Independent Franchise Partners LLP: investment adviser

The Firm provides discretionary investment management services to institutional clients for whom the Firm conducts business via a number of segregated client accounts and four funds: a registered investment company, Independent Franchise Partners US Equity Fund (“RIC”); two UCITS funds, the Independent Franchise Partners Common Contractual Fund (“CCF”) and the Independent Franchise Partners Variable Capital Company PLC (“VCC”); and two Private Funds, the Independent Franchise Partners Global Equity, L.P. (“Global Equity LP”) and the Independent Franchise Partners Global Equity II, L.P (“Global Equity II LP”). These are referred to in this document collectively as the Franchise Partners’ Funds. The Franchise investment approach is founded on the belief that a concentrated portfolio of exceptionally high-quality companies - whose primary competitive advantage is supported by a dominant intangible asset - selected with an absolute value bias will earn attractive long-term returns while minimising business risk and valuation risk. The Firm was founded in June 2009 and is 100% owned by the equity partners, Jayson Vowles (directly and via Samannajosh Limited), Richard Crosthwaite, Sandeep Ghela and Karim Ladha. (Section (b) below provides a summary of the relevant biographies of the partners, including associate partners.) It is not affiliated with any other investment management company, fund distributor, investment bank or commercial bank. This allows the Firm to focus on delivering the best Franchise portfolios to its clients and eliminates many of the conflicts inherent in larger, more diversified or distribution-driven organisations. As at 31st March 2026, the Firm had approximately US $23.8 billion in assets under management. The Firm is a UK incorporated Limited Liability Partnership. The Firm is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom and is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Firm was established in June 2009, and, prior to its inception, the Firm’s founding partners worked as an investment team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Investment services are more specifically tailored in accordance with: the governing investment management agreement for each segregated account; the private placement memoranda and limited partnership agreements for the Global Equity LP and the Global Equity II LP; and the prospectus for each of the RIC and UCITS funds. Segregated account clients can and do impose reasonable restrictions on their accounts. Individual limited partners may not impose investment restrictions on management of the Global Equity LP or Global Equity II LP beyond those set out within the governing agreements of the Funds. The minimum segregated account size is generally $100 million or greater (or comparable values for non-dollar currencies). Limits may be waived at the Firm’s discretion.

The Firm has capacity available in all three strategies, but this capacity is limited and managed conservatively with priority given to existing clients. Given this conservative approach to the assets the Firm manages, the situation may arise where the Firm adopts a wait list approach to capacity management. The goal of this conservative approach is to allow the Firm to invest in companies across the capitalisation spectrum to maximise the investment opportunity set. Under such a wait list approach, clients may be offered capacity based on a number of factors, including but not limited to whether they are an existing or new relationship, their amount of time on the waitlist, geographic distribution of investors, concentration of relationships with third parties, investor type and the ability of the investor to fund within 90 days’ notice of the offer of capacity. Additional capacity related to de minimis flows of capital may be negotiated with existing clients (including investors in the Franchise Partners’ Funds) and existing clients can move between the Franchise strategies without joining the wait list.

b) Management Team Jayson Vowles is the managing partner and co-lead portfolio manager at Independent Franchise Partners, LLP. He has 25 years of investment experience. Prior to the establishment of the Firm in June 2009, Jayson was Vice President and a portfolio manager/research analyst for Global and American Franchise portfolios at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, which he joined in August 2003. Previously, Jayson worked at Goldman Sachs and Deloitte & Touche. Jayson received a BComm. and a post-graduate diploma in Accounting from the University of Natal. He is a Qualified Chartered Accountant, a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and a CFA® Charterholder. Richard Crosthwaite is a partner and co-lead portfolio manager at Independent Franchise Partners, LLP. He joined the Firm in January 2014 and has 20 years of investment experience. Prior to joining the Firm, Richard was a fund manager at Legal & General Investment Management. In this role he continued his previous analyst responsibility for the TMT sector. Previously, Richard was a senior equity research associate at Sanford C Bernstein Ltd, working with the firm’s Telecoms and European Media teams, following earlier experience working in corporate finance. Richard received an M.A. in Classics from the University of Cambridge. Terence Fisher is a partner and portfolio manager at Independent Franchise Partners, LLP. He joined the Firm in October 2015 and has 16 years of industry experience. Terence was previously a senior associate in the top ranked Accounting and Valuation equity research team at Citigroup. In that role he was responsible for monitoring and analysing the impact of accounting standards on company reporting and valuation. Before joining Citigroup, Terence was a manager at Deloitte. Terence received a B.Sc. in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science, is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). He is a CFA® Charterholder. Sandeep Ghela is a partner and the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for Independent Franchise Partners, LLP. He joined Independent Franchise Partners, LLP in March 2010 as the Head of Middle Office and has 28 years of industry experience. Before joining the Firm, Sandeep was a managing consultant within the Financial Services Practice of Navigant Consulting where his role included providing the Firm with operations advice and management. Sandeep’s career focus has been in investment operations and technology, with consulting roles at Navigant Consulting (Europe) and, prior to that, consulting and operational roles in South Africa at Morse Management Consulting, Microgen and Momentum Advisory and Administration Services. Sandeep received a BComm. (Accounting) from the University of the Witwatersrand and has a Registered Persons Qualification from the Institute of Financial Markets and a Higher Certificate in Insurance from the Insurance Institute of South Africa.

