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How to Generate a Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) in Minutes
The Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM). It is the sales brochure of investment banking.
For a VP, it’s a story. For a Managing Director, it’s a deal closer. But for an Analyst or Associate, it is 100 hours of pain.
It means digging through the data room, copy-pasting from the Management Presentation, formatting Word tables, checking for typos, and rewriting the “Investment Highlights” for the tenth time.
But in 2026, writing a CIM manually is like hand-writing a ledger. Here is how top-tier firms are automating the process to generate first drafts in minutes, not weeks.
The Anatomy of a CIM (and what can be automated)
A standard CIM has predictable sections. Each of these draws data from a specific source.
| Section | Source Data | Automation Potential |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Summary | Management Presentation | High |
| Investment Highlights | Teaser / Mgmt Presentation | High |
| Industry Overview | Research Reports (IBISWorld, etc.) | Medium |
| Company Overview | Website / 10-K / CapIQ | High |
| Financial Overview | Data Room Excel Files | High (with the right tool) |
| Team Bios | LinkedIn / Website | High |
The Old Way vs. The o11 Way
The Manual “Copy-Paste” Method
You open the Management Presentation on one screen and a blank Word doc on the other. You type. You accidentally paste a table as an image. You fix the fonts. You realize the EBITDA numbers don’t match the model. You fix them again.
The o11 Automation Method
o11 allows you to “chat” with your documents and generate structured output directly in Word.
Step 1: Ingest the Source Material Drag the client’s Management Presentation and their Financial Model into the o11 sidebar in Word.
Step 2: Generate the “Company Overview” Highlight the empty section in your Word template. Ask o11:
“Draft a 3-page Company Overview based on the uploaded Management Presentation. Include sections for History, Business Lines, and Key Geographic Markets. Use a professional, sell-side tone.”
Step 3: Build the Financial Tables Don’t type numbers. Link them.
“Create a ‘Historical Financials’ table here. Pull Revenue, EBITDA, and Margins for 2023-2025 from the Excel model. Format it as a Word table.”
Step 4: Draft the “Investment Highlights”
“Based on the industry growth rates in the research report and the company’s margin expansion, draft 5 key Investment Highlights.”
The Result: A “First Draft” in 20 Minutes
You aren’t going to send an AI-generated CIM directly to the client. You still need to polish the narrative and add strategic nuance.
But o11 gets you to the 80% mark instantly.
- No more blank page anxiety.
- No more typos in financial tables.
- No more formatting nightmares.
Why This Matters
Automating the CIM doesn’t just save time. It saves sanity. It allows analysts to focus on the story rather than the typing, leading to a better marketing document and a higher probability of closing the deal.
Stop writing CIMs like it’s 1999. Automate your workflow with o11.
