A Founder's View on Tracking Private Investments
Grown Private was recently included in a Peekwire roundup of private investment tracking tools alongside 73 Strings and Wealthfolio. After confirming the listing, founder Alvin Carl Bertz agreed to answer three questions about what private investors actually need from tracking tools, and where the usual spreadsheets and quarterly statements fall short.
His answers below are published as written.
Seeing Holdings, Cash Flows and Valuations in One Place
Asked when a private investor first sees their holdings, cash flows and valuations together, and what changes once they can, Bertz starts with a question of scope rather than software.
"It begins with the question: what do you actually want to know about each asset, and how far down the information ladder do you need to go?"
Once that is settled, he says the practical shift is immediate. "The day it goes live, a portfolio that once took hours to piece together can be read, and more importantly understood over your morning coffee."
But the change he describes is not only about speed. "It also goes beyond the numbers. It flags what needs attention: income booked but never paid, a valuation years out of date, or a company drifting off course."
That visibility, he argues, changes the investor's posture. "They become active, motivated owners again, and finally see what the fog of missed opportunities had covered: the introductions never made, the help never offered, the ideas never shared."
What Spreadsheets and Quarterly Statements Leave Out
The second question was about the gap between what investors track and what they actually need to know. Bertz points to information that never makes it into a spreadsheet at all.
"The news. We act as personal representatives, speaking to each company/asset in your interest to capture what no spreadsheet records: a new department head's plans, the meeting that changed confidence, or geopolitical impacts."
He also draws a distinction between organising numbers and understanding them. "Even if every spreadsheet is gathered and kept current, you're still left with separate numbers to stitch together yourself. We go beyond organising numbers, bringing the story and the world that shapes them into one place, so you don't just own a stake, you know the business behind it."
For readers comparing tools, the point is a useful one: a consolidated view of holdings and cash flows solves a data problem, but it does not automatically solve a context problem. The qualitative signals — management changes, shifts in confidence, external events — sit outside most tracking setups unless someone is actively gathering them.
The One Thing Not to Do Too Quickly
The final question asked what he would stop a new investor from doing too fast when they start tracking private holdings. His answer was direct.
"Rushing to make a change, or worse, trying to hand the decision to someone else."
He explains why the impulse is understandable but misleading. "The first time you see clearly, every flag feels like a fire, even though the problem was there all along. Only your view of it is new."
His recommendation is patience over reaction. "Clarity isn't a call to act on impulse. It's an education, and each quarter teaches you the difference between a real problem and a passing one. In time, no adviser will know your investments better than you do."
That framing is worth keeping in mind for anyone setting up a tracking process for the first time. A new dashboard can surface issues that have existed for months or years. Treating each one as urgent is a common early mistake; treating the first clear view as a learning period is closer to how experienced investors operate.
Practical Takeaways
- Define what you need to know about each asset before choosing a tool, including how far down the information ladder you need to go.
- Consolidation matters, but context matters too. Numbers alone will not tell you about management changes, confidence shifts or external risks.
- Expect the first clear view to feel alarming. Distinguish between a real problem and a passing one before acting.
- Keep ownership of the decisions. Bertz's view is that over time, no adviser will know your investments better than you do.
For readers researching the space, the Grown Private site and the broader Peekwire article provide starting points. For general background on private markets reporting and valuation practice, the SEC's investor education resources and CFA Institute both publish material relevant to private holdings and alternative investments.