Service · Screen
Independent Investment Screening
A disciplined first read on an opportunity before diligence budgets, legal fees and management time are committed. We test whether the market, the concept and the preliminary economics justify the next dollar of analysis.
Scope
What this analysis is for
Most opportunities that reach an investment committee should have been declined earlier, and a few that were declined early deserved a closer look. Investment screening exists to sort the two quickly and on evidence. It is not a compressed feasibility study; it is a structured judgment on whether the opportunity has a credible path to the returns the sponsor or broker is describing.
Wert-Berater screens acquisitions, ground-up developments, repositioning plans and operating-business opportunities. The output is deliberately short: what the market supports, what the concept depends on, which three or four assumptions decide the outcome, and whether we would recommend proceeding to full diligence, proceeding with conditions, or stopping.
Analytical framework
How a screening is structured
- 01
Initial opportunity review
Offering memorandum, sponsor pro forma, site or property data and the stated thesis are read against each other for internal consistency.
- 02
Market attractiveness
Population, employment, income and sector-specific demand drivers for the defined trade area, with direction of travel rather than a single snapshot.
- 03
Competitive environment and location
Existing and pipeline competitors, their positioning and pricing, and whether the location is an advantage, a neutral or a constraint.
- 04
Demand, supply and pricing
Whether net absorption can carry the new or repositioned product at the proposed rents, rates or price points.
- 05
Concept and preliminary costs
Whether the development or repositioning concept fits the gap in the market, and whether the cost basis is within a defensible range.
- 06
Revenue, NOI and capital requirements
A first-order operating statement and sources and uses, built independently of the sponsor model.
- 07
Returns and key risks
Indicative returns under base and downside assumptions, with the risks that could break the thesis ranked by consequence.
- 08
Go / no-go recommendation
A reasoned recommendation, the conditions attached to it and the specific questions that full diligence must answer.
Evidence
What the screening tests
Each line is tested against independent market and operating evidence, not accepted from the sponsor or seller model.
| Variable | What we test |
|---|---|
| Market attractiveness | Is the market growing, flat or contracting for this specific use? |
| Location | Does the site or property hold a durable advantage over competing locations? |
| Demand and supply | Is there unmet demand after accounting for pipeline supply? |
| Pricing | Are proposed rents, rates or prices inside the observed market range? |
| Preliminary costs | Is the acquisition or development cost basis consistent with comparable projects? |
| Revenue and NOI | Does an independently built operating statement reach a similar NOI? |
| Capital requirements | Is the total capitalization, including reserves and carry, fully counted? |
| Returns | Do returns hold when the two most sensitive assumptions move against the deal? |
Application
When screening is the right first step
Deal flow exceeds analytical capacity
Teams reviewing many opportunities use screening to concentrate internal diligence on the few that merit it.
Unfamiliar market or asset class
An independent read before committing to a market where the team lacks local evidence.
Broker or sponsor-presented opportunities
A neutral second view on an offering prepared to sell the opportunity.
Pre-LOI pricing discipline
Evidence to anchor price and terms before the letter of intent is signed.
Work product
What you receive
- Screening memorandum with recommendation and conditions
- Independent preliminary operating statement and sources and uses
- Ranked risk register for the opportunity
- Diligence scope for the questions that remain open
Scope boundary. Screening is a preliminary analysis on available information. It is not an appraisal, a full feasibility study or investment advice, and it does not replace the diligence it is designed to focus.
Analytical continuity
After the Investment: Independent Performance Monitoring
If the opportunity proceeds, the assumptions identified at screening become the baseline that monitoring measures against after closing.
The analytical relationship does not have to end when the feasibility study is delivered. Wert-Berater can continue monitoring the asset against the original underwriting assumptions, updating market conditions, testing coverage, identifying performance variances and maintaining a recurring analytical record.
-
Individual Asset Monitoring
Most relevant here- Revenue
- Expenses
- NOI
- DSCR
- Occupancy
- Market rents
- Competitive supply
- Value
- Original underwriting assumptions
-
Watchlist Monitoring
- DSCR deterioration
- NOI deterioration
- Occupancy
- Revenue
- Expenses
- Market conditions
- Collateral / value
- Stabilization
- Refinancing risk
-
Construction Monitoring
- Progress
- Budget
- Cost-to-complete
- Schedule
- Change orders
- Draws
- Remaining costs
- Lease-up
- Stabilization
-
Portfolio Monitoring
- Portfolio performance
- Risk
- Concentration
- Market exposure
- Annual review
- Re-underwriting
- Watchlist
- Portfolio-level trends
Related analysis
Continue through the lifecycle
Discuss the analysis before you commit to it.
A briefing is a working conversation about the decision, the evidence available and the scope that would answer it. There is no obligation, and nothing is subscribed.