We undertake risk analysis and pre-transactional due diligence investigations prior to acquisitions, joint ventures, or investments. Ideally, we are engaged at an early stage, before legal costs and other professional fees are incurred; as this will limit our Client’s exposure if adverse legal, financial, operational or other red flag issues come to light.
Our diverse team of specialists provide thorough and detailed reports to enable our clients to mitigate their risk and make informed commercial decisions.
How we work
We operate internationally and can provide the following information for a company or individual:
- Enhanced background.
- Financial profiling.
- Reputational screening, with a focus on red flags.
- Politically exposed person (PEP) checks.
- Litigation; historical and current.
- Regulatory and compliance.
Post-Transactional due diligence
Due diligence may be required subsequent to a business transaction to investigate suspected fraud or an adverse event. Alternatively, it can be conducted as a matter of prudence to ensure the effectiveness of regulatory compliance procedures.
This is typically conducted to provide assurance to directors, shareholders and third-party stakeholders that constant monitoring is in place; helping to prevent exposure to potential corruption or fraud.
By identifying potential opportunities for, or actual occurrences of fraud, clients are able to act early to mitigate risk and avoid reputational and financial costs such as:
- Involvement in litigation.
- Infringement of their intellectual property rights.
- A money laundering investigation.
Financial/EAM
Matrix provides advice to independent investment firms, wealth advisors and External Asset Managers (EAMs), regarding the compliance issues associated with on-boarding new clients.
As EAMs are normally authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), pursuant to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), or the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), the legislation for on-boarding new clients must be strictly adhered to.
Specifically, EAMs are required to have strict processes and procedures in place with respect to undertaking sufficient due diligence on their clients and/or investors. These procedures include:
- Formal know-your-client (KYC) processes.
- Verifying the source of client funds.
- Risk profiling.
- Implementing internal threat-matrixes.
- Adherence to anti-money laundering regulations.
- Suspicious transaction reporting.
The intelligence we provide enables EAMs and their partners to make well informed decisions about potential clients and assists with on-boarding procedures.
Please contact us with any queries regarding our Due Diligence service.
Due Diligence explained
What is Pre-Transactional Due Diligence?
By Definition – Due Diligence is a comprehensive appraisal of a business undertaken by a prospective buyer/investor. It focusses on a company’s assets, reported liabilities, intellectual property, operating and litigation history, together with robust background checks of the key management and decision-makers e.g. their track records, competencies, potential conflicts of interest and any political or criminal links.
It enables an investor to make informed decisions on a potential transaction and ensure that the deal is aligned with the best interests of their shareholders, customers, employees and brand.
What is Due Diligence and how you perform it?
Due Diligence investigations are not a templated exercise. The scope and method is entirely dependent upon a Client’s requirement and there are different intelligence gathering methods which can be deployed, singularly or collectively, to convert assumptions into actionable facts.
Every investigation will commence with OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) to gather publicly available data and information, however; a solely OSINT approach has its limitations and it is often necessary to conduct enhanced due diligence, supplemented with HUMINT (Human Intelligence), to obtain a more in-depth and comprehensive result.
HUMINT can be used to gather a variety of information and usually involves discreet local enquiries around the target’s professional reputation, financial position and social and business life.
What is Enhanced Due Diligence?
Enhanced (advanced, or deep level) Due Diligence entails a much higher level of investigative scrutiny. It is typically instructed if the size of the transaction is significant, the client has early concerns, or a leading Brand is involved.
Such investigations are almost exclusively conducted by Corporate Intelligence firms, as they have the expertise, reach and resources necessary to conduct them effectively.
How long does an investigation take?
The time required is dependent upon the level of scrutiny required, the size of the target (the entity and number of key individuals) and the geographic footprint to be covered.
A basic due diligence investigation can take as little as 7-10 working days, however; a complex enhanced due diligence investigation task can take weeks; which is why timely instruction is essential.
