A co-investment puts money into one company directly, next to a GP’s fund. If you are also an LP in that fund, or in another fund that owns the same company, your real exposure is the sum of all those positions, and no single statement shows it.
This guide explains where co-investment exposure hides, how to add up direct and fund holdings in the same company, and how to monitor the total. It uses a worked example and ends with a checklist for every new co-investment.
Key takeaways
- Co-investing doubles up by design. You usually co-invest next to a fund you already back, so the same company sits in two places in your portfolio.
- The fund side comes from the schedule of investments. Your share of each fund’s position comes from its schedule of investments, scaled to your ownership.
- Add exposure by company, not by vehicle. Count each position once, then group them by company, even when the share classes differ.
- Set limits on the total. In our example, a co-investment worth 7.6% of private NAV becomes a 21.1% exposure once the fund positions are added.
- Compare the marks. When the co-investment and a fund hold the same security, their values per share should match on the same date. A gap needs an explanation.
What co-investment exposure means
In a co-investment, an LP invests in a specific company alongside a GP’s fund, usually through a vehicle the GP manages and sometimes directly. Family offices and institutions use co-investments to add exposure to deals they want more of, often with reduced or no management fee and carried interest.
Co-investment exposure is your total economic exposure to that company: the co-investment plus your share of every fund that holds it. It matters because co-investments concentrate by design. You choose the company because you already know the GP and the deal, so the fund that brought you the deal almost always owns it too.
Our guides to co-investing for family offices and to co-investment operations cover structures, terms, and back-office work. This one covers measurement.
Where co-investment exposure hides
The sponsor’s main fund
- You co-invest next to a fund you already back.
- Your share of the fund’s position adds to the direct one.
Other funds in the same deal
- Club deals and syndicated rounds put one company in several funds.
- A second GP may hold it in a different share class.
Continuation vehicles
- GP-led secondaries move companies into new vehicles.
- If you roll over or buy in, the company appears again under a new name.
Credit funds
- A private credit fund you back may lend to the same company.
- Your exposure then spans equity and debt.
How to calculate total exposure to one company
The calculation has three parts: the direct position, your share of each fund position, and a check that no economic interest is counted twice.
| Component | Source | How to value it |
|---|---|---|
| Direct co-investment | Co-investment vehicle statement, or your own records for directly held shares | Your share of the vehicle’s fair value, or the fair value of your shares |
| Fund equity positions | Each fund’s schedule of investments | Fund fair value of the position × your share of the fund |
| Fund loans to the company | Each credit fund’s schedule of investments | Loan fair value × your share of the fund |
| Total | Sum by company | Compare with your single-name limit |
Your share of a fund is usually your capital account divided by the fund’s net assets. Our look-through analysis guide explains the scaling and its limits.
Example: one company, three positions
The family office from our look-through example holds interests in three funds worth $15.8 million. It also bought 210,000 common shares of Portfolio Company A directly, alongside Sample Fund III and at the fund’s entry price, for $0.95 million. At June 30, 2026, those shares are worth $1.3 million at Fund III’s mark, which brings private NAV to $17.1 million.
Exposure to Portfolio Company A ($000)
| Position | Held through | Security | Basis | Your exposure ($000) | % of private NAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct co-investment | Your own position | Common stock | 210,000 shares at $6.19 | 1,300.0 | 7.6% |
| Sample Fund III | 3.0% share of the fund | Common stock | Fund holding of $52.0 million | 1,560.0 | 9.1% |
| Sample Fund IV | 2.5% share of the fund | Series B preferred stock | Fund holding of $30.0 million | 750.0 | 4.4% |
| Total exposure to Company A | 3,610.0 | 21.1% |
On its own, the co-investment is 7.6% of private NAV. With the two fund positions it becomes 21.1%. If the family office caps any single company at 15% of private NAV, the co-investment passed the limit at the time of the decision, and the total breached it.
Illustrative example. All funds and companies are fictional. Fund positions are scaled by the family office’s share of each fund’s net assets, which is an estimate when carried interest or deal opt-outs apply.
See direct and fund holdings of the same company together
FundCount AI Document Intelligence reads co-investment statements and GP schedules of investments, so the positions you hold directly and through funds line up by company.
Compare the marks across vehicles
The co-investment and Fund III hold the same security, so their marks should match. In the example both carry Company A common stock at $6.19 per share. When a co-investment vehicle and a fund report different values for the same security on the same date, ask why: a different valuation date, a different calculation, or an error.