Karim Ladha is a partner, head of research and portfolio manager at Independent Franchise Partners, LLP. He joined Independent Franchise Partners, LLP in May 2011 and has 19 years of industry experience. Prior to joining the Firm, Karim worked at Neptune Investment Management in London. Previously, Karim performed both equity and fixed income research at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, including working with the Franchise team. Karim received a B.A. (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St John’s College, University of Oxford and an MBA from the University of Chicago and is a CFA® Charterholder. CFA definition: The CFA is a graduate level self-study program offered by the CFA institute to investment and financial professionals. In order to claim this designation a candidate must complete the CFA Program, possess a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) from an accredited institution; have four years (48 months) of qualified work experience (or a combination of education and work experience acceptable by the CFA Institute); become a member of the CFA Institute and apply for membership to a local CFA member society and adhere to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

c) Portfolio Management The Firm was founded with the aim of offering the Franchise investment approach to institutional investors through a dedicated, independent, investment management partnership. The Firm employs a research process that is focused on identifying investment opportunities which demonstrate both the quality and value characteristics that it believes can deliver sustainable, long-term investment returns. Once identified, the Firm believes a patient, buy-and-hold approach is the best way to allow these companies to compound wealth for shareholders over the long-term. The Firm measures its success through its long-term investment results and enduring client relationships. The partnership structure supports a focus on a single investment discipline; it directly aligns its interests with its clients’ portfolio returns; and ensures ownership stability and the consistency of commercial priorities. The Firm’s portfolios are actively managed using a completely bottom-up approach driven by indepth fundamental qualitative research, supplemented by quantitative financial analysis. The Firm bases all its investment decisions on primary sources of information. It places significant emphasis on evaluating the health of a company’s underlying franchise and checking for symptoms of franchise abuse.

d) Financial Planning The Firm does not undertake any financial planning.

e) Describe other investment activities or specialties, if any The Firm has only one discipline and there has been no change to the underlying Franchise philosophy or fundamental approach since the inception of the philosophy in March 1996. The team’s approach to investing has always been focused on identifying companies with exceptionally high-quality Franchises and attractive absolute valuation characteristics. However, the Firm regularly reviews its investment process and evaluates its investment tools.

0.40%

At $750m: 0.48%

Next

$250,000,000

0.35%

At $1bn: 0.45%

Above

$1,000,000,000

0.30%

US Franchise fee scale

Where investors have investments in both Global Franchise and Global Franchise II, assets will be aggregated to calculate eligible assets under management. US Franchise assets will be treated on a standalone basis given the different fee scale. The sliding fee scales will be applied to segregated accounts and to investors in our pooled funds where regulations allow. Pooled fund investors with assets in excess of $250m will receive a management fee rebate. The investment advisory fee for the RIC is 0.58% per annum. As the strategy has limited capacity, the Firm does not offer performance fees, high watermarks or most favoured nation warranties. Clients are invoiced for their fees unless they have provided the Firm with written authorization to directly debit such fees. Clients do not have the ability to pay in advance.

b) Investment Advisory Fee There are no additional fees from the schedules set out above.

