| Investment risk: The Fund’s investment portfolio may fall in value due to any of the key risk factors below and therefore your investment in the Fund may suffer losses. The Fund is an investment fund and is not in the nature of a bank deposit. There is no guarantee of repayment of principal. Risks of investment in equities and equity-related securities: The Fund’s investment in equity securities is subject to general market risks, whose value may fluctuate due to various factors, such as changes in investment sentiment, political and economic conditions and issuer-specific factors. The Fund may invest in equity-related securities such as convertible bonds and warrants, structured notes, participation notes and equity-linked notes. These are usually issued by a broker, an investment bank or a company and are therefore subject to the risk of insolvency or default of the issuer. If there is no active market in these instruments, this may lead to liquidity risk. Further, investment in equity-linked securities may lead to dilution of performance of the Fund when compared to the other funds which invest directly in similar underlying assets due to fees embedded in the notes. The aforesaid circumstances may adversely affect the net asset value per unit of the Fund. Securities exchanges typically have the right to suspend or limit trading in any instrument traded on that exchange. Governments or the regulators may also implement policies that may affect the financial markets. A suspension could render it impossible for the Investment Manager or an underlying fund manager to liquidate positions and thereby expose the Fund to losses and may have a negative impact on the Fund. Emerging market investment risk: The Fund may invest in securities of issuers operating in emerging markets of Europe, Russia and frontier markets Investing in these markets may involve increased risks and special considerations not typically associated with investment in more developed markets, such as liquidity risks, currency risks/control, political and economic uncertainties, legal and taxation risks, settlement risks, custody risk and the likelihood of a high degree of volatility. High market volatility and potential settlement difficulties in such markets may also result in significant fluctuations in the prices of the securities traded on such markets and thereby may adversely affect the value of the Fund. Risk associated with investment in specific countries: The Fund’s investment may be concentrated in emerging Europe. The value of the Fund may be more volatile than that of a fund having a more diverse portfolio of investments. The value of the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse economic, political, policy, foreign exchange, liquidity, tax, legal or regulatory event affecting the emerging Europe market. In light of ongoing concerns on the sovereign debt risk of certain countries within the Eurozone, the Fund’s investments in the region may be subject to higher volatility, liquidity, currency and default risks. Any adverse events, such as credit downgrade of a sovereign or exit of EU members from the Eurozone, may have a negative impact on the value of the Fund. Risk associated with investment in Russia: Investments in companies organised in or who principally do business in Russia pose special risks, including economic and political unrest and may lack a transparent and reliable legal system for enforcing the rights of creditors and shareholders. The standard of corporate governance and investor protection in Russia may not be equivalent to that provided in other jurisdictions. Evidence of legal title to shares in a Russian company is maintained in book entry form. There is a possibility that the Fund could lose their registration through fraud, negligence, oversight or catastrophe such as a fire. If the Fund is unable to establish title to investments made and it may suffer loss as a result. In such circumstances, the Fund may find it impossible to enforce its right against third parties. Risks associated with small-capitalisation / mid-capitalisation companies: The stock of small-capitalisation and mid-capitalisation companies may have lower liquidity and their prices are more volatile to adverse economic developments than those of larger capitalisation companies in general. Risks include economic risks, such as lack of product depth, limited geographical diversification, increased sensitivity to the business cycle and organisational risk, such as concentration of management and shareholders and key-person dependence. Shares in smaller companies can be more difficult to buy and sell, resulting in less flexibility, and sometimes higher costs, in implementing investment decisions. Risks associated with FDIs: The Fund may have exposure to FDIs for investment purposes or for efficient portfolio management. Risks associated with FDIs include counterparty/credit risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, volatility risk and over-the-counter transaction risk. The leverage element/component of a FDI can result in a loss significantly greater than the amount invested in the FDI by the Fund. Exposure to FDIs may lead to a high risk of significant loss by the Fund. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the Fund’s use of FDIs for hedging will be entirely effective and in adverse situations, where the use of FDIs becomes ineffective, the Fund may suffer significant loss. Liquidity risk: Market liquidity in the emerging markets may be lower than the more developed markets so that the purchase and sale of holding may take longer. The Fund may also encounter difficulties in disposing of securities or FDIs at their fair market price. Counterparty risk: Counterparty risk is the risk that an organization does not pay out on a bond or other trade or transaction when it is supposed to. If a counterparty fails to honour its obligations in a timely manner and the Fund is delayed or prevented from exercising its rights with respect to the investments in its portfolio, it may experience a decline in the value of its position, lose income and/or incur costs associated with asserting its rights. Risks of investing in convertible bonds: Convertible bonds are a hybrid between debt and equity, permitting holders to convert into shares in the company issuing the bond at a specified future date. As such, convertibles will be exposed to equity movement and greater volatility than straight bond investments. Investments in convertible bonds are subject to the same interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and prepayment risk associated with comparable straight bond investments. Currency risk: The underlying investments of the Fund may be denominated in currencies other than the base currency of the Fund. Also, a class of units of the Fund may be designated in a currency other than the base currency of the Fund. The net asset value of the Fund may be affected unfavourably by fluctuations in the exchange rates between these currencies and the base currency and by changes in exchange rate controls. Charges deducted from capital/risks relating to distribution: The Fund normally pays its management fee and other fees and expenses out of income (in accordance with Irish accounting guidelines). However, where insufficient income is available, the Manager may pay some or all of its management fee and other fees and expenses out of capital and out of both realised and unrealised capital gains less realised and unrealised capital losses. Where the management fee and other fees and expenses are deducted from capital rather than income generated, this may constrain growth and could erode capital. The Fund normally pays dividends out of surplus net income. However, the Manager may also distribute such part of any capital gains less realised and unrealised capital losses as, in its opinion, is appropriate to maintain a satisfactory level of distribution. Payment of distributions out of unrealised capital gains amounts to distribution out of capital under Hong Kong regulatory disclosure requirements and that payment of distributions under such circumstances amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of an investor’s original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment. Any distributions involving payment of unrealised capital gains as dividends (which means effectively paying dividend out of capital) may result in an immediate reduction of the Fund’s net asset value per unit. |