8EC is a long-term investor that seeks to benefit from changes in the fundamental value of a company over time.

They aim to identify companies characterised by:

• A market-leading multi-year competitive advantage;

• A turnaround opportunity, either within the business as a whole or within a critical element of the business; or

• A specific catalyst expected to generate short-medium term capital appreciation.

About the Fund

8IP Emerging Companies Limited (ASX Code: 8EC) gives investors access to a concentrated, benchmark unaware portfolio (typically 20-30 stocks) in the $20m to $500m market cap segment via an ASX Listed Investment Company.

8IP is a long-term investor that seeks to benefit from changes in the fundamental value of a company over time. We aim to enhance returns through contrarian thinking and by having an interpretation advantage.

How we invest your money

We believe markets are inefficient, and we seek to invest in "Stars, "Turnarounds and "Under-researched stocks. We identify stocks as having these characteristics through our research process, which in addition to the factors listed below and emphasises company visits (our team is currently conducting well over 400 company meetings annually). This approach is derived from a variety of academic/professional studies, and the career experience of our team, which we believe differentiates us from traditional fund managers.

At the individual stock level, we are looking for significant, early stage growth opportunities. "Star and "under-researched stocks tend to account for the majority of 8EC's holdings, and these typically display the following characteristics:

• Exposure to large and growing markets, with a preference for global exposure if possible;

• Early stage of its business cycle with near term potential to deliver a sharp acceleration in revenue growth, confidence in which is increased by the identification of likely key success factors;

• Definable competitive advantage, normally residing in niche market opportunities or special Intellectual Property which has the potential to change the way industries work, or the way in which companies compete (in the case of industrial and services companies); or special resource deposits, sometimes with the potential to be significant globally (in the case of materials and energy companies).

Each stock in the portfolio is selected for its individual characteristics, including our assessment of the likely impact of macro/sector drivers where relevant.

Companies are generally outside the S&P/ASX-100 Index, with up to 20% of holdings in companies expected to be listed in six months and up to 10% in companies listed on foreign exchanges.

Portfolio Construction

The portfolio construction process is undertaken by the Manager's portfolio managers. The key objective is to maximise the exposure of the portfolio to high conviction stocks with upside to the Target Price.

As the Company has a concentrated portfolio, the Manager's approach to determining individual weightings of securities in companies will be on a case-by-case basis with no regard to benchmark weightings or sector diversification.

The Manager's Conviction Rating is the key factor considered by the Manager's portfolio managers to determine the stock weighting. Other factors such as upside to Target Price, liquidity, and the portfolio's investment guidelines are also taken into account.

Derivatives may be used to hedge market risk and up to 100% of the Portfolio's value can be held in cash or cash instruments.