c) Other Expenses Clients are responsible for and do incur other expenses separate and apart from the Firm’s management fees. These expenses typically include custody fees, trading and brokerage service fees and other transaction fees, and/or expenses associated with a Fund for the type of services being performed.

d) Fund Fees and Expenses Prospective fund investors should consult the relevant fund documents for applicable fund terms, including management fee, liquidity terms, etc. Certain investors, including staff, are not subject to management fees. All investors bear the cost of expenses related to the operation of the funds, such as legal, audit and tax services. In addition, investors in the Private funds pay an “anti-dilution levy” (ADL) in connection with cash capital contributions and withdrawals. The levy covers dealing costs, stamp duties and market impact relating to the acquisition or disposal of assets in respect to the contribution or withdrawal, respectively. The levy is maintained for the benefit of the relevant fund. Investors in the RIC do not pay an anti-dilution levy but instead pay a redemption fee which is intended to encourage long-term investment in the fund, facilitate portfolio management, eliminate or reduce, so far as practicable, any dilution of the value of the outstanding shares issued by the fund and compensate the fund for costs related to portfolio security transactions and other fund expenses incurred as a result of shareholder purchases and redemptions.

e) Other Compensation The Firm does not accept additional compensation for the sale of securities or other services from third parties and does not receive compensation for other services besides the investment advisory services the Firm provides. The Firm’s staff does not generally receive compensation for other services besides the investment advisory services the Firm provides, other than those described in Item 14 for solicitation or marketing of segregated client accounts. However, in extremely limited circumstances where pre-approved by Compliance and following a review for any conflicts of interest pursuant to our Code of Ethics, staff are permitted to have outside business interests.

A segregated client directly owns the positions in its segregated account; therefore, the client will typically have full, real-time transparency to all transactions and holdings in such an account and is better able to assess the future prospects of a portfolio that is substantially similar to the funds. The account owner in a segregated account typically has the right to withdraw all or a portion of their capital from such account on shorter notice and/or with more frequency than the terms applicable to an investment in the Private Funds. In addition, certain segregated clients request reports containing additional information than that which is shared with all fund shareholders and investors. Management of such accounts requires adherence to the allocation policies discussed below in Item 12. Occasionally, the Firm effects "cross" transactions between client accounts in which one client will purchase securities held by another client. Such transactions are entered into only when the Firm deems the transaction to be in the best interests of both clients and at a price the Firm has determined by reference to independent market indicators and at which the Firm believes to constitute "best execution" for both parties. The Firm does not receive any compensation in connection with such "cross" transactions, and any such trades are made in keeping with relevant regulations. In addition, conflicts exist where staff, including portfolio managers, have personal investments in certain accounts either directly via discretionary managed accounts or in Franchise Partners’ Funds or through pension or deferred compensation arrangements. The Firm currently waives management fees received in respect of Franchise Partners associated persons including staff. Staff, including the portfolio managers, have an incentive to favor these accounts over others. The Firm has adopted trade allocation procedures, a Code of Ethics (as summarized in Item 11 of this document) and other policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to address these and other conflicts of interest.

In addition, in order to invest in the Global Equity LP or the Global Equity II LP, the investor must qualify as an “accredited investor” as defined under Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933 and as a “qualified purchaser” as defined under Section 2(a)(51) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Firm reserves the right to serve only those clients who meet certain criteria and may refuse to enter into an agreement with any person or institution for any legally acceptable reason.

The Firm produces detailed proprietary financial models for each company. The models are used to measure the absolute valuation of the company and to help assess the quality of the franchise. The Firm integrates ESG considerations into the investment process to support the goal of delivering attractive returns for clients. The Firm’s returns led approach to ESG integration and stewardship focuses on the financially material risks that matter to a company’s franchise durability and its valuation. Similarly, the Firm undertakes active engagement and voting to ensure companies act in the best long-term interests of clients and manage financially material risks.

