Every fund in the Orion marketplace passes through three layers of due diligence: the GP's own materials, Orion's curation framework, and third-party research from the leading institutional consultants.
Each fund in the marketplace is scored across these ten dimensions by Orion's Investment Committee. Funds must clear a 75/100 minimum to enter the curated lineup, and re-score annually to remain.
Is the edge clear? Can we explain it on one page?
Tenure, succession, key-person risk, alignment.
Vintage diversity, peer-relative, fee-adjusted.
Sector / geo / vintage / position size limits.
Fees, hurdle, catchup, lockup, transparency.
GP commitment, employee co-invest, clawback.
Service providers, audit, valuation policy, cash management.
Liquidity, valuation, leverage, concentration.
LP references (positive + negative), peer references.
Suitable for Orion's typical client profiles?
The most common mistake in PE/credit DD is comparing apples to oranges. Here's the Orion-approved framework for reading any fund track record correctly.
Gross IRR / TVPI doesn't reach the LP. Use only net-of-fees figures.
Compare like vintages only. A 2009 fund and a 2021 fund are different animals.
Top-quartile within the relevant peer set, not vs. all PE.
Cash returned (DPI) is real money. IRR can be theoretical until DPI catches up.
A 25% IRR on 80% leverage isn't the same as 25% on 30% leverage. Read the fine print.
Top-quartile in one vintage = noise. Top-quartile in 3 consecutive vintages = signal.
"Risk" in alts is four very different things. The Orion DD process scores each fund against all four — and the score appears on the fund's tearsheet.
Can the LP get out when they want? Gates, lockups, queues, suspension clauses. The most under-priced risk in evergreen vehicles. Stress-test every redemption assumption.
Are NAV marks reliable? Look at: third-party valuation policy, frequency of audited marks, reliance on smoothing models. PE marks are quarterly and lag public markets significantly.
Fund-level leverage, asset-level leverage, and recourse provisions. Modest fund leverage (1.2x) on already-levered assets can be very different from 1.2x leverage on equity.
Position size limits, sector caps, geographic exposure, top-5 concentration. Useful test: what does the fund look like if the top 3 positions go to zero?
Orion partners with the leading institutional consultants. Their research is integrated directly into the fund pages — click "Third-party DD" on any tearsheet to access.
Five-step conversation script for the suitability + DD discussion. Compliance-approved. Use as-is or adapt.