How do you research a fund manager?
Start with the manager's Form ADV on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site, then read its private funds in Schedule D, its brochure and its other SEC filings. Advisers with $100 million or more under management generally register with the SEC (SEC Form ADV and IARD FAQ), so most institutional managers have a free public record.
What can public records tell you about a fund manager?
Public records answer the factual half of manager due diligence: who owns the firm, how large it is, which funds it runs, how it is paid, whether it has had regulatory trouble and, for equity managers, what it holds in listed stocks. They do not tell you how the funds performed or who the investors are. Each record answers a different question:
| Record | Where | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Form ADV Part 1A | IAPD | Assets under management, clients, employees, disciplinary history |
| Schedules A and B | IAPD | Owners and control persons |
| Schedule D, Section 7.B.(1) | IAPD | Each private fund, with type and gross asset value |
| Form ADV Part 2A and 2B | IAPD | Fees, strategy, conflicts and the people who advise |
| Form D | SEC EDGAR | When each fund raised money and how much was sold |
| Form 13F | SEC EDGAR | Long US equity positions each quarter, for managers above $100 million in 13(f) securities |
Step 1. Find the manager on IAPD and note its CRD number
Search the firm at adviserinfo.sec.gov. Fund brands often differ from the adviser's legal name, so search both and confirm the address. Note the CRD number and the registration status: SEC registered, state registered or exempt reporting adviser. Exempt reporting advisers, such as many venture capital advisers, file parts of Form ADV but are not required to prepare the Part 2 brochure (SEC Form ADV instructions, 2024).
Step 2. Read Part 1 for size, clients and owners
Read regulatory assets under management, the number of clients by type and the number of employees. A firm with large assets and few staff relies on outsourced functions; ask which ones. Then read Schedule A for direct owners and executive officers and Schedule B for indirect owners. Our guide on how to read Form ADV explains each schedule in detail.
Step 3. List the private funds in Schedule D
Schedule D, Section 7.B.(1), has one entry for each private fund the adviser manages, with the fund's type and gross asset value (Form ADV, 2011 amendments, Appendix B). Build a list: fund name, type, size and the year of the filing. Comparing the list across several years of filings shows which funds grew, which closed and when a new strategy started.
Step 4. Match each fund to its Form D
Private funds that raise money under Regulation D file a Form D with the fund's own name. Search each fund name on EDGAR to see the date of first sale and the amount sold. The Form D shows the number of investors but not their names, as explained in how to read a Form D filing.
Step 5. Read the brochure for fees and conflicts
The Part 2A brochure sets out fees, the investment strategy and conflicts of interest in plain language (SEC Form ADV instructions, 2024). Look for performance fees, affiliated brokers, side-by-side management of funds with different fees, and how the manager allocates investments between funds. Part 2B covers the people who give advice and their disciplinary history.
Step 6. Check holdings and history
If the manager files 13F, read its last 4 quarters to see its listed equity positions and turnover; how to read a 13F filing shows how. Then return to the disciplinary disclosures in Part 1 and search the people named in Schedule A on IAPD and in court records such as CourtListener.
How current is the record?
Registered advisers update Form ADV within 90 days after fiscal year end, which is 31 March for a December year end (SEC Form ADV and IARD FAQ), with some changes reported sooner. Form ADV data from 1 January 2025 is published on IAPD; older Part 1 data is in CSV files on the SEC's Form ADV data page (SEC). The SEC says it has not approved the information filed and cannot guarantee its accuracy, so treat figures as the manager's own statements.
Where does Tamarly Intelligence help?
Tamarly Intelligence is Tamarly's research platform on companies, funds, countries and markets, built from official filings and open data. It covers 15,359 fund managers from SEC filings, including Form ADV, and 2,888 funds, with holdings for 1,290 of them and country exposure for 2,696. Every figure links to the filing it came from, and the asset management, hedge fund and wealth adviser workflows start from these records.
Tamarly does not provide fund performance benchmarks or LP commitment data, and it shows no investor names. For formal due diligence, use it alongside the full IAPD record and the manager's own documents.
Research 15,359 fund managers from SEC filings, free for 7 days
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a fund manager is registered?
Search the firm or the individual on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site at adviserinfo.sec.gov. The summary page shows whether the firm is registered with the SEC, with one or more states, or reports as an exempt reporting adviser, and links to its Form ADV.
Where can I see the funds a manager runs?
In Schedule D of Form ADV Part 1, Section 7.B.(1), which lists each private fund the adviser manages with its gross asset value (Form ADV, 2011 amendments, Appendix B). Each fund's Form D on EDGAR shows when it raised money.
Can I find a fund manager's performance in public filings?
Generally no. Form ADV and Form D do not report fund returns, and a 13F shows only quarter-end long positions in listed US equities. Performance comes from the manager's own materials or from commercial databases.
About the author. Melvine Manchau is the founder of Tamarly and author of the Tamarly Newsletter. He previously worked at PwC, Salesforce, BlackRock/eFront and Lazard.
About Tamarly Research. Tamarly Research is part of Tamarly Media, which holds no investment positions. Tamarly is a New York research house that studies how AI is changing regulated institutions.