IC Memo Builder

Draft a first-pass investment committee memo that anticipates the committee’s questions.

Seat

PE

Level

Associate

Runtime

~60 min

Output

IC memo skeleton with drafted sections

What this helps you accomplish

Structure a PE investment committee memo: deal summary, investment thesis, market, financials, returns, risks and diligence status — organised around the decisions the IC needs to make, not around everything you know.

Delegate · Verify · Decide

The core L3VLUP principle: AI output is never automatically correct. Know what to hand off, what to check, and what only you can own.

Delegate

AI is good enough to do this.

  • Assembling section drafts from your model, CIM notes and diligence materials
  • Formatting the returns and sensitivity exhibits
  • Compiling the diligence tracker table

Verify

AI accelerates you here, but a professional checks the work.

  • Numbers in prose match the model exhibits exactly
  • Claimed market data traces to a named source
  • Thesis pillars and risk section don’t silently contradict each other

Decide

Judgment the human owns. This is the skill.

  • The recommendation and conviction level
  • Which risks are deal-breakers vs priced-in
  • What you’re asking the IC for: approval, guidance or more time

Inputs required

  • Deal basics: target, sector, deal type, stage in process
  • Your model outputs (returns, leverage, sensitivities)
  • Diligence findings so far

The workflow

  1. 1

    Lead with the decision

    What is the IC being asked to approve, at what valuation, by when? First half-page.

  2. 2

    Structure the thesis

    2-4 pillars, each with evidence and the diligence item that would confirm or kill it.

  3. 3

    Present returns honestly

    Base/downside/upside with drivers, not just the base MOIC. Show what breaks the deal.

  4. 4

    Pre-empt the questions

    Every IC has predictable attacks: customer concentration, cyclicality, management, exit. Answer them before they’re asked.

  5. 5

    Flag the unknowns

    Open diligence items with owners and dates. Hiding unknowns is how memos lose credibility.

Run this skill

Subject
Perspective
Sources
Output
Run

Any listed company, anywhere. Ticker or name.

Quality checklist

The output isn’t done until every box ticks.

  • The ask is explicit on page one
  • Each thesis pillar maps to a diligence item
  • Downside case is a real scenario, not base-minus-10%

Practise the fundamentals first

Free, no sign-up — in the Labs.

Tools that speed this up

Part of the L3VLUP tool suite.

Relevant for:Private Equity
Next skill: Diligence Question Builder