Field notes
Building a NAV bridge that survives IC scrutiny
Investment committees challenge bridges that jump from opening NAV to closing NAV with vague buckets. Name each movement: contributions, distributions, valuation marks, FX, fees, and residual. If FX is material for your Hong Kong fund with USD commitments, show it as its own line rather than folding it into “other.”
Source discipline matters more than chart polish. Each bridge line should point to an administrator extract or valuation memo. When we prepare fund performance reviews, we annotate the working file so partners can defend the exhibit under pressure.
Watch for timing mismatches. Company packs often close on a different day than the fund NAV. Call out partial-period marks instead of forcing a false precision. LPs forgive a disclosed lag; they do not forgive a silent one.
Use visuals to emphasise magnitude, not decoration. A simple waterfall with consistent colours beats a dense dashboard when the room has fifteen minutes. The goal is a shared understanding of what moved value — not a showcase of chart types.