Most quarterly LP updates do not get read. Not because LPs do not care about your fund, but because the updates are too long, too vague, or formatted in a way that makes extracting useful information feel like work. When an LP allocator is managing relationships with 30 or more fund managers, your 15-page PDF is competing with dozens of others for attention.
The GPs who consistently maintain strong LP relationships have figured out a simple truth: your quarterly update is not a compliance exercise. It is a communication tool. Get it right, and you build trust, reduce inbound questions, and make your next fundraise significantly easier.
What LPs Actually Want From Your Update
Before diving into structure and templates, it helps to understand what an LP is looking for when they open your quarterly letter.
Fund health at a glance. How is the fund performing? What is the current NAV, net IRR, and TVPI? Are you on pace with deployment?
Portfolio momentum. Which companies are doing well? Which ones are struggling? Are there any material changes they need to know about?
Capital activity. Did you make new investments? Follow-on into existing ones? Have any exits or markups?
Your perspective on the market. Not a macro economics lecture, but a brief, honest take on what you are seeing in your specific market.
What is coming next. What does the pipeline look like? Are you planning any follow-on reserves? When do you expect to call more capital?
That is it. LPs are not looking for a novel. They want a clear, honest snapshot of their investment.
The Ideal Structure for a Quarterly Update
After years of writing these and talking to LPs about what they actually read, here is the structure that works best. The entire update should be three to five pages, with an optional appendix for detailed portfolio data.
1. Fund Summary (Half a Page)
Start with the numbers. Put them in a simple table at the very top of the letter so an LP can get the headline without scrolling.
Fund Performance Summary - Q4 2025 ----------------------------------- Fund Size: $50M Capital Called: $32M (64%) Capital Deployed: $28M (56%) Reserves Remaining: $18M Net IRR: 24.3% TVPI: 1.42x DPI: 0.15x Number of Investments: 14 New Investments (Q4): 2 Follow-ons (Q4): 1 Exits (Q4): 0
This table should be the very first thing an LP sees. No preamble, no "Dear Limited Partners, we hope this letter finds you well." Get to the data.
Below the table, include two to three sentences of context. Something like: "Fund II is 64% called with 14 portfolio companies. Performance improved this quarter driven primarily by a markup in Company X following their Series B led by Tier 1 Investor. We anticipate making two to three additional investments in Q1 2026."
2. Portfolio Highlights (One to Two Pages)
This is the section LPs care about most, and it is where most GPs either write too much or too little. The goal is to give a meaningful update on each company without turning it into a wall of text.
For each portfolio company, include:
- Company name and one-line description
- Current status (active, marked up, marked down, exited, written off)
- Key metrics (ARR, revenue growth, burn rate, runway)
- One to two sentences on what happened this quarter
- Any upcoming milestones
Format matters here. Use a consistent template for each company so LPs can scan quickly. Here is an example:
Company A - B2B SaaS for Supply Chain Status: Active | Invested: $2M (Seed, Q2 2024) Current Valuation: $15M (Series A, Q3 2025) ARR: $1.8M (up from $1.1M last quarter) Burn: $180K/month | Runway: 14 months Update: Closed three enterprise contracts in Q4, including a Fortune 500 pilot. Preparing for Series B conversations in Q1 2026. We plan to participate in the next round from reserves.
Prioritize your updates. Lead with the companies that have material news, whether positive or negative. Do not bury a write-down at the bottom of the portfolio section. LPs respect transparency more than spin.
For companies with no material changes, keep it to one line: "Company F: No material changes this quarter. Continuing to execute on product roadmap with 8 months of runway."
3. New Investments and Follow-ons (Half a Page)
If you made new investments or follow-on investments during the quarter, give each one a brief introduction:
- Company name and what they do
- Round details (stage, amount, lead investor, your allocation)
- Why you invested (two to three sentences on the thesis)
- Key metrics at time of investment
This section serves double duty. It shows LPs what you are finding in the market, and it gives them early context on companies they will be tracking for years.
4. Exits and Realizations (If Applicable)
When you have exits, this deserves prominent placement. Include:
- Company name and exit type (acquisition, IPO, secondary sale)
- Entry and exit multiples
- Total return (gross and net)
- Timeline from investment to exit
- Brief narrative on the outcome
Even partial exits or secondary sales are worth mentioning. LPs want to see DPI progress.
5. Market Commentary (Half a Page Maximum)
This is the section most GPs overwrite. LPs do not need your take on interest rates, geopolitical risks, or the state of the global economy. They have plenty of macro research already.
What they want is your view of your specific market. What are you seeing in deal flow? Are valuations moving up or down in your stage and sector? Are there emerging themes you are excited about? Are there areas you are avoiding and why?
Keep it to three to four paragraphs. Be specific and opinionated. Generic market commentary gets skipped.
