Allocating Wrong? Here's Your Diligence Checklist

Allocating Wrong? Here’s Your Diligence Checklist

In this episode of Wealth Unfiltered, Jake Heidkamp, CEO of FactRight, joins us to break down alternative investment due diligence. He explains what separates credible private real estate sponsors from the ones advisors should avoid. Jake has a background in law, structured finance, and over a decade reviewing private placements. He brings forensic rigor to a question every allocator needs to answer: when you buy access to private real estate, what does a good sponsor actually look like?

Jake walks through FactRight’s two core diligence frameworks: sponsor operational due diligence and fund-level due diligence. He explains what each one uncovers, from prior performance and legal history to governance, conflicts of interest, and fund structuring. Jake also covers the structural trends reshaping alternatives. These include the rise of bridge lending funds and institutional managers opening private equity and venture capital to non-accredited investors for the first time.

Jake argues that character and communication under pressure reveal more about a manager than any return figure. RIAs who dig into the deals that didn’t go to plan will find the most useful signal. He outlines three core areas every advisor should focus on and explains why niche focus, formal process, and financial transparency define managers built to last.

Find Jake Here

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-heidkamp-a392b512b

Learn More About FactRight Here

- https://www.factright.com

Key Takeaways

Real due diligence goes beyond the pitch deck and into legal history, financial health of the sponsor, governance policies, and how conflicts of interest are actually handled.
You learn more about a manager from the deals that struggled than from the ones that performed.
Sponsors who chase popular markets instead of sticking to their niche tend to underperform those who grind out singles and doubles in areas they know cold.
Bridge lending funds offer attractive risk/reward right now, but structuring varies wildly and investors often miss their fair share of fee income.
The SEC’s rescission of the 15% rule in May 2025 opens private equity and venture capital to non-accredited investors, bringing new opportunity and new structuring risk.
RIAs should dig into prior performance including underperforming deals, scrutinize conflict-of-interest policies, and disaggregate sponsor financials to assess the actual asset management business.