Investment committee memo template (Word)

What it is

An investment committee memo is the document a deal team writes so a committee can decide whether to commit capital. It states a recommendation, makes the case for it with evidence, shows the numbers and the risks, and says what is still unknown. Firms use their own formats. This template gives a clear, common one that you can shorten or extend.

It is an outline with prompts, not a finished memo: every bracketed line is for you to replace, and the how-to box at the top is for you to delete.

Who it is for

Investment professionals writing their first memos, deal teams that want a consistent structure, corporate development teams presenting an acquisition for approval, and students of finance.

When to use it, and when not to

• Use it when asking a committee, board or partner group to approve an investment, acquisition or follow-on, or to authorize spend on further diligence.
• Use it as a checklist for a thorough review, even if your final format differs.
• Do not use it as a substitute for diligence. The memo reports findings, and the work comes first.
• Do not use it unchanged if your committee prescribes a format. Use its prompts to check yours.

What is inside

1. Recommendation and the ask, with a table of terms and what would make you walk away.
2. The opportunity in brief: five bullets and a key-figures table.
3. The business.
4. Market and competition.
5. Investment thesis, as pillars with evidence, a disproof test and a way to test each.
6. Financial profile, with a table over history and forecast and prompts on quality of earnings and cash conversion.
7. Valuation, structure and returns, with sources and uses and returns by case.
8. Value creation plan.
9. Risks and how you would handle them.
10. Diligence status by workstream.
11. Exit considerations.
12. Next steps and timetable, then appendices.

How to fill it in

1. Write section 1 last, but put it first. The recommendation and the ask should be clear to someone who reads nothing else.
2. Write each section as a claim followed by evidence. Replace the prompts and delete what does not apply.
3. Put numbers in the tables and explain them in the text. Give every figure a source and a date, and say where a number is an estimate.
4. Show the downside as carefully as the upside. Name the risks that could break the thesis and how you would handle them.
5. Be honest about open diligence items, and say which ones could change the recommendation.
6. Cut hard. Keep the memo as short as the decision allows and move detail to appendices.

Worked example (an illustration)

Illustration only. The company, the project name and the numbers below are made up, with round figures, to show what a filled-in opening looks like. They are not real.

A filled-in section 1 for a made-up deal might read:

And one made-up thesis pillar:

Common mistakes

• Burying the ask. Lead with the decision.
• Listing risks with no mitigation or sizing.
• Letting the model drive the story. The thesis comes first and the model tests it.
• Unsourced numbers, or numbers that differ between sections.
• Hiding open items. A committee that finds them later trusts the next memo less.

Download

Free to download. The numbers in the file are made up, so replace them.

Use and limits

Free to use and adapt for your own work. If you publish or share it, a link back is appreciated.

This outline is a starting point, not advice. Committees differ in what they expect, so adapt it to your own rules and your adviser's guidance.

Sources and further reading

Sources are linked so you can check them. Statements that vary by employer, or that accounts disagree about, are hedged in the text. Found a mistake? Email support@forwardeployed.work and we will correct the page and update its date.

1. Investment committee. Encyclopedia entry.
2. Due diligence. Encyclopedia entry.
3. Internal rate of return. Encyclopedia entry.