Thesis
What you own and why, in three sentences or fewer.
Free template · Word and PDF
The Investment Memo Template
One page that forces a clear thesis: what the market thinks, what you think, which numbers prove it, and what would make you wrong.
- Blank — copy it for each new idea
- Guided — the questions to answer and the mistakes to avoid
- Completed example — NIKE, every figure cited to its SEC filing
Six sections. One page.
Variant view
What the market believes, and where you disagree.
Key numbers
The 5–8 figures that decide it, each with its filing source.
Valuation
What the price implies, and base, bull and bear cases.
What would make me wrong
Facts that would make you sell, written before the target price.
What I will watch
Tripwires, thresholds and the next filing dates.
New to writing memos? Read how to write an investment memo.
FAQ
Common questions.
What is an investment memo?
An investment memo is a short written case for or against owning a stock: the thesis, where you disagree with the market, the numbers that prove it, what it is worth, what would make you wrong, and what you will watch. Writing it down makes the reasoning checkable later.
How long should an investment memo be?
One page for the core argument is enough for most ideas. The template's six sections fit on a single page; supporting detail belongs in an appendix or your notes, not in the memo itself.
Is the template really free?
Yes. You get the Word and PDF versions for an email address. There is no account to create and nothing to pay.
Where do the numbers in the example come from?
The completed NIKE example uses figures from NIKE's own SEC filings, computed by AnalystBook with fixed rules. It is an illustration of the format, not investment advice.
Skip filling in the key numbers by hand.
AnalystBook computes them from each company's own filings with fixed rules, links every figure to its source, and keeps your memo next to the data. 14 days free, no credit card required.