Our portfolio

Counterparty risk: The Company may have contractual agreements with counterparties. If a counterparty is unable to fulfil their obligations, the sum that they owe to the Company may be lost in part or in whole.

Currency risk: If the Company’s investments are denominated in currencies different to the currency of the Company’s shares, the Company may lose value as a result of movements in foreign exchange rates, otherwise known as currency rates.

Derivatives risk: Derivatives, which are financial instruments deriving their value from an underlying asset, may be used to manage the portfolio efficiently. A derivative may not perform as expected, may create losses greater than the cost of the derivative and may result in losses to the Company.

Emerging markets & frontier risk: Emerging markets, and especially frontier markets, generally carry greater political, legal, counterparty, operational and liquidity risk than developed markets.

Gearing risk​: The Company may borrow money to make further investments, this is known as gearing. Gearing will increase returns if the value of the investments purchased increase by more than the cost of borrowing, or reduce returns if they fail to do so. In falling markets, the whole of the value in such investments could be lost, which would result in losses to the Company.

Liquidity Risk: The price of shares in the Company is determined by market supply and demand, and this may be different to the net asset value of the Company. In difficult market conditions, investors may not be able to find a buyer for their shares or may not get back the amount that they originally invested. Certain investments of the Company, in particular the unquoted investments, may be less liquid and more difficult to value. In difficult market conditions, the Company may not be able to sell an investment for full value or at all and this could affect performance of the Company.

Market risk: The value of investments can go up and down and an investor may not get back the amount initially invested.

Market Risk: The value of investments can go up and down and an investor may not get back the amount initially invested.

Operational risk​: Operational processes, including those related to the safekeeping of assets, may fail. This may result in losses to the Company.

Performance risk: Investment objectives express an intended result but there is no guarantee that such a result will be achieved. Depending on market conditions and the macro economic environment, investment objectives may become more difficult to achieve.

Private market valuations, and pricing frequency: Valuation of private asset investments is performed less frequently than listed securities and may be performed less frequently than the valuation of the Company itself. In addition, in times of stress it may be difficult to find appropriate prices for these investments and they may be valued on the basis of proxies or estimates. These factors mean that there may be significant changes in the net asset value of the Company which may also affect the price of shares in the Company.

Share price risk: The price of shares in the Company is determined by market supply and demand, and this may be different to the net asset value of the Company. This means the price may be volatile, meaning the price may go up and down to a greater extent in response to changes in demand.

Smaller companies risk: Smaller companies generally carry greater liquidity risk than larger companies, meaning they are harder to buy and sell, and they may also fluctuate in value to a greater extent.