Portfolio Guidelines and Risk The Firm does not invest more than 10% of any portfolio in any one company, nor does it invest more than 25% of a portfolio in any one industry. The Firm does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding shares of any publicly listed company. These limits apply at the date of purchase. The Firm does not invest in options, futures, or other derivatives except, where permitted by client guidelines, it may invest in forward foreign exchange contracts used for currency hedging purposes. The Firm does not use leverage. Sector, industry, and country weightings result from the Firm’s stock selection process, and it does not impose any hard or soft benchmark-relative exposure limits. The Firm monitors absolute risk as part of its rigorous analysis of potential and existing investments and in constructing portfolios. Control of company and stock-specific risk is built directly into the Firm’s stock selection process. The objective is to minimise business risk while avoiding the further risk of overpaying. Investing in securities in general involves risk of loss that clients should be prepared to bear. The Firm cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. The Firm’s principal investment strategy of investing in common stocks presents the following material risks: – Market Risk. From time to time, stock prices in general may decline significantly. Markets go through periods of rising prices as well as periods of falling prices depending on investors’ perceptions about the economy, interest rates, and the attractiveness of other securities such as bonds or real estate. The Fund’s performance can be affected by deterioration in the capital markets and by market events. Volatility and illiquidity in the markets may have an adverse effect on the ability of the Fund to sell and/or partially dispose of its investments. – Individual Company Risks. The price of one or more of the stocks of the companies in which the Firm invests on behalf of clients may fail to appreciate for an extended period or may

decline rapidly and significantly due to adverse company developments. Price declines may occur for any number of reasons including changes in the competitive or regulatory environment, or changes in customer preferences. – Equity Risk. The value of equity and equity-related securities can fluctuate, at times dramatically. The prices of equity securities are affected by various factors, including market conditions, political and other events, and developments affecting the particular issuer or its industry or geographic sector. – Currency Risk. The strategies’ investments may be acquired in a wide range of currencies and changes in exchange rates between currencies may cause the value of an investment to fluctuate due to the fact that the currency positions may not correspond with the securities positions held. Financial instruments such as forward contracts may be used to seek to hedge against fluctuations in the relative values of the strategies’ positions as a result of changes in currency exchange rates. – Small and Mid-Cap Company Risk. These companies may be subject to greater market risks and fluctuations in value than large capitalization companies and may not correspond to changes in the stock market in general. – Foreign and Emerging Market Investment Risk. Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with US investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values and adverse political, social and economic developments affecting a foreign country. The foreign securities in which the strategies may invest may be issued by issuers located in emerging markets or developing countries. Emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities. – Concentration Risk. The strategies are concentrated in a limited number of securities. A concentrated investment strategy may be subject to a greater degree of volatility and risk than a strategy following a more diversified strategy. In addition, the strategies may be concentrated in a single market, country or industry. As such, investments may be susceptible to fluctuations in value resulting from adverse economic or business conditions in that market, country or industry. – Management Risk. The Firm’s judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of a particular asset class or individual security in which the strategies invest may prove to be incorrect, and there is no guarantee that individual companies will perform as anticipated. – Cybersecurity and Technology Risk (including AI). The Firm relies on digital and network technologies, including third-party systems and, in certain circumstances, artificial intelligence, machine learning or similar technologies (“AI”) tools, to conduct its business and maintain client and investor data. These technologies may be subject to cybersecurity incidents, including unauthorized access, data breaches, operational disruptions, or the loss, corruption, or misuse of confidential information. Risks may arise from external actors (such as hackers), internal failures, third-party service providers, or the use of emerging technologies, including AI, which may involve data processing, model errors, unintended outputs, or reliance on third-party platforms. The Firm maintains information security policies, procedures, and controls designed to safeguard data and mitigate these risks. However, despite such measures, cybersecurity incidents or technology failures may occur and could result in unauthorized access to sensitive information, disruption of the Firm’s operations, or adverse effects on client accounts or services.

– Business, Terrorism and Catastrophe Risks. Clients could be subject to the risk of loss arising from exposure that it may incur, indirectly, due to the occurrence of various events, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, war, terrorism, and other catastrophic events. These catastrophic risks of loss can be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on client accounts or the Firm’s activities for clients or their investors. – Pandemics, Epidemics. The outbreak of epidemics or pandemics, such as COVID-19, together with any resulting restrictions on working practices and travel, and any quarantines imposed, can have a negative impact on the economy and business activity globally (including in the countries in which the Firm invests), and thereby could adversely affect the performance of the Firm's investments for clients or their investors. Furthermore, the rapid development of epidemics or pandemics could preclude prediction as to their ultimate adverse impact on economic and market conditions, and, as a result, present material uncertainty and risk with respect to the Firm’s activities or its investments. – Climate Change. The Firm may invest on behalf of its clients in securities which are subject to climate change risks, or which may be impacted by a potential transition to a low carbon economy. The physical risks of climate change include a future increase in sea levels, extreme temperatures or in the frequency or severity of hurricanes and tropical storms. Transition risks arise as economies and businesses move towards a low carbon environment, and may extend to changes in business processes, taxation, regulation, technology, and consumer behaviour. – Geopolitical Risk. Global markets may be adversely affected by geopolitical events including armed conflicts, trade disputes, sanctions, or political instability. Such events may cause volatility, disruption and losses even without direct exposure.

