Investment Committee (IC) Memo
An investment committee (IC) memo is the internal document an investment team prepares to recommend approving or declining an acquisition or investment. It summarizes the property, the business plan, the underwriting, the returns, the key risks and how they will be managed, so the committee can make a decision.
Why an investment committee memo matters
The IC memo is where underwriting becomes a decision. It pulls the model, market research and due diligence findings into one argument, and it records why the firm chose to invest, which matters later for asset management and for the firm's own investors.
A strong memo presents the downside as clearly as the upside. It shows returns under the base case and under stressed assumptions, explains what would have to go wrong for the deal to fail, and states how the business plan addresses each risk.
Memos take significant time to assemble because they draw on many sources. Every figure has to match the underwriting model, and any change to the model means updating the memo.
IC Memo vs. Credit Memo
An IC memo is written by an investor's team to recommend buying or investing in a property, with a focus on returns. A credit memo is written by a lender's team to recommend making a loan, with a focus on repayment and collateral. Both summarize underwriting, but they answer different questions.
How Smart Capital Center handles IC memos
Smart Capital Center's AI agents draft investment committee memos from the same data as the underwriting model, so the figures in the memo and the model always match. The team edits the draft and makes the recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
What sections are in an investment committee memo?
Most IC memos include an executive summary and recommendation, a property and market overview, the business plan, underwriting assumptions and returns, financing terms, sensitivity analysis, key risks and mitigants, and due diligence findings. Many firms use a standard template so the committee can compare deals consistently.
Who writes the IC memo?
The deal team, usually an analyst or associate working with the deal lead, prepares the memo. Senior team members review it before it goes to the committee, which typically includes the firm's principals and senior investment professionals who vote on the deal.
How long should an investment committee memo be?
Length varies by firm and deal size, from a few pages for a small acquisition to a much longer package for a large or complex investment. The goal is to give the committee everything it needs to decide, with the recommendation and the key risks stated up front.