Analysis

The Deal Memo

Deals arrive with a deadline attached. That is not an accident.

What we do

Send it to the desk.

Private placements, direct investments, fund offerings, structured notes, co-investments, club deals. They come from friends, bankers, other families, and they come with three days to decide and a document pack nobody has time to read properly.

What comes back

The structure, drawn. The complete fee waterfall, including what the sponsor earns, when they earn it, and what has to happen for you to see a return before they do. Sponsor history, including what happened to the last three vehicles rather than only the ones in the deck. Comparable transactions and pricing. Downside cases with the assumptions stated. Where this sits against your existing exposure and your forward liquidity. And a list of the specific questions to put to the promoter before you commit.

How it ends

In questions, not in a verdict. We are not licensed to tell you to buy something and we would not want to be. The decision stays yours. It stops being uninformed.

Where it goes

If you proceed, the memo attaches to the position and stays there. The reasoning lives next to the asset for as long as you own it.

Deal MemoIllustrative fee waterfall
Illustrative fee waterfall from a Deal Memo
LayerTermsEffect (bps)
Arrangement fee2.0% on commitment200
Management fee1.75% on committed175
Sponsor promote20% over 8% pref
SPV administrationFixed, per annum34
Placement1.0%, paid by you100
Total, year one509

Three questions for the promoter follow, attached to this memo.