How GPs view customised reporting requests

As the industry is moving toward standardised reporting, fund managers are also seeing challenges that come with the increased scrutiny from limited partners, which are asking for more customisation in reporting, according to panelists at the PEI Investor Relations and Communications Forum in New York last week.

One of the consequences of customised reporting is an added work load on general partners.

“We see customized requests on a quarterly basis,” a delegate said. “We're trying to fight that fight and make sure resources are able to handle the customized reporting.”

Other panelists also cited risks to customizing an investment report. 

“There's human error when you're customising reports,” said another delegate. “I'm definitely concerned about errors being made.”

A third delegate, expressed concerns regarding how the customised data is being used, including by limited partners, and whether it is being made available to the public. 

“There's a lot of concern around contextually, how this data is being utilized,” the delegate said, adding that one of her firm's large investors recently had a Freedom of Information Act request and that the firm had to argue, successfully, that the requested information should be kept private as it is considered proprietary.