Deal Brief · Equity
Deal Brief for equity partners
An LP's real question is not what the returns are. It is which assumption the returns depend on, and what happens when it moves.
What does an equity partner need to evaluate a deal?
The waterfall and promote structure, sponsor co-invest, the return set with its underlying assumptions, the downside case, and the fee load. A Deal Brief presents each of these with the document behind it and keeps every projection labelled as a projection rather than a result.
Where equity conversations stall
- A returns page with no visible exit assumption.
- Promote structure described in prose rather than tiers.
- Sponsor co-invest quoted as a percentage of an unstated base.
- A downside case that only appears when asked for.
Preparing an equity Brief
- Step 1
Structure
Waterfall tiers, promote, preferred return, capital call mechanics.
- Step 2
Assumptions
Exit cap, rent growth, hold period, financing terms — each stated, each labelled forecast.
- Step 3
Sponsor alignment
Co-invest amount, source of funds, fee schedule.
- Step 4
Downside
The stress case and what breaks first, included up front rather than on request.
What LPs interrogate
Returns
- IRR and equity multiple with basis
- Hold period
- Distribution timing
Structure
- Waterfall tiers
- Promote and catch-up
- Preferred return
Alignment
- Sponsor co-invest
- Fee load
- Control and major decisions
Risk
- Exit cap sensitivity
- Lease-up risk
- Financing risk
A worked example
Harbor Point shows equity structure and downside in the Deal Brief format.
Open the Harbor Point Deal BriefFictional demonstration data.
Questions LPs ask
None of these should require a follow-up call if the Brief is complete.
- What exit cap does the return set assume?
- How much is the sponsor putting in, and from where?
- Where does the promote start?
- What happens to returns at a 75-basis-point cap expansion?
- What fees does the partnership pay the sponsor?
Keeping projections honest
- Forecast figures stay labelled forecast, with the assumption that drives them attached.
- Derived returns show their inputs.
- Where the model and the memo disagree, both are shown.
- Nothing is presented as a result when the document calls it a projection.
Equity package checklist
- Waterfall stated in tiers.
- All model assumptions listed and dated.
- Sponsor co-invest and source disclosed.
- Fee schedule included.
- Downside case included by default.
- Every projection labelled.
Common questions
- What is a Deal Brief?
- A Deal Brief is Brieflin's commercial-real-estate Brief. It organizes a deal's economics, capital stack, people, milestones, risks, due diligence, decisions, open items, files, and supporting evidence into one conversational link.A Deal Brief does not replace formal due diligence, a data room, or professional review.
- Does a Deal Brief replace due diligence?
- No. A Deal Brief helps a counterparty understand a deal quickly and find the documents that matter. Formal diligence — legal review, appraisal, environmental, engineering, underwriting — still happens against the executed documents themselves. Brieflin does not provide any of that advice.A Deal Brief does not replace formal due diligence, a data room, or professional review.
- How does Brieflin use source evidence?
- Answers are generated only from the passages retrieved out of your uploaded sources, and each answer links back to the passages behind it. When the retrieved material does not support an answer, the Brief says it does not know and explains what is missing instead of filling the gap.
Basis labelling
The distinction between forecast and actual is enforced at the data layer.
Deal Brief templateScope and limitations
- Brieflin does not provide investment, legal, appraisal, underwriting, engineering, or environmental advice.
- A Deal Brief does not replace formal due diligence, a data room, or professional review.
Give LPs something they can test
Package the structure and the downside in the same link.