Who is this article for?

Users who want to learn to use the Private Funds database.

No elevated permissions are required.

The Audit Analytics Private Funds database contains all funds disclosed in Form ADV, providing comprehensive market data on hedge funds, private equity, real estate and venture capital funds, liquidity funds, and securitised asset funds.

1. Understanding the database

The Private Funds database comprises all funds disclosed in Form ADV. Registered investment advisers and certain exempt reporting advisers are generally required to report all private funds under management in the Form ADV.

The database is available online, through WRDS, and as data feeds (Feed43) with the relevant subscription.

Note: Saved Search Alert and Daily Summary Email features are not available for this database.

2. Exploring common uses

The Private Funds database supports various research and business development activities:

• Understand market size, trends, and changes with access to the entire market of private funds reported on Form ADV
• Know who audits private funds
• Track market share of private fund auditors, administrators, custodians, marketers, and prime brokers and prospect for new business
• Profiling metrics provide detailed information on fund type, gross value, minimum investment, and number of beneficial owners
• Relationships include adviser, auditor, administrator, custodian, marketer, and prime broker
• Key people include fund manager, general partner, trustees, and directors

3. Understanding the data source

This data is sourced from Form ADV. The Form ADV details the size and type of private fund, the adviser's relationship to the fund, and the various gatekeepers (auditor, administrator, custodian, marketer, prime broker) providing services to the fund.

4. Searching with Auditor Search

The Private Funds search page offers two unique search methods. The Auditor Search provides the following filters:

• Gatekeeper Auditor – Filter for a specific auditor or group of auditors
• Gross Value – Filter by range of current gross asset value of the private fund
• Signature Date – Filter by range of most recent signature date
• Fund Type – Filter by type of private fund
• Fund Location – Filter by location of where private fund was organised
• Auditor Location – Filter by auditor location

All filters can be used as sort criteria.

5. Searching with Fund Search

The Fund Search provides the following filters:

• Search – Filter results to all funds or a specific Fund ID
• Gross Value – Filter by range of current gross asset value of the private fund
• Signature Date – Filter by range of most recent signature date
• Fund Type – Filter by type of private fund
• Fund Location – Filter by location of where private fund was organised

All filters can be used as sort criteria.

6. Viewing Auditor Search results

Results appear at the bottom of the page. You can access the following through the respective hyperlinks:

• Private Funds Data Dictionary download
• CSV file downloads of the results (all fields available in the CSV are defined in the Data Dictionary)
• Overview of fund profile
• Auditor profiles

7. Viewing Fund Search results

Results appear at the bottom of the page. You can access the following through the respective hyperlinks:

• Private Funds Data Dictionary download
• CSV file downloads of the results (all fields available in the CSV are defined in the Data Dictionary)
• Overview of fund profile