Foreside Financial Services, LLC acts as the distributer to the RIC and Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC provides compliance services and financial control services. Following the merger in May 2022 of ACA Group and Foreside Financial Group, LLC, the Foreside entities are now part of the ACA Group. The Firm does not have any relationships with any related industry participants that create material conflicts of interests with clients. The Firm no longer retains Frontegra Strategies, LLC, a FINRA registered broker dealer in relation to new referrals to the RIC. However, we continue to list this entity as it receives fees for its work in relation to clients that it previously introduced.

The Code also includes formal personal securities trading policies and procedures. The Code was created to address the fiduciary duties of staff to clients, limit potential conflicts of interest, prevent the inappropriate use of material non-public information, and to monitor the personal securities trading by employees. The Code requires each officer and any member of staff with access to investments or portfolio information of the Firm’s clients (each an “Access Person”), to report quarterly and annually their and their immediate family members’ securities holdings and transactions to the Firm’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) or his designate. Personal trading in initial public offerings is prohibited. The Code also requires staff to report certain outside business activities. The Firm’s personnel must obtain prior approval as appropriate from the CCO, or his designate, for personal account transactions in securities. These personal transactions will be approved only if they are not likely to have any adverse economic impact on the Firm’s clients. The Firm’s personnel are not permitted to carry out personal account transactions in securities within the Firm’s investment strategies’ stock universe. The CCO or his designate reviews all securities transactions to ensure no conflicts exist with client transactions. Staff receive training on the Code and must sign an annual attestation confirming they have disclosed: a) any compliance breach that they have committed; b) any potential conflicts of interest of which they are aware; and c) all securities accounts in which they have a potential interest. The Code also imposes restrictions and safeguards on the use of material non-public information. All clients and prospective clients can obtain a copy of the Firm’s Code by writing to the Firm at: Level 1 10 Portman Square London W1H 6AZ or calling: + 44 207 495 9070

The Firm, its staff or a related entity will generally have an investment in the strategies and Franchise Partners’ Funds. Additionally, the Firm’s partners are required to invest alongside clients in the Franchise strategies to ensure the direct, long-term alignment of the partners’ interests with the interests of the Firm’s clients. Therefore, the Firm, its staff or a related entity participate, indirectly, in transactions effected for Franchise Partners’ Funds. Due to the relationship between the Firm and Franchise Partners’ Funds, the Firm could be considered to have recommended the investment should a person who is

otherwise a client of the Firm invest. The Firm currently waives management fees received in respect of investments by Franchise Partners associated persons, including staff, and therefore there are no management fees associated with these investments. These investments will incur their relevant share of fund expenses. However, third party investors will pay fees and expenses which will reduce their returns. The Firm has adopted trade allocation procedures, and other policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to address these and other conflicts of interest.

a) Selection of Broker-Dealers The Firm has a duty to select broker-dealers, banks, or other financial institutions as counterparties who will provide clients with best execution when the Firm transacts on a client’s behalf. The Firm’s trading and engagement with counterparties is managed in accordance with its Counterparty Selection and Order Execution policies and related procedures. A proposed counterparty is evaluated by the partners of the Firm in consultation with the trader, the compliance manager and the head of the Firm’s middle office employing the following criteria: – the reputation and integrity of the counterparty. – the counterparty’s credit rating (for FX and Forward FX counterparties) – the counterparty’s accessibility and experience of the markets where the Firm wishes to transact. – the ability of the counterparty to effect prompt and reliable transactions. – the ability of the counterparty to provide liquidity. – the ability of the counterparty to provide consistent best execution, – the competitiveness of the costs of the counterparty’s services. – the prices achieved for the Firm’s trades. – speed of execution. – the quality of market information provided by the counterparty; and – the counterparty’s conflicts policy. The Firm undertakes periodic reviews of the best execution performance of counterparties and commissions earned by counterparties. The Firm verifies the credit rating of the Firm’s designated counterparties on a monthly basis.

