Methodology
Portugal's most comprehensive Golden Visa database: every fact cited and traceable
This database is built like a research project, not a brochure: a defined source hierarchy, per-fact confidence grades, adversarial cross-checks and computed — never hand-assigned — scores. This page documents the entire method.
funds researched, incl. closed vintages for reference
individual source citations across 69 distinct publishers
primary fund documents linked: prospectuses, KIDs, factsheets, annual reports
individual facts tracked, each with status, sources and confidence
The pipeline
Four stages, none skippable
Each fund passes through the same sequence. No fund enters the database on a single pass, and no stage is outsourced to memory — every claim is fetched, read and cited at research time.
Enumerate
Build the universe from every directory, registry and manager site we can find — then de-duplicate. Two funds in this database turned out to be the same vehicle under two names; one listed fund could not be verified to exist and was excluded.
Deep research
Per fund: manager website, fund documents (prospectus, KID, factsheets, reports), regulator records, then directories. Every fact is written down with its source id and an access date.
Adversarial cross-check
A second, independent pass tries to falsify the six money terms — minimum, management fee, performance fee, lock-up, redemption, US acceptance — against a source the first pass did not use.
Publish & monitor
Completeness and index scores are computed from the data at build time, so they can never drift from the underlying facts. Conflicts and stale statuses found later are corrected in the open.
Source hierarchy
Not all sources are equal
Confidence is assigned by where a fact comes from, not how often it is repeated. A number copied between five directories is still one source.
Fund documents
Prospectus, KID/KIID, factsheets, audited annual reports
Manager website & official statements
Fund pages, published terms, investor materials
Regulators & registries
CMVM records, GLEIF/LEI data, Euronext notices
Directories & aggregators
Fund databases and Golden Visa portals — medium when two independently agree, low when only one reports it
Hard rule: nothing is ever invented. If no source states a value, the field is marked unknown. If a fund explicitly keeps a term private, it is marked not disclosed — which we treat as an answer, not a gap.
The fact model
One number is never just one number
Every data point in the database carries four things: its value, its disclosure status, the sources behind it, and a confidence grade. This is what a single fact actually looks like in our data:
"managementFeePct": {
"value": 1.5,
"status": "disclosed",
"sources": ["s1", "s3"],
"confidence": "high",
"asOf": "2026-06-30",
"note": "Manager KIID confirms 1.5%;
one directory reports 1.2% —
fund documents win."
}- disclosedfound in a cited source, value shown
- estimatedderived, always with a note explaining how — shown with a ~
- not disclosedthe fund keeps it private; we say so instead of guessing
- unknownwe could not determine it yet — shown as a dash, never filled in
- Conflicts between sources are not silently resolved: the higher-ranked source wins and the disagreement is recorded in the fact's note, visible on the fund page.
facts at high confidence (documents, manager or regulator)
facts at medium confidence (independent sources agree)
facts a fund explicitly does not publish — recorded as such
facts still open — shown as gaps, never papered over
Completeness scoring
How the data completeness % works
Each fund page shows a completeness score across 28 tracked facts. It is computed at build time from the data itself and cannot be edited by hand.
Core facts count double
Minimum investment · Management fee · Performance fee · Lock-up period · Redemption frequency · CMVM registration · US investor acceptance · Golden Visa eligibility
for “not disclosed”
We resolved the question even though the fund keeps the answer private. More honest than counting it as missing — and stricter than counting it as answered.
current database average
81% across featured funds. Closed vintages are researched at lower depth by design and pull the average down.
The US-Readiness Index
A computed score, not an opinion
The index answers one narrow question: how ready is this fund for a US-citizen investor, based on what is publicly verifiable? Weights are fixed, published here, and applied by code.
Closed funds and funds whose Golden Visa eligibility is in doubt are excluded from the ranking. The index is not a quality, performance or safety rating, and a high score is not a recommendation. See the current ranking →
Roots 9-Point Verification
The manager-verified layer, rolling out fund by fund
Data research tells you what is published. Verification asks managers to evidence it. Nine checks, each pass/fail, with the two US-specific points no other review framework covers.
CMVM registration
Fund registration confirmed against regulator records
Regulated custodian
Depositary bank named and consistent across documents
Independent auditor
Auditor engaged and latest audited accounts sighted
Full fee schedule
Complete fee stack disclosed in writing, no verbal-only terms
GV legal eligibility
No direct or indirect real-estate exposure under post-Oct-2023 rules
US acceptance in writing
Written confirmation that US persons can subscribe
US-specific check
PFIC / QEF commitment
Documented commitment to annual QEF information statements
US-specific check
Team & track record
Key people and claimed history verified independently
Documents obtainable
Current prospectus and KID actually provided on request
Status: the framework is live in our data model; every fund currently shows unverified until its manager completes the process. Verification is a documentation check, not an endorsement — and it cannot be purchased.
Independence
Independent by design
Who this is built for
Roots Global is an independent advisor working for Golden Visa applicants — not for any fund or manager. No fund had a say in how it is presented here, and none saw its profile before publication.
What is never for sale
- · Database inclusion and ordering — alphabetical or computed, never paid
- · Scores — calculated by code from published data
- · Verification badges — cannot be bought, only evidenced
- · Gaps and conflicts — published even when unflattering
Ready to shortlist your Golden Visa fund?
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Tom Brooks
Founding Partner & CEO
Talk through your Golden Visa fund shortlist — independent guidance, no obligation.
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