Ten questions about your private portfolio
By David Franklin
Most people with a meaningful private portfolio can tell you roughly what they own. Fewer can tell you what is still callable, which entity holds each position, or where the subscription agreement is.
This takes about five minutes. Answer honestly; nobody else sees your answers. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Before you start
Roughly how many private investments do you hold? Count fund interests, co-investments and direct stakes in private companies.
- Fewer than 10
- 10 to 14
- 15 to 30
- More than 30
(This isn’t scored. It shapes the result message.)
The questions
For each one, choose: Yes (2 points) · Partly / not sure (1) · No (0).
1. Could you produce a complete list of your private positions in under ten minutes?
Why it matters: If the list only exists in your memory or your inbox, it will be incomplete the day someone else needs it.
2. Do you know your total unfunded commitments, to within about 10%?
Why it matters: Unfunded commitments are real obligations. They are callable on the manager’s timetable, not yours.
3. Could you estimate how much capital is likely to be called over the next twelve months?
Why it matters: Calls come with short deadlines. Knowing the likely range ahead of time makes liquidity conversations with your advisor far easier.
4. For every position, do you know which trust, LLC or individual is the legal owner?
Why it matters: Ownership determines who signs, who receives the K-1, and whose balance sheet the position sits on.
5. For each owning entity, do you know who is authorized to sign, and who receives the tax documents?
Why it matters: Authority and paperwork often drift apart over time, especially after trustee changes or moves.
6. Last tax season, did you know which K-1s had arrived and which were still outstanding, without asking your CPA?
Why it matters: A late or missing K-1 is one of the most common reasons returns go on extension.
7. Is the latest reported valuation for every position less than six months old?
Why it matters: A stale valuation makes your whole net worth picture less reliable, and it can be an early sign that a fund has gone quiet.
8. Can you locate the subscription agreement and latest capital account statement for every position?
Why it matters: These are the documents your CPA, attorney and any successor will ask for first.
9. Is there a current list of GP and administrator contacts and investor portal logins, kept somewhere other than your own inbox or phone?
Why it matters: Portals tied to your email and two-factor device are inaccessible to anyone else, even people with legal authority to act.
10. If you were unavailable for three months, could someone you trust recognize a capital call notice, match it to the right entity, and know who needs to approve it?
Why it matters: Capital calls carry deadlines, and partnership agreements can impose real consequences for missing them.
Results
17–20: In good shape.
You have a working record. The main risk now is that it drifts: new commitments, new entities, a trustee change. The question is who keeps it current, and how often.
10–16: Workable, but fragile.
You know most of what matters, but some of it lives in one person’s head or inbox. That tends to hold up until the moment it’s needed by someone else: at tax time, during a transition, or when you’re unavailable.
0–9: The record doesn’t exist yet.
That’s common, and it’s usually the reason people get in touch. The information almost always exists. It’s spread across statements, portals, email and filing cabinets, and nobody has pulled it together.
Position-count modifier (shown under the band):
- Fewer than 10: With a smaller private book, a well-kept spreadsheet and a disciplined filing habit may be all you need. We’re probably not necessary yet.
- 10 to 14: You’re near the point where this stops being manageable informally, especially if positions sit across more than one entity.
- 15 or more: At this size, the gaps above tend to compound. This is the range we work in.
What we’d ask for, if we worked together
Most of the work is assembling what already exists. Here is what a starting set looks like for each position:
- The most recent capital account statement
- The subscription agreement or partnership agreement
- The last two years of K-1s, or a note on where they usually come from
- Portal access, where there is an investor portal
- Trust and LLC formation documents for the owning entities
- Any side letters you’re aware of
Very few people can produce all of it, and that’s fine. Where documents are missing, they can usually be sourced from fund administrators and general partners.
Franklin Fund Services is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, law firm or accounting firm. This self-assessment is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.