Pitch Books – Everything You Need to Know

What is an investment banking pitch book?

The process of coming up with an investment banking pitch book can be pretty challenging. This is because many brokers and investment bankers are unsure of what they should include in their pitchbooks. It is not clear how something so central and popular can be so confusing.

Most investment banking pitch books are created in PowerPoint and fall into three categories.

• Bank Introductions – These are the pitchbooks used to introduce banks to prospective clients. They can also be used to give clients updates.
• Deal Pitches – These include two main types, which are buy-side and sell-side M&A pitchbooks. Debt insurance and IPOs also fall under this category
• Management Presentations – These are presentations that are used to pitch clients to investors after winning the clients

Regardless of the type, all pitch books are marketing devices. Each presentation has to clarify the investment action. It should feature an in-depth analysis of all the bank’s client’s potential and current investment activities.

When creating pitch books, banks must ensure that these presentations are made so that they make good impressions on potential clients.

Win over investors with a professionally designed pitch book.

Pitchbook definition

A pitchbook is a sales presentation drafted by an investment bank. This document contains the key attributes of the bank, and it is used to land new clients or sell products and services. A pitch book is a great visual aid when making presentations to clients. It also serves as a guide for the sales force to remember essential benefits.

There are two primary kinds of pitchbooks. The main investment presentation’s features are the key attributes of the business, and the second one is deal-specific. The second pitchbook is used when making a presentation about a particular deal. It is used for initial public offerings and the selling of investment products.

The purpose of the main pitch book is to give a comprehensive summary of the investment bank. It contains details such as the number of analysts, previous IPO successes, and the average number of deals completed per year. It can also include information about the financial strengths of the bank and the range of services it offers to its clients.

Depending on how the pitchbook is being used, it can also contain biographical information of the presenter or team of presenters. Every detail contained in the pitch provides essential points for the sales team to focus on when making a presentation. After all, the aim of it is to sell the benefits of the bank to prospective clients.

Investment banking presentation

Investment banks use presentations to highlight how they can help their prospective clients. These presentations are used primarily by brokers and investment bankers. The main focus of such presentations is to highlight how the potential IPO process might play out for the prospective customer.

For these presentations to be effective, the banker or broker needs to show the client how previous IPOs within the same niche played out successfully in the past. This will give the client some faith that engaging the investment banker will provide them with good returns.

Investment banking presentations must be product-oriented. The presentation must make use of charts and comparisons to show their track record. Depending on the investment strategy, the banker can also display the method of selecting stocks and other relevant information that might assist the prospective client to better understand their offer.

When an investment banking presentation has been prepared properly, it becomes easy to persuade a client or potential client to take action. These presentations can be time-consuming to create due to the amount of detail they must contain.

Sell-side pitch books

These are probably the most popular pitch books among investment banks. These documents are usually drafted when a potential client approaches an investment bank in search of potential buyers. For instance, the client might be a large firm planning to sell a portion or department of their business. In some cases, it might also be a company looking for a partner to join them for strategic reasons.

The key purpose of a sell-side pitchbook is to persuade the client to select the investment bank and have it handle the transaction on their behalf. The investment bank must therefore come up with a list of buyers who might be interested in acquiring the client’s business. It must also contain:

• The valuation summary
• The investment bank’s recommendations
• A list of the bank’s previous successful deals relevant to the client’s industry
• An appendix

Typically, the first few slides must feature information about how the investment bank will position the client and make their business attractive to potential buyers. For instance, if the company is a service provider that has been growing its online presence, the investment banker might try to spin the business as a Software-as-a-Service offering.

The presentation must also contain the company’s valuation and how much they will expect to receive when it has been successfully sold. The other standard contents of sell-side pitches are:

• Valuation graphs
• The output of a DCF model
• Comparable public businesses
• Precedent transactions

The summary valuation can be presented as eye charts to make it easier for clients to understand the presentation.

