Your LPs want transparency. A bigger PDF won’t deliver it

Reading Time: 6 minutes

When an LP asks for more transparency, most funds hear a request for more information. The quarterly report gets longer, the data tables get more granular, and the portal gains another dashboard. The LP reads all of it – and asks for more transparency again.

The loop repeats because LPs are rarely short of pages. What they’re short of is time with the fund: the stretch between something happening in the portfolio and hearing what the GP thinks about it is long, and a bigger document arrives no sooner than a smaller one.

For an LP, transparency is mostly a measure of how long they wait between an event and the GP’s account of it.

Key takeaways

  • LPs asking for transparency are mostly asking for speed and a direct line to the GP’s thinking, not for more data fields
  • Quarterly reporting is a record of the past – industry guidance expects it up to 60 days after the quarter closes, however detailed it is
  • Answering a request for a direct line with more data leaves the underlying gap in place
  • Short audio updates in a partner’s own voice can close the gap between reports without adding to the formal reporting load
  • The between-report update supplements formal reporting and never replaces it

LPs are asking for speed, and the data says so

The demand is well documented. In a 2025 survey by fund administrator CSC of 200 LPs and 300 GPs across North America, the UK and Europe, and Asia Pacific, 74% of LPs said they wanted live or daily reporting on portfolio performance, and 44% said they weren’t receiving the level of detailed performance reporting they wanted. [1]

“Live or daily” describes how long an LP is willing to wait between something happening and knowing about it – and the answer is not long.

The 44% points the same way. To the person who was waiting for it, detail that arrives months after the fact feels late, however thorough it is.

A quarterly report arrives weeks after the quarter it describes

The Institutional Limited Partners Association’s quarterly reporting standards set an expected delivery of 60 days after quarter end, with a target of 45 – and audited reports take longer still. That’s a reasonable standard for what a quarterly report is for: an accurate, comparable record of what happened. [2]

Follow one event through the calendar. A fund writes down a portfolio company in early February. The quarter closes at the end of March. The report explaining the mark lands in an LP’s inbox in mid-to-late May – more than three months after the decision was made, and after the LP may have already heard about it from someone else.

A 60-page report and a 20-page report arrive on the same day. Adding detail doesn’t move that date.

Portals and templates solve for data, not for the GP’s voice

Well-run funds invest in better templates, cleaner portals and more granular disclosure, and LPs do value all of it. But those tools are built to deliver numbers. What many LPs are reaching for is the reasoning behind the numbers, in the words of the person who made the call, close to the moment it mattered.

A table can tell an LP that a position was marked down. It can’t tell them how the partner responsible is thinking about it, what they’re watching next, or how confident they sound.

The largest LPs often get some of that context through calls and annual meetings. The rest of the LP base usually doesn’t. For them, the quarterly document is most of what they ever hear from the fund – which is a gap in the structure of LP reporting, not in anyone’s effort.

A shorter gap means a lighter layer between reports

The fix is a faster, lighter layer that sits between reports and carries context rather than numbers, leaving formal reporting as it is.

In practice, that looks like:

  • A regular cadence. A monthly update is a common starting point, with an extra one when something material happens. Consistency matters more than frequency, so LPs know when to expect to hear from the fund
  • The partner’s own voice. Context lands differently coming from the person who made the decision than from a summary paragraph
  • Short and specific. Ten minutes on what changed and why beats a long recap of what’s already in the report
  • Supplemental, not substitute. The update adds context around formal reporting and follows it – it doesn’t front-run it or replace it

Andrew Craissati, CEO and Co-founder of Auddy, put the principle this way: “What you talk about in between your formal disclosures is not repetitive of your formal disclosures – it is supplemental, and it is building context or colour to what then follows up to four times a year.”

The Silence Between Filings is Already Your Biggest Risk

How a recorded update closes the gap

Auddy’s Campfire helps fund managers close the gap between reports by turning a partner’s update into a short, private podcast that reaches LPs well before the next reporting date.

The speed comes from the format. Recording an update takes about as long as giving it – a partner can talk through a new investment or a difficult mark in ten minutes – and Auddy’s team handles editing and production, so the fund isn’t adding another document to its reporting workload. Once it’s ready, the episode goes straight to the LPs it’s meant for, with no need to wait for the next quarter’s report.

Because LP communications go to a known, defined audience, the delivery is built around that list:

  • Encrypted delivery to approved listeners only, in a format that can’t be downloaded or passed on without permissions set to enable it
  • Segmented feeds, so different funds, vehicles or LP groups each get the updates that apply to them
  • Revocable access, so a listener can be removed as soon as their relationship with the fund changes
  • Named-user analytics showing who listened, how far they got, and when

The analytics answer a question a quarterly PDF never can: was it read? Listening data shows which LPs are engaged and which have gone quiet, months before a re-up conversation.

As Craissati describes it: “Podcasts give you real analytics and control. With Campfire, companies can see who’s listening and when, all within a secure, access-controlled environment – something you just don’t get on public platforms.”

Case study: How an Investment Firm Turned Leadership Updates into Must-Listen Content

Recap

  • LP requests for transparency are mostly about timing and access to the GP’s thinking, not volume of data
  • Quarterly reports are designed as records and arrive weeks after the quarter ends, regardless of length
  • Portals and templates solve data problems, but not the gap in the GP’s voice between reports
  • A short, regular update from the partner closes that gap as a supplement to formal reporting
  • Private audio can be recorded quickly, delivered to a defined LP list, segmented by fund or group, and measured listener by listener

FAQ

Does a between-report update replace our quarterly reporting?

No. Formal reporting stays exactly as it is. The update adds context around it – the reasoning behind decisions and what the team is watching – and should follow formal reporting rather than get ahead of it.

How often should we send updates?

Monthly is a sensible default, with room for an extra update when something material happens. Consistency matters most, so LPs aren’t left guessing when they’ll next hear from you.

Can different LPs receive different updates?

Yes. Feeds can be segmented by fund, vehicle or LP group, so each listener gets the updates relevant to their commitment. Your own legal and compliance team should set the rules for what goes to whom.

What about compliance review?

Treat an audio update like any other investor communication and run it through your usual review process. Your legal and compliance function decides what can and can’t be said – the format doesn’t change your obligations.

How much partner time does this take?

Less than most expect. A ten-minute update needs about ten minutes of recording, and production and distribution can be handled by an outside team rather than the fund’s own staff.

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