> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gauntlet.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Curation

> How risk tiers and market selection affect the vaults your users interact with

Risk tiers help you describe to your users what level of risk-reward tradeoff a vault targets. Gauntlet actively curates which DeFi markets a vault can deploy into, how much capital goes to each, and under what conditions allocations change. This is why two vaults on the same protocol can have very different risk-return profiles.

## Risk Tiers

Gauntlet organizes vaults into three tiers:

### Prime

The most conservative tier. Prime vaults allocate to blue-chip markets with deep liquidity, established collateral assets (ETH, stETH, USDC, USDT), and proven oracle infrastructure. Prioritizes capital preservation over maximum returns.

### Balanced

Moderate risk-reward. Balanced vaults access a broader set of markets, including mid-tier collateral and shorter track records. Position sizing offsets the incremental risk.

### Frontier

Higher yield potential with correspondingly higher risk. Frontier vaults may allocate to newer protocols, less liquid markets, or novel collateral types. Per-market concentration limits manage tail risk.

For risk tiers in practice, see the [Morpho](/guides/concepts/supported-protocols/morpho) page.

## What Gauntlet Evaluates

Before including a market in a vault's allocation set, Gauntlet assesses:

* **Smart contract risk** -- audit history, production maturity, incident record.
* **Liquidity risk** -- depth, utilization patterns, stress behavior.
* **Oracle risk** -- reliability, decentralization, manipulation resistance.
* **Counterparty risk** -- borrower concentration, collateral governance exposure.
* **Market parameters** -- [LLTV](/guides/concepts/glossary) thresholds, interest rate models, liquidation incentives.

Markets that degrade on any dimension can be removed or have their allocation reduced.

## Exposure Controls

Gauntlet enforces concentration limits, correlation constraints, and rebalancing triggers -- both off-chain (risk systems) and on-chain (hook validation). For on-chain enforcement details, see [Aera V3 Hooks](/guides/concepts/supported-protocols/aera-v3/hooks).