Buy-side pitch books

Buy-side pitchbooks are similar to sell-side pitchbooks in many ways. Both presentations follow a somewhat similar structure, with differences in some sections.

Instead of having the investment banker trying to convince the client how they can assist in the selling of their business, the buy-side pitch book is more about acquisitions. The investment banker will present to the client the types of acquisitions they should pursue. They must also explain convincingly how they can help them close those deals.

The buy-side pitch book can contain valuation information, but the purpose is different. When dealing with buy-side transactions, the banker tries to show the buyer an estimate of how much a stock issuance to fund the deal may be worth. It may also contain quick valuations of possible targets.

Instead of analyzing potential buyers, the buy-side pitchbook profiles potential targets. This means the list will be a lot longer than in sell-side pitchbooks. There are several hundreds of companies that the client can choose from if they wish.

Generally, buy-side pitchbooks tend to be a lot shorter than sell-side pitchbooks, but they can be pretty challenging to compile. The investment bank has to research more and create a longer profile list. The investment banker must display ideas that:

• Maintain or go beyond the company’s cost of capital
• Improve the client’s competitive advantage
• Boost the client’s ability to serve clients
• Enable the client to expand into high-growth businesses

Large firms meet with investment bankers a lot. It is therefore vital to maintain a sense of originality. This means that you must not pitch the same list of potential acquisitions repeatedly. There is no benefit in pitching a company that a client has seen hundreds of times before. This will not excite them. Instead, the banker must capture the client’s attention by pitching companies they have not considered before. It will also be quite beneficial to have some exclusive insights to go with the list of acquisitions.

Private equity capital raising presentation

Gathering capital from investors can be a tedious and complicated task. It can, however, be simplified by using private equity capital raising presentations. The goal is to make sure that the presentation is irresistible to investors. 

Private equity capital raising presentations are an essential factor that may either enable a business to take off or cripple it. Therefore, these presentations must be nailed, and they should be captivating and exciting.

It is crucial when making a private equity presentation to mention the problems that a business will solve. You must focus on the problem that the company intends to solve and the extent of the problem as well. Apart from that, the presentation must contain information about why it’s important for you and who your target customers will be. Target customers are the people you will be solving the problem for.

For investors to provide funding, the company must at least show that they have superior knowledge about their target group. Therefore the presentation must show investors that you have the appropriate expertise. 

It’s also important to include details about your business’s competitors in a private equity presentation. The investors must believe that the solutions offered by your business are better than those from other businesses in the same market. This will make the investors provide their money without doubts.

Executive summary private equity presentation

It is vital to have a well-developed executive summary when presenting a business to potential institutional and high-net-worth investors. This section is one of the most important aspects of a business plan. An executive summary offers a company the chance to shine in front of investors. In a way, it serves as some sort of confirmation that you are worth working with.

When an investor takes a look at your executive summary, they should understand the critical details about your proposal. Therefore, when drafting an executive summary, the wording must be professional and precise. When an investor reads through this section, they must be able to decide if investing in you is a good idea even without going through your entire pitchbook.

Because the executive summary is so important, you must ensure that all the information included in it is unbiased and factual. When creating this presentation, make sure that you have the readers in mind. You must also consider that the people who will take a look at the summary are financial experts and business people. It is therefore essential to also consider what they may be looking for in an investment.

When you have considered all the factors in this section, you can develop a convincing executive summary that will appeal to your audience. Whenever possible, try not to dive too deep into technical language. You can only do this when you are dealing with financial firms that deal with technology-related businesses. If you feel that the technical aspects of your pitch are essential, you can include them in a separate presentation. Those who are interested in such details will find them there.

Factors to consider when creating an executive summary

When writing your executive summary, take time to think about your readers. Remember, the people who are reading your summary are financial experts and business people. Think about their level of education, where their interests lie, and what they are looking for in an investment. With this in mind, you can write a successful business plan summary that will appeal to your readers. Whenever possible, avoid using technical language unless you are applying for financing in a firm that usually handles technology-related businesses. If the technical aspects of your potential business are necessary, put them in the larger document. Those who want to read them will take the time to find them there.