1. Soft-Dollars Arrangement This section is not applicable to the Firm.

2. Brokerage for Client Referrals This section is not applicable to the Firm. 3. Directed Brokerage This section is not applicable to the Firm.

b) Aggregation and allocation Investment decisions for each strategy are taken independently. However, when the Firm determines that it would be appropriate for one or more of the strategies to participate in the same investment decision, the Firm seeks to execute orders for all the participating accounts on an equitable basis. To ensure that all clients are treated fairly, the Firm employs an aggregation and allocation policy. In the normal course, and where possible, orders are bunched and allocated pro-rata to the nearest round lot to all client accounts. Bunching avoids placing competing orders, improves order management, and may, because of larger order size, permit some degree of price improvement relative to a series of individually placed orders. Bunched trades are then allocated across accounts that are participating in that purchase. The Firm’s allocation process is defined by a model within Bloomberg AIM which allocates trades automatically (equity and FX hedges) to all participating accounts on a pro-rata basis. Any exception to the above requires approval from the CCO or his designate and must be sought before any allocation is made and advised to the broker.

c) Errors As a fiduciary, the Firm has the responsibility to execute orders in the best interest of its clients. In the event any trade error occurs in the handling of any client transaction, the Firm’s policy is to identify and correct any error as promptly as possible without disadvantaging the client. Trade errors are documented with appropriate supervisory approval and maintained in a trade error file.

On a semi-annual basis the Firm hosts webinars to discuss the return/performance, holdings, transactions and other topical items during the previous six months. Clients also have access to a web-based Client Portal, where they can access their monthly reports and quarterly newsletters, as well as other information such as white papers, webinar recordings and a blog. Franchise Partners’ Funds are subject to annual audits, and the audited financial statements are provided to investors in the funds.

Following the merger in May 2022 of ACA Group and Foreside Financial Group, LLC, the Foreside entities are now part of the ACA Group. The Firm compensates certain members of its staff in relation to the solicitation or marketing of segregated client accounts. The Firm does not offer or receive sales awards or prizes for providing investment advice to clients.

Accordingly, the Firm has custody of the assets of the Global Equity LP and the Global Equity II LP because its affiliate, as discussed in Item 10 above, acts as General Partner or investment manager. The Global Equity LP and the Global Equity II LP are subject to an annual audit and audited financial statements are distributed to each investor within 120 days of the fiscal year end.

In accordance with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Firm has adopted a Voting Policy and procedures. Proxies will be voted according to this policy. The Voting Policy addresses a broad range of issues and provides general voting parameters on proposals that arise most frequently. Details of specific proposals do vary and may affect particular voting decisions. The Firm is able to vote in a way that is not in accordance with the general guidelines, provided that the investment team member responsible for the particular vote consults with the Managing Partner and the vote is consistent with the objective of maximising long term investment returns. In the Managing Partner’s absence, the investment team member responsible for the particular proxy vote will confer with the other members of the investment team in order to make a consensus decision. The Firm uses its best efforts to vote proxies for which it receives notice as part of its authority to manage client assets. However, for clients who participate in stock lending programmes, the Firm will not generally vote when proxies are received for stock that is out on loan. The voting procedures are designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interest of the Firm’s investors, and no conflicts of interest exist. The Firm cannot guarantee that it will vote all proxies and may be hampered by particular rules relating to the jurisdiction in which the company is located. Clients may obtain a copy of the Firm’s Voting Policy on the Firm’s website, by contacting the address listed on the front page of this brochure, or by calling: + 44 207 495 9070. The Firm is under no obligation to advise or act for clients in legal proceedings including bankruptcies and class actions involving securities purchased or held in client accounts. The Firm has full authority to vote for those clients who have provided authorisation to do so. The Firm does not accept directions from clients, except in situations where such authority is retained. The Firm endeavours to integrate governance and its voting policy with investment goals, using the vote to encourage portfolio companies to enhance long-term shareholder value and to provide a high level of transparency. Information on how the proxies were voted is available on the Firm’s website.