6. Outlook and Next Steps (Quarter Page)
Close with a forward-looking section:
- Expected deployment pace for the next quarter
- Upcoming capital calls (timing and approximate amounts)
- Any portfolio companies approaching major milestones
- Fund management updates (new hires, operational changes)
What LPs Skip (And What That Tells You)
Having talked to dozens of LP allocators about their reading habits, the patterns are consistent.
They skip: Long market commentary that reads like a blog post. Repetitive company updates where nothing changed. Self-congratulatory language about your deal sourcing or network. Lengthy disclaimers and legal boilerplate (though these are sometimes required).
They read carefully: The performance summary table. Any write-downs or markdowns. New investment rationales. Exit details. Anything that signals a change in strategy or team.
They forward to their IC: The fund summary table, new investment memos, and any exits. Make these sections standalone, meaning they should make sense without reading the rest of the letter.
Tone and Writing Style
Write like you are talking to a sophisticated peer, not a regulator. Avoid jargon when plain language works. Be honest about challenges without being alarmist.
Good: "Company B's growth slowed to 15% QoQ as they worked through a pricing transition. We believe the new pricing model will improve unit economics, but the next two quarters will be a transition period."
Bad: "Company B continues to execute well on its strategic vision, with management demonstrating strong operational capabilities as they navigate a dynamic pricing environment."
The first example gives an LP something they can work with. The second says nothing.
Be specific about numbers. "Revenue grew" is not useful. "Revenue grew from $800K to $1.2M ARR, a 50% increase QoQ" is useful.
Acknowledge problems directly. If a company is struggling, say so. LPs will find out eventually, and discovering bad news late is far worse than hearing it early with context. Your credibility compounds over time. One honest write-down update does more for your LP relationships than five quarters of vague optimism.
Formatting Tips That Improve Readability
Use a consistent template every quarter. LPs should know exactly where to find the information they need. Changing your format every quarter forces them to re-learn your layout.
Put the performance table on page one. Not page two, not after a greeting. Page one, top of the document.
Use tables and structured layouts for portfolio updates. Prose paragraphs for 15 companies are hard to scan. A structured format with consistent fields is much easier.
Keep it under five pages. The letter itself (not including any appendix) should be three to five pages. If you cannot summarize your quarter in five pages, you are including too much detail in the main body. Move granular data to an appendix.
Send as PDF, not a Google Doc or Notion link. PDFs are archivable, printable, and do not require the LP to have an account on your platform. If you want to use a web-based portal for ongoing access, that is fine as a supplement, but always send the PDF directly.
Include a one-line subject line. "Fund II Q4 2025 Update" is all you need. Do not get creative with email subject lines for LP communications.
Timing and Cadence
Send within 45 days of quarter end. 30 days is ideal. Beyond 60 days and the information feels stale. If your fund administrator needs time to finalize NAV calculations, send a preliminary update with estimated numbers and follow up with audited figures.
Be consistent. If you send Q1 updates in April, send Q2 updates in July. LPs notice when the cadence slips, and it raises concerns about operational discipline.
Consider a brief mid-quarter note for material events. If a portfolio company closes a major round, gets acquired, or faces a significant challenge, do not wait for the quarterly letter. A brief email (three to four sentences) keeps LPs informed without overwhelming them.
Building Your LP Update Workflow
The biggest reason GPs dread quarterly updates is that they try to write the entire thing from scratch each quarter. Building a repeatable workflow eliminates most of that pain.
Week 1 after quarter end: Collect portfolio company updates. Send a standard template to each founder asking for key metrics and highlights.
Week 2: Compile fund-level data with your fund administrator. Calculate performance metrics and capital account summaries.
Week 3: Write the letter. With portfolio data and fund metrics in hand, the actual writing should take two to three hours, not two to three days.
Week 4: Review, finalize, and send.
If your fund uses a platform like Roulette to track portfolio company data and metrics, the collection phase becomes significantly faster. When your portfolio metrics are already flowing into your CRM, writing the quarterly update is mostly a matter of pulling the data and adding narrative context.
A Simple Template to Get Started
If you do not have a quarterly update format yet, here is a starting point you can adapt:
Page 1: Fund performance summary table, two to three sentences of context, table of contents for the rest of the letter.
Page 2-3: Portfolio company updates in structured format (name, status, metrics, one to two sentence update).
Page 3-4: New investments and follow-ons with brief investment rationales.
Page 4: Market commentary (three to four paragraphs on your specific market).
Page 4-5: Outlook, upcoming capital calls, and any operational updates.
Appendix (optional): Detailed financial statements, capital account summary, full portfolio valuation table.
Making It Better Over Time
After each quarterly send, track which LPs respond and what questions they ask. If you are consistently getting the same follow-up question, that is a signal that your update is missing something. Fold those answers into your next letter.
Ask your most engaged LPs directly: "Is there anything you would like to see in our quarterly updates that we are not covering?" The answers will surprise you and make your communications stronger.
Your quarterly update is one of the few touchpoints you have with your LPs between fundraises. Make it count.