To show the potential investor that you have thought about all the aspects of the business, you must include the risks you are likely to face and how you plan to overcome them. This will make your executive summary stand out. Investors understand that there are always risks associated with any kind of business. It would be helpful for you if they understand that you have considered what risks you might face. This also means that you have a clear idea of where the business is headed before you start running it.

Investor relations pitch book

Investor relations pitchbooks are used to effectively manage the flow of information between a public company, its investors, and its stakeholders. These presentations play a crucial role in the growth of a company. They make it possible for companies to maintain transparent relationships with their investors.

Investor relations presentations are used to achieve the following:

• Provide financial details to investors in a timely and accurate manner
• Presenting non-financial data to back up company valuations
• As a means of non-aggressive sales promotion
• Presenting feedback from investors to the management or board

These presentations need to be as detailed and transparent as possible. Almost every business out there has investors that helped start the company and maintain operational success. Therefore, it is crucial for every business to effectively, honestly and communicate with its investors.

Investor relations presentations are created by individuals in the investor relations department. Depending on the type and size of the business, this department can have a single-man team or a department with several people. These individuals use investor relations presentations to keep the lines of communication open between a company and its investors.

Asset management pitch book

These pitchbooks are used by companies that provide asset management services intended to manage fixed income, equities, and properties. Asset managers can also invest pooled funds from clients. The capital that they obtain can be put to work via several investments, including real estate, master limited partnerships, and more.

Asset management pitchbooks are usually presented to high-net-worth individuals, hedge funds, and pension funds. The aim will be to get investments from those sources and manage them in a single centralized portfolio. The asset management pitchbook must convince investors that their money will be in good hands. Therefore it must contain a good track record of how the asset management firm has successfully handled past and present investments.

To create an asset management pitchbook, you can either use a template or hire a pitchbook professional. Both methods can be pretty effective depending on whether or not you have worked with asset management pitchbooks before. The advantage of hiring an expert to do it for you is that they already understand what works and what doesn’t. This is very important because when dealing with investors, there can be no mistakes; otherwise, you will not get what you came for.

Hedge fund presentations

Hedge funds can raise capital from various sources. To effectively raise money, they need to make several presentations to:

• High net worth individuals
• Corporations
• Foundations
• Endowments
• Pension funds

Hedge funds usually form limited partnerships with investors who have large amounts of capital. This is why they need to present and convince these investors why they should give them money.

Hedge fund presentations typically focus on the initial performance of the fund manager. To kickstart the hedge fund, the fund manager usually invests a bit of their money so they can have a performance track record. If the fund manager obtains an impressive track record, they can then use that in their presentations to impress and attract large institutional investors. These are the entities that provide substantial amounts of money to invest.

With a good track record, the hedge fund can also get more capital from the initial investors, if any. A hedge fund presentation must be customized in a way that enables it to define its unique strategy. The unique design concept should include images, icons, and specialized layouts. If the hedge fund has a logo, they must include it as well.

If the hedge fund team cannot come up with their own presentation, they can choose to enlist the services of a content creator or hedge fund presentation designer. These specialists can review existing offering memos, disclosure documents, and initial drafts. They can also conduct interviews with the manager before preparing an initial draft of the presentation.

How to create and design a pitch book

The process of designing a pitchbook can be easy or complicated, depending on the experience levels of the team trying to create it. Pitch books must be designed in a way that will impress prospective clients. Apart from the design, they must have a great message as well.

It is therefore vital to have a clear message underpinning your pitch. There should also be a clear message on each slide. Creating these slides is the most challenging part of drafting a pitchbook. This is also where most of the valuable work is done. When each slide features a clear message, it will be a lot easier for your clients to understand the pitch.

