policies, fund documents, service provider agreements and financial statements, scored on the same rubric applied for allocators. You see the rating Deep Keel would issue to an allocator and fix the gaps before a diligence team finds them. Deep Keel can also carry out the fixes, as an Operations Analysis & Rebuild project.
- Scored review, section by section, with an overall Green, Yellow or Red rating
- DDQ gap analysis: unanswered, inconsistent or unsupported answers
- Remediation list ranked by severity, critical sections first
Best for: pre-launch, a first institutional raise, or ahead of a known allocator ODD visit.
Independent ODD coverage without adding headcount.
Per-manager reports, and the program around them.
Per-manager operational due diligence on hedge funds, private funds and digital asset managers, delivered as a report issued for investment committee use.
- Ten core sections, with digital asset and fund-of-funds sections added by strategy, and ESG and insurance on request
- An overall Green, Yellow or Red rating and a recommendation: Proceed, Proceed with conditions, or Do not proceed, with the rationale
- Valuation, service providers, custody, financial controls and legal history treated as critical, with no leniency. In a fund of funds, valuation dependency and liquidity matching too
- Findings graded by severity, with information gaps listed separately
Best for: lean ODD teams, digital asset allocations, and pipeline overflow.
Monitoring. Each report is pinned to a rubric version and an evidence set. Periodic and event-driven re-reviews compare the current record with the last pin and show what changed.
Program build. Stand up or formalize an in-house ODD function: review framework, rating rubric, DDQ intake checklist, red-flag library and report templates.
Best for: allocators adding managers faster than ODD headcount.
The same five rules on both sides.
Every finding cites the DDQ answer, policy, agreement or audited financials it came from.
Each claim is labeled. Nothing is drawn from general reputation or hearsay.
Ratings are pinned to a rubric version and the evidence reviewed, so they can be defended later.
I review and sign every report. Diligence only, no capital introduction business.
A manager’s readiness review is not shown to an allocator without the manager’s consent. Where Deep Keel has worked for the other side on the same manager in the prior 12 months, the client is told before a report is issued.
What a review produces.
Each one runs here on invented managers, open below.
Sample ODD Report
An issued report on an invented digital asset manager: conclusion, ratings and scores by area, findings by action, key terms across sources, the document review and third-party confirmations.
Sample Readiness Assessment
The same rubric turned into a work list for an invented long/short equity manager: what to fix before the raise, which documents to change, and which allocator bars it clears today.
ODD Review Workspace
The working surface both reports come from. Change a rating or add a finding and the verdict, the allocator bars and the report move with it.
Note: all managers, funds, service providers and figures shown in these samples are invented, and people appear by role only. They are illustrative builds. They are not client data and do not depict any actual firm, fund or engagement.
A readiness review, an outsourced ODD report, or a monitoring program.
Reach out to talk through scope.
info@deepkeeladvisors.com