Provenance refers to the trail of evidence establishing the origin and reliability of a data record. On Alternatives.pe, Provenance of Transaction describes the source from which a deal, investment, or commitment record was derived — for example, a regulatory filing, a fund's annual report, a press release, a data partner, or proprietary research.
Understanding provenance is essential for assessing data quality. A transaction confirmed by a regulatory filing carries higher confidence than one sourced from a news article or inferred from indirect disclosures. Different provenances may yield conflicting information — amount, date, parties — and Provenance helps users weigh conflicting data points appropriately.