When designing a pitchbook, you must also decide how you are going to use it. In some instances, you can create a handout to be read after you make a presentation, or you can create something that you’ll project on a screen. Because of these differences in how the pitch books can be used, you can not take a one-size-fits-all approach. There should be a difference in how you create a presentation to be read at a desk vs. one that will be shown onscreen.

When creating a pitchbook, think like a journalist. You need to come up with headlines that grab attention and inform. With exciting headlines, it will be easier to push your story forward. If you can not come up with the best headlines on your own, you can get someone to help you.

To ensure that you come up with the best pitchbook, ask yourself the following:

• Is your pitchbook easy to read?
• Did you include all the critical information?
• Does your pitchbook answer the most important question that investors will have?

If your pitchbook falls short in any way, keep transforming it until it is interesting, informative, and easy to read.

Hire a professional pitch book designer or DIY

There are two approaches to creating pitchbooks. You can either draft one on your own, or you can hire a freelancer or pitchbook design company to do it for you. When coming up with a pitchbook, the people usually involved include the vice-president, senior vice president, associate, analyst, and the bank’s managing director. If you choose to do it on your own, several resources are available on the internet that you can use to make your pitchbook. You can either take a look at previous successful pitchbooks, or you can download pitchbook templates.

Pitchbook templates are documents that outline the format and contents of a pitchbook. They come in many designs, and they are also available for different presentation purposes. Using a template can save you a lot of time, and if the template is good enough, it can help you come up with an impressive pitchbook. However, you must note that a template is only a guideline, and you can remove or add additional information depending on what you need.

If you plan to hire someone to create a pitchbook, you must do proper research and find the best designer with a track record of successful pitchbooks. This way, you can be sure that whatever they are creating for you will give you the best shot at success.

However you go about creating a pitchbook, you must ensure that the result is perfect. The pitchbook’s flow, style, and visual look must be appealing to the client. This will ensure that you make the most of the opportunity to execute deals. With a good pitchbook, winning the pitch becomes easier.

Pitch book PowerPoint design

The best way to create a pitch book PowerPoint presentation is to use a template. There are many pitchbook PowerPoint presentation examples online, and they will save you a lot of time and money.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel when there is so much work and thought that has already been put in the area of pitchbooks. Apart from that, there’s already a lot of other work to do and some other things to commit your resources to. The only thing you have to focus on is finding an existing pitchbook template that has proven its success over time.

You can also try to look for a template that is recommended by industry leaders and top investors. It just makes more sense to work that way. This is one of the most effective hacks that you can use when creating a pitchbook.

When coming up with a pitchbook PowerPoint, you must always keep in mind that storytelling is everything. You must be able to tell your story in a captivating and enjoyable way. Also, the pitchbook has to be very clear. Most investment processes are pretty complex, but the pitchbook needs to be the opposite. If the message in the pitchbook is not clear, your clients will not understand anything.

Above all, make sure that your presentation is smooth and fast. It must be short, simple, clean, and highly focused.

Pitch book template

A pitch book template is a pattern or blueprint that contains layouts, colors, fonts, effects, background styles, and general content. There are many pitchbook templates online that you can use to come up with your pitchbook. The idea behind a pitchbook template is so that you can have a starting point. Creating a pitchbook is often time-consuming and challenging, and that can be simplified by using a template.

Most pitchbook templates are available in PowerPoint format. The templates are easily editable, and you can store and reuse them whenever you want to make a presentation. Pitchbook templates contain the general outline of pitchbooks and what you should include in them. The idea is to replace the dummy content in the template with your own firm’s details. You can also add and remove sections depending on the type of presentation you want to make.

Private equity deal structures

The first step in a private equity deal is known as ‘deal sourcing.’ This process involves the searching and analysis of different investment opportunities. There are many ways to source private equity deals. These include:

• Research
• Internal analysis
• Networking
• Cold-calling

After deal sourcing is complete, the parties involved will then proceed to sign a non-disclosure agreement. This enables the financial intermediary to provide the private equity firm with sensitive information like the investment thesis, financial projections, and capital structure. This information will allow the private equity firm to decide whether or not they are interested in pursuing the deal any further.

