bg check of investment; verifying how safe, transparent & well managed fund is; as per AIMA (alternative investment management association) - advisors must examine 8 areas - structure of firm (legal setup, who owns it, who regulates it), investment management (managers exp, decision process), risk analysis (how risks are identified & controlled), ops (internal controls, record keeping, compliance), structure of fund (fund type, liquidity rules, redemption process), investment perf (track record & consistency), accounting structure (who audits, how often valued), fees (reasonale & transparent or no?)