Meaning and transaction use
ILPA's standard questionnaire asks managers for a five-year deal-flow log including source, auction type, purchase type, status and estimated transaction and fund investment size. [S1]
A current SEC filing describes sourcing as the first stage of a process followed by due diligence, investment-committee review and monitoring. It states that investment opportunities are sourced by investment teams. [S2]
Proposed control method: assign a unique opportunity ID at first receipt, preserve source attribution and consent, screen against the mandate, log conflicts and reasons for rejection, and connect invested deals to portfolio monitoring and realised results.
Worked example
Illustrative quarterly pipeline only. Assume 120 unique opportunities are logged, 36 pass the initial mandate screen, 12 enter full diligence, four receive offers and two close. Each later stage is a subset of the prior stage.
Scroll the table horizontally to view all columns.
| Measure | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified-opportunity rate | 36 / 120 | 30.0% |
| Full-diligence rate | 12 / 120 | 10.0% |
| Offer rate | 4 / 120 | 3.3% |
| Close rate | 2 / 120 | 1.7% |
| Close rate from full diligence | 2 / 12 | 16.7% |
Two investments close from 120 logged opportunities under the assumptions. Source quality requires later review of investment fit, diligence cost, ownership, performance and realised outcomes.
Proposed transaction review process
Define the mandate
Translate sector, geography, size, control, return and exclusion criteria into a screening form.
Build channels
Assign coverage across advisers, owners, managers, lenders, sponsors and direct research.
Log and screen
Deduplicate each opportunity, preserve attribution, check conflicts and record the screening decision.
Measure outcomes
Track progression, cost, investment results and realised performance by source and channel.
Evidence checklist
Opportunity record
Unique ID, source, date, target, seller, size, sector, geography and current stage.
Screening evidence
Mandate criteria, conflicts, decision, reasons and approval.
Engagement evidence
Contact record, NDA, materials, meetings, adviser status and process deadlines.
Outcome evidence
Diligence cost, offer, investment, monitoring results, exit and source attribution.
Decision framework
| Situation | Proposed action |
|---|---|
| Two channels submit the same deal | Preserve both claims and resolve attribution under the documented policy. |
| A high-volume source has low qualification | Review mandate communication and later-stage outcomes before reallocating coverage. |
| A direct approach creates a conflict | Escalate under the conflict policy before further contact or information exchange. |
| An opportunity falls outside mandate | Record the reason and obtain approval before any exception or referral. |
Common errors to check
- Counting duplicate introductions as separate opportunities.
- Judging source quality from introductions alone.
- Failing to record conflicts, consent or attribution.
- Allowing undocumented exceptions to the investment mandate.
Audit the sourcing pipeline
Bring the mandate, opportunity log, source map and outcome data to a deal-sourcing review. Reconcile attribution, screening quality, conflicts and conversion through realised results.
Discuss the transactionPrimary references and editorial scope
- ILPA Due Diligence Questionnaire, version 1.1
Deal-flow log fields including source, auction, purchase type, status and transaction size. Reference checked 17 September 2026. - SEC filing: Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Fund
Sourcing followed by due diligence, investment-committee review and monitoring in a disclosed manager process. Reference checked 17 September 2026.
General private-equity process education. Counts and conversion rates are hypothetical. Mandate, conflicts, confidentiality, solicitation, data protection and source-attribution requirements depend on the fund, transaction and jurisdictions.
General business information. Obtain advice appropriate to the legal, tax, accounting and financing facts. No offer, lender commitment or transaction outcome is represented. All worked examples use expressly assumed figures. Editorial draft date: 17 September 2026.
