Industries
Private Equity
Independent diligence for the decisions that define the fund.
Private equity firms engage Fortaris Capital Advisors when the cost of a missed fact is measured in the size of the check. From pre-signing investigative due diligence on targets and management teams to post-close portfolio-company investigations and pre-exit reviews, our work gives deal partners and operators the independent, evidentiary read that LPs, investment committees, and lenders expect. Every engagement is led by a Managing Director drawn from federal investigative service and forensic accounting — not handed to an associate on a deal clock.
Where deal teams and operators bring us in
Pre-signing investigative due diligence
Surfacing the litigation, regulatory, financial-distress, reputational, and beneficial-ownership facts on a target that the data room and management presentations do not — before the deal team commits.
Management-team and executive vetting
Independent verification of target management, board appointees, and founders: litigation history, regulatory exposure, prior-firm separation circumstances, undisclosed conflicts, and credential verification before capital is deployed under their leadership.
Beneficial-ownership and counterparty analysis
Tracing the actual individuals behind a target's corporate, LLC, or offshore structure for KYC, sanctions, and FCPA-adjacent comfort — particularly where listed ownership does not reflect economic reality.
Portfolio-company investigations
Independent, privileged investigations triggered post-close — fraud discoveries, executive misconduct, financial irregularities, asset diversion, or whistleblower matters at a portfolio company that need an evidentiary, defensible work product.
Pre-exit reputational and security review
A clean read on the management team, security posture, and reputational exposure before a sale process — closing the gaps a buyer's diligence would otherwise surface at a worse time.
Cross-border diligence on inbound and outbound deals
US-licensed verification for foreign LPs and co-investors deploying into US targets, and investigative support where a deal has assets, actors, or counterparties on both sides of the border.
The practices PE firms engage most
Corporate Intelligence
Investigative due diligence, management-team vetting, reputational profiles, and beneficial-ownership analysis built to the standard deal teams and investment committees require before signing.
International + Cross-Border Due Diligence
US-licensed verification and investigative support for foreign LPs and co-investors deploying into American targets, and for deals with a cross-border dimension.
Investigative Services
Privileged portfolio-company investigations — fraud, executive misconduct, asset diversion, and whistleblower matters — led by former federal investigators and ACFE-credentialed fraud examiners.
Litigation Support & Economic Damages
Forensic accounting, economic-damages quantification, and expert testimony for post-acquisition disputes, earn-out and working-capital matters, and fraud-driven loss recovery.
Security Services + Risk Advisory
Security-program assessments and Ad-Hoc Outsourced CSO engagements at portfolio companies that need senior security leadership through the hold and into a sale process.
Why Fortaris
Why private equity firms choose Fortaris
Fortaris is privately held and independent of any Big-4 accounting or consulting parent, so we routinely take diligence and portfolio engagements that are conflicted out at the larger firms whose audit and advisory relationships reach across the deal. Our leadership pairs federal investigative pedigree — Former DHS Office of Inspector General, US Treasury, INS / Border Patrol, and state attorney's offices — with CPA forensic accounting and ACFE Certified Fraud Examiner depth, so a single senior-led team can move from beneficial-ownership tracing to financial forensics to defensible testimony without a hand-off. Every engagement is led by a Managing Director, scoped to the deal in front of you, delivered to evidentiary standards, and held in strict confidence — the vast majority of our work is never disclosed.
Frequently asked
How is investigative due diligence different from the financial and legal diligence we already run?
Financial and legal diligence read the data room; investigative due diligence reads what is not in it. We incorporate litigation and regulatory history, financial-distress signals, beneficial ownership, undisclosed conflicts, prior-firm separation circumstances, and reputational research — surfaced by former federal investigators who know where exposure hides and how to document it defensibly.
Can Fortaris work under privilege through our deal counsel?
Yes. The majority of our PE engagements are managed under attorney-client privilege through outside or in-house counsel. We are accustomed to operating within counsel-led protocols and structuring deliverables — including portfolio-company investigations — to preserve privilege through the matter's lifecycle.
Can you meet a deal-clock timeline?
Yes. A focused management vet is typically scoped around 10 business days and a comprehensive M&A investigative due diligence engagement runs roughly three to six weeks, with expedited timelines available where the matter requires it. We scope to your signing date in the initial confidential conversation.
Do you handle diligence for foreign LPs and co-investors deploying into US targets?
Yes. Our flagship International / Cross-Border Due Diligence practice is positioned specifically for inbound work — foreign principals and funds verifying American companies, executives, and counterparties — with US-licensed verification calibrated to what foreign investment committees and counsel expect to see.
Will engagements and findings stay confidential?
Yes. We do not publish client names, do not publicize matter wins, and structure engagement letters around confidentiality. Deliverables are restricted to the engaging principal and counsel, and the vast majority of our work is never disclosed.
Bring Fortaris into the matter.
Every engagement begins with a confidential conversation — led by the Managing Director who will own your matter.