Fund Research & Selection

A shortlist you can defend, with the reasoning written down and the open questions still visible.

A mandate needs funding and the universe runs to thousands of share classes. A committee wants to know why these three and not those thirty. A holding selected two years ago needs re-examining, and nobody can find the note explaining why it was chosen.

Fund Research & Selection takes a universe and returns a decision-ready shortlist: screened, examined on both investment and operational evidence, and recorded with a status you can point to — Selected, Watchlist or Not selected — and the reasons behind it. Where Fund Advisory answers one question you bring today, this builds and maintains a selection you keep using.

• A selection list by asset class or theme, every fund carrying Selected, Watchlist or Not selected — and a status is a conclusion at a point in time, not a permanent label.
• Fund profiles bringing strategy, team, process, portfolio characteristics and risk drivers into one reviewable place.
• Operational due diligence on operational risks, controls, counterparties and governance — a separate view from the investment case, not a footnote to it.
• Investment due diligence on process, portfolio, performance context and the points that need watching.
• Monitoring notes that keep the open questions alive after the decision, so the reasoning is still there when someone asks in two years.

Typically that arrives as a Fund Selection Memo, a Due Diligence Report or a committee summary. Which one depends on the decision you have to document, not on a template.

• A new mandate needs a shortlist, and it has to survive a committee that will ask how it was built.
• An existing holding needs re-examining and the original rationale is thin or missing.
• Your team has a view and needs an independent one beside it before recommending.
• The operational side has never been looked at properly, only the performance.

Built for Swiss private banks, family offices, financial intermediaries and other professional users who need institutional due diligence without handing over the decision. The full list publishes the current Long Only selection.

Tell us the investor need, the asset class or theme, the timetable and what evidence the decision has to stand on. We screen and shortlist, then complete the operational and investment work on the candidates that survive. The conclusion is written with its rationale, its status and its monitoring points — so it can be argued with, rather than accepted as a black box.

Research judgments follow the WS Partners methodology. Merit-based selection is separate from commercial relationships, which do not decide which conclusion the research reaches. Related comparison and decision support is available through Fund Advisory.

• It does not make the decision, and it does not assess suitability for your client. Both stay with you.
• A status is not a recommendation to buy. Selected means the fund met the criteria for a defined research scope, which is a narrower claim.
• It is research, not a guarantee of outcome. Monitoring exists because conclusions age.
• These outputs support professional documentation and decision processes. They do not constitute an offer or solicitation, and are intended for qualified investors and professional users in Switzerland.

Send the mandate, the asset class or the committee question, and your timetable. We will define the research scope and what you will receive.