The Private Allocator

The Private Allocator

Private Allocation Workbook: A Free Template for Your Own Records

Your obligations can outlast the receipts you're expecting. Keep purpose, exposure, cash needs and open questions in one record you control.

Copy the workbook

Copy the private allocation workbook

A capital call can land before the distribution you were counting on. This workbook gives you a blank record for what your money is for, what you already own and what's still unanswered. Use it alongside the private market portfolio guide.

Copy it into a private document and keep the completed version yourself. It's built for conversations with your lawyer, accountant or adviser. We don't recommend securities or managers, and the workbook doesn't set allocation weights.

Start with what the money is for

Write what the portfolio needs to support before recording possible investments. The family investment policy guide explains how to connect purpose with decisions.

  • Describe what this portfolio has to pay for and support: ____________________
  • Record spending obligations and when they fall due: ____________________
  • Describe work choices and possible changes in earned income: ____________________
  • Record family responsibilities and giving intentions: ____________________
  • Record existing business ownership and income dependence: ____________________
  • Record property ownership and related obligations: ____________________
  • Identify industry, geography or income exposures that may overlap: ____________________
  • Record cash and public holdings available for your needs, with source and date: ____________________
  • Write questions for financial, legal or tax professional review: ____________________
  • Identify who will review those questions and what remains unanswered: ____________________

Build the allocation record

Copy this blank table for each holding within each sleeve, meaning a group of investments with a related exposure. Keep cash and public holdings beside every private sleeve for context. Reference the same record without adding it again to portfolio totals.

Use the exposure field to distinguish angel investments; venture by stage, including seed, early, growth or late stage; private equity by buyout scope; private credit; real assets; and small-business or search-fund exposure. Record what you actually own, including business and property exposure already listed above. Leave uncertain classifications open for review.

Record secondaries in the access field. It describes how an existing interest is acquired, not an extra underlying exposure to add again. Identify any holding already represented elsewhere in your record.

Allocation table: field | entry

  • Identify the holding and sleeve | ____________________
  • Describe the underlying exposure and stage or scope | ____________________
  • Record the vehicle label and stated mandate | ____________________
  • Record the access dimension, including any secondary purchase | ____________________
  • Cross-reference overlapping exposure already recorded | ____________________
  • Record the reported value and currency | ____________________
  • Record the valuation date and reporting source | ____________________
  • Record paid-in capital and its record date | ____________________
  • Record signed unfunded commitments and their record date | ____________________
  • Record optional future investment separately | ____________________
  • Record actual distributions received, currency and receipt dates | ____________________
  • Record uncertain receipts, assumptions and unresolved timing | ____________________
  • Reference source documents and their dates | ____________________
  • Write unanswered access or withdrawal questions | ____________________
  • Reference cash holdings, date and obligations against them | ____________________
  • Reference public holdings, date and access questions | ____________________
  • Name the person responsible for resolving missing information | ____________________

Keep reported value, paid-in capital and receipts in separate fields. Don't treat a reported value, or cash kept inside a business, as money you've received.

Separate the cash calendar

Copy a blank entry for each event and retain its category. Keep personal spending, contractual calls and optional choices separate. Record confirmed receipts separately from uncertain receipts; distinguish a documented payment notice from cash already received. Use the private-investment liquidity budget guide to frame the questions.

Record a spending need.

  • Describe the event: ____________________
  • Record the date or window: ____________________
  • Record the amount and currency: ____________________
  • Reference the source document and its date: ____________________
  • Record receipt or obligation status and open questions: ____________________

Record a contractual capital call.

  • Describe the event: ____________________
  • Record the date or window: ____________________
  • Record the amount and currency: ____________________
  • Reference the source document and its date: ____________________
  • Record receipt or obligation status and open questions: ____________________

Record an optional investment.

  • Describe the event: ____________________
  • Record the date or window: ____________________
  • Record the amount and currency: ____________________
  • Reference the source document and its date: ____________________
  • Record receipt or obligation status and open questions: ____________________

Record a confirmed receipt.

  • Describe the event: ____________________
  • Record the date or window: ____________________
  • Record the amount and currency: ____________________
  • Reference the source document and its date: ____________________
  • Record receipt or obligation status and open questions: ____________________

Record an uncertain receipt.

  • Describe the event: ____________________

  • Record the date or window: ____________________

  • Record the amount and currency: ____________________

  • Reference the source document and its date: ____________________

  • Record receipt or obligation status and open questions: ____________________

  • Reference cash available and its record date: ____________________

  • Reference public holdings and unresolved access questions: ____________________

  • Identify obligations that would remain if an uncertain receipt did not arrive: ____________________

  • Record the question for professional review and the responsible person: ____________________

Keep a decision and review log

Repeat this entry for each decision under consideration. Include keeping the current position and making no new investment among the alternatives. Use the private portfolio review guide when the facts or your needs change.

  • Record the decision under consideration and date: ____________________
  • Explain the purpose it would serve: ____________________
  • Reference affected holdings, cash needs and commitments: ____________________
  • Record evidence supporting the decision and its source: ____________________
  • Record contrary evidence and its source: ____________________
  • Identify missing information and unanswered questions: ____________________
  • Compare alternatives, including no investment: ____________________
  • Name the person responsible for the decision: ____________________
  • Record professional questions and who will review them: ____________________
  • Record the decision taken and reasons: ____________________
  • Specify changed facts or family events that would trigger review: ____________________
  • Record the next review date or event and responsible person: ____________________
  • Record what changed at review and which questions remain open: ____________________

See what the workbook covers

  1. State what the money is for

    Record spending, work choices, family obligations and the questions your portfolio needs to answer.

  2. Map existing exposure

    Place business and property ownership beside cash, public holdings and each private sleeve to examine overlap.

  3. Keep an allocation record

    Separate reported values, paid-in capital, signed commitments, optional choices and actual receipts.

  4. Keep a cash calendar

    Separate spending needs and contractual calls from confirmed and uncertain receipts.

  5. Challenge each decision

    Record contrary evidence, missing information and alternatives that include making no investment.

  6. Assign review responsibility

    Name who will address open questions and what changes should prompt a review.

Use the record with your advisers

Copy the workbook. Select the blank template above and copy it into a private document you control.

Record facts and gaps. Complete fields from your own documents, retain their dates and leave unanswered questions visible.

Review decisions and changes. Discuss open questions with the relevant professionals and record responsibility, contrary evidence and review triggers.

Understand the workbook before using it

Does this workbook tell me what to buy?

No. It's a record-keeping template for accredited individuals who run their own money. It doesn't pick securities, set weights, calculate taxes or judge suitability. We don't recommend securities or managers. Use the questions to prepare for your advisers.

How do I distinguish commitments from possible investments?

Keep signed unfunded commitments in their own field and record contractual calls in the cash calendar. Record optional future investment separately. Keep uncertain receipts separate from actual distributions received and identify the document behind each entry.

Do I need to submit my completed workbook?

No. Copy the blank text from this page into your own private document and keep the completed records and supporting documents yourself. This page doesn't ask for your portfolio details.

What sources inform this workbook?

The workbook draws on interviews about risks a household can overlook. An owner may have substantial wealth tied to the business they run, so the record asks about existing exposure. Questions about the purpose of the money and how long it may be unavailable shape the cash calendar. The decision log makes room for contrary evidence. Cash retained by an acquired business may also delay money reaching investors. These observations are paraphrased; the blank workbook and its structure are our own.

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