If the company decides that they want to go ahead with the deal, it will then conduct initial due diligence to better understand the company they are dealing with. This process involves a lot of information gathering. This will allow the private equity firm to have an idea of the possible return on investment.

After this step, the investment team will then submit an investment proposal and a first-round bid. Here, a few points have to be taken into consideration. These include:

• The purchase price range
• Post-acquisition capital structure
• Time required to present a binding offer
• The private equity firm’s experience
• Value creation strategy
• Compatibility with the target firm’s management

The final steps include the creation of an internal operation model and preliminary investment memorandum. Following this, the investment firm will do final due diligence before they give their final approval. When this has been completed, the deal will be signed and finalized.

Investment banking presentation template

There are several investment banking templates available for free on the internet. These templates will give you a guide on how to come up with your pitchbook. It’s always essential to have a starting point, primarily if you haven’t worked with pitchbooks before. Apart from that, working with templates saves time and gives you a head start.

Investment banking presentation templates are usually based on a hypothetical pitch to a fictional board of directors. The template will contain several potential acquisition targets. This also depends on whether it’s a buy-side or sell-side template.

Investment banking presentations usually contain the following sections:

• Company Overview
• Industry Overview
• Valuation
• Transaction Opportunities
• Team Overview

After downloading the pitch book template, you can use it as an example to build on. All that needs to be done is to expand on the sections included and tailor the presentation to your specific firm and situation. The template also shows you the real-life formatting, design, and style of commonly used investment banking presentations.

If you wish to use an investment banking presentation template, you have to download the PowerPoint presentation template and save it as a new file. Depending on what your presentation will cover, you can start by updating the table of contents. You can also delete or duplicate slides depending on how much content you want to put in the presentation.

Investment banking templates usually come with tables, charts, icons, and shares, that you can copy and repurpose. Don’t forget to reformat the master slides with your brand colors and logo.

Examples of investment banking pitch books

Taking a look at pitch book examples is one great way to come up with your own. The following investment banks have their pitchbooks available on the internet. Most of these are examples of successful ones.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs has a track record of coming up with successful pitchbooks. One of their pitchbooks was used to win Airvana’s business. In the investment presentation, they gave the company the codename Atlas. Goldman made the presentation to Atlas’ Special Committee, and they included a lot of detailed company projections. This shows how fully they understood Airvana’s situation. Goldman had a detailed analysis of several strategic alternatives in their pitchbook: Selling, keeping, or recapitalizing the business.

Medley Management’s 3-way merger with Medley Capital and Sierra Income

This is another excellent example of an investment banking pitchbook. The pitchbook was prepared by Barclays when they were looking to serve as M&A advisor to Medley Management during its merger with Medley Capital and Sierra Income. It’s a 38 pager that features beautifully designed graphs, pie charts, and tables. These techniques and presentation styles made it easier for Barclays to communicate with its potential clients more effectively.

Sale of Rouse Properties to Brookfield Asset Management

This is a sell-side pitchbook prepared by Bank of America and presented to Rouse Properties. Brookfield later acquired the business. The presentation is 58 slides and has an impressive, concise, and detailed executive summary.

You can learn a lot by taking a look at examples of pitchbooks that have been used successfully in the past. They will show you what kind of content and design elements work well with investors and potential clients.

Coming up with an impressive pitchbook doesn’t have to be complicated. If you can’t do it on your own, it is advisable to get some help. If you are stuck with your pitchbook or are worried that it might not give you the results you are aiming for, don’t hesitate to contact us. We have been creating winning pitchbooks for our clients for over 10 years. Visit us at launchmodule.com for more information.

About the author

Leslie Morales is the CEO of Launch Module and a Certified High Performance Coach. Learn more about Leslie and her team on our About Us page.