An RWA due-diligence worksheet for beginners

The idea in plain English

A due-diligence worksheet should begin with the claim, obligated parties and exit route. Add underlying asset risks, fees, valuation, custody, governance, technical dependencies and eligibility. Mark a missing answer as unknown rather than filling the gap with the most optimistic interpretation.

The distinction that matters

Use original documents and record their dates. A product summary can help orientation, but it is not the governing agreement. Compare answers across documents for inconsistencies. For a material decision, get appropriately qualified legal or financial advice rather than assuming a checklist creates expertise.

A practical example

A fictional asset has a compelling yield display but no clear explanation of redemption during a market closure. The worksheet highlights the missing answer. That is a useful result even if it leads to no investment; unanswered operational questions are part of the risk.

Try this without moving money

• Create fields for claim, issuer, custody, fees, eligibility, valuation and exit.
• Attach a source and date to each answer.
• Separate confirmed facts, assumptions and unresolved questions.

A mistake to avoid

Do not total the worksheet into a single number labeled safe. Some unresolved questions can be decisive regardless of how many other boxes are checked.

Before you act

Tokenization changes how a claim is represented, not automatically the quality of the claim. Rights, eligibility and redemption are product- and jurisdiction-specific. The SEC staff reference is a US taxonomy discussion, not worldwide legal advice or a binding rule. Cairn is introduced here as research software, not a place to deposit money.