Fund IV holds a different security, Series B preferred stock, at $10.00 per share. Preferred shares often carry liquidation preferences and other rights that common shares lack, so a higher value per share is not by itself a discrepancy. Compare like with like. Our guide to concentration risk across GPs covers valuation gaps in more detail.
How to monitor co-investment exposure
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Map every co-investment to its company and sponsor
Record the company, the security, the vehicle, and every fund in your portfolio that holds the same company.
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Pull the fund side every quarter
Take each fund’s position from its schedule of investments and scale it to your share of the fund.
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Add the credit side
Check your credit funds’ schedules for loans to the same company, and keep debt and equity separate in the detail.
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Test limits on the total
Apply single-company, sector, and sponsor limits to total exposure, not to the co-investment alone.
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Reconcile the marks
For the same security on the same date, the values per share should match. Document any difference.
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Review before you commit more
Before a new co-investment, a follow-on request, or a secondary sale, look at the total exposure.
Concentration limits that include co-investments
- Single company. Cap total exposure, direct plus look-through, as a share of private NAV.
- Sponsor. Measure NAV plus unfunded commitments with one GP across its funds and co-investments.
- Sector. Add co-investments to the look-through sector view before you compare it with targets.
- Pacing. Track co-investments against fund commitments so the direct book does not outgrow the diversification the funds provide.
Common mistakes
- Cost in your books, fair value in the funds. If you record directly held shares at cost while funds report fair value, the total mixes two bases. Mark the co-investment at fair value before you add.
- Different reporting dates. A co-investment vehicle can report on a different schedule from the fund. Align the as-of dates or label the mix.
- Names that do not match. The fund may list a holding company, and your co-investment the operating company. Keep one mapping for both.
- Grouped lines. A condensed schedule of investments names only positions above 5% of net assets, so a smaller fund position in the same company can hide in a grouped line. Ask the GP.
How FundCount brings co-investments and fund holdings together
FundCount AI Document Intelligence collects statements from your investor portals and email, converts them into accounting-ready data, and posts them to your books, with the source document one click from each posted figure. It reads co-investment schedules of investments (investments, cost, shares, and fair value) and calculates valuations, and it now also extracts the schedule of investments from GP financial statements. That puts your direct and fund holdings of the same company side by side.
- Extracts asset-level data from GP financial statements: security name, industry, country, round or share class, shares, cost, and fair value.
- Tracks quarter-over-quarter movements in cost and fair value for each holding.
- Shows exposure by industry, country, and share class, filtered by year, quarter, fund, and holding company.
- Shows where the same security appears across different GPs.
- Keeps co-investments, valued from their own schedules of investments, next to fund holdings.
The extracted data sits in the same platform that runs FundCount’s portfolio accounting, partnership accounting, and reporting, used by family offices and by the fund administrators that report to LPs.
Watch-outs
- FundCount extracts what each GP discloses. Grouped lines in a condensed schedule stay grouped until the GP provides the names.
- Holdings data covers what each fund owns and what it is worth. Company KPIs such as revenue and EBITDA come from GP portfolio company updates.
See co-investment and fund exposure in one view
In a guided walkthrough on real-world scenarios, we add a co-investment and two fund positions in the same company and show the total next to your single-name limit.
FAQs
What is co-investment exposure?
Your total economic exposure to a company you co-invested in: the co-investment itself plus your share of every fund that holds the same company.
How do you calculate total exposure to a company you co-invested in?
Add the fair value of your co-investment to your share of each fund’s position in the company. Take fund positions from each fund’s schedule of investments and scale them by your share of the fund.
Why does co-investing increase concentration?
Because the co-investment usually sits next to a fund you already back, which owns the same company. Every co-investment adds to a position you already have.
Should co-investments count toward single-name limits?
Yes, together with your look-through share of every fund position in the same company. A limit applied to the co-investment alone understates the exposure.
How are co-investments valued?
A co-investment vehicle reports at fair value, set by the GP that manages it. Shares you hold directly follow your own valuation policy. Compare both with the fund’s value per share for the same security.
Do co-investments charge fees?
Often less than funds: many come with reduced or no management fee and carried interest. Check each vehicle’s terms.
Sources and methodology
Sources: FASB ASC 946-210-50 on schedules of investments, as quoted in SEC staff correspondence; ILPA Quarterly Reporting Standards, Best Practices, version 1.0 (October 2011). FundCount capabilities come from FundCount’s product documentation and client announcements, reviewed in October 2026.
Example: all funds and companies are fictional. The figures extend our schedule of investments and look-through examples and reconcile with them.
Scope: general information, not investment, accounting, or legal advice.
Published: October 2026.
