Kopernik Quick Facts

A Message from our Co-Chief Investment Officers

Welcome to Kopernik!

The success of an investment management firm is substantially predicated on its philosophy, its investment process, and, most importantly, its people. We are proud of our investment platform and believe it gives us important competitive advantages: analytical, behavioral, and organizational. This is especially important as the financial markets, which are often quite inefficient, particularly so now. This presents inordinate opportunities for us to generate substantial value for our clients’ portfolios. Doing so requires the obvious prerequisites: intelligence, rigorous bottom-up fundamental analysis, conviction, experience, and discipline. Superior performance requires much more. It requires understanding not just intrinsic value, but the sustainability of value. This means grasping the “big picture,” the risks, the key drivers, the industry dynamics, and the geographical challenges of an investment. Our team of analysts, who are sector specialists, looks around the globe for opportunities to own good companies at bargain prices. The team employs unique, industry-tailored valuation metrics and templates. Our models often differ substantially from industry norms.

Whereas strong analysis is the foundation of everything we do at Kopernik, it is our behavioral edge, our readiness to act on that independent analysis that further sets us apart. This requires us to be brave enough to think differently, committed enough to take on career risk to lower the risk to our clients’ portfolios, and resolute enough to remain consistent in the face of unbridled momentum markets that have tested the mettle of all value investors and caused many to capitulate. It demands courage of conviction balanced with humility, and a willingness to be early, out of favor, or unpopular.

As independent thinkers, there is a reason why Kopernik Global Investors chose Mikolaj Kopernik as our eponym. He famously placed his hands-on analysis above the zeitgeist of the public at large. We believe that accomplished investors who trust their own analysis and instincts can generate significant excess returns because of market inefficiencies.

As an organization, we intend to remain relatively small, which increases the number of investable companies and allows Kopernik to enhance return potential. The most attractive investments are often too small to have an impact on the portfolios of our larger competitors.  Furthermore, Kopernik is 100% employee-owned, which allows us the autonomy to put clients’ needs above corporate interests. We have more than 40 employees, many of whom have a wealth of experience and seniority. Many of us have worked together for years. Our investment team members average 22 years of experience; we have four traders who work around the clock trading in markets across the world; our legal, operations, and administrative teams have a wealth of knowledge gained over many years. Because what we do is so differentiated, client communications and service is an especially value-added sector; our distribution team averages 22 years in the business.

Philosophically, we view ourselves as owners of businesses and stewards of capital. Managing other people’s money is a great honor and a great responsibility. At the same time, many clients themselves are shouldering great responsibilities for important causes: beneficiaries of retirement plans, charitable foundations, endowments, and other important entities and causes. We understand the importance of our mandate.

We believe that our approach works well the vast majority of the time and are privileged to offer a truly differentiated, value-steeped product. The market continues to be highly correlated, worrisomely concentrated, historically expensive, and appears especially well suited for our investment approach.

Cheers,

David B. Iben, CFA

Co-Chief Investment Officer & Lead Portfolio Manager

Alissa Corcoran, CFA

Co-Chief Investment Officer, Director of Research, & Portfolio Manager

A Message from our President

Kopernik borrows its name from Mikolaj Kopernik, better known in the West as Nicolaus Copernicus, the Renaissance scientist and philosopher who articulated (against great popular scorn) that the universe did not in fact revolve around the Earth, and that the quantity of money does indeed determine price levels. His record of far-reaching independent thought, courage and determination to truly understand the world around him are timeless traits that should be applied to contemporary investing. Like our namesake, we trust the results of our own analysis, especially when it generates vastly different conclusions from those of the crowd and/or those taught by many academics. We are dedicated to reasoning over convention and to clients’ needs above convenience.

Kopernik Global Investors is an employee-owned global equity investment management specialist founded in July 2013 and organized to ensure a culture of client success. We have one investment platform, one investment philosophy and team, and our four strategies are derived from this offering.

Many of us have worked together previously at predecessor firms. In addition to over 40 experienced employee-partners, the Firm has partnered with leading external service providers to fulfill primary operational functions, including SEI Investments Company (middle & back-office support and fund administrator); Heptagon Capital (UCITS Advisor); Jefferies LLC (prime broker); Kaufman Rossin (tax and audit); Alston & Bird LLP and Walkers Global (legal counsel).

Importantly, we have structured Kopernik to maximize our competitive advantage and ability to meet clients’ needs. To ensure alignment with our clients, our senior professionals have a significant portion of their net worth invested in our strategies, and most employees have some level of co-investment in our strategies. We are broadly and entirely employee-owned , which we consider an important organizational edge, allowing us the autonomy to put clients’ needs above corporate interest. We hold company-wide off-sites semi-annually where we continually work to maintain a solid, client-centric culture, improve on processes and avoid complacency, facilitate constructive, inclusive communication, encourage questions and challenges to the status quo, and enable team interaction.

In addition to striving for sustainability and excellence in our own company, we encourage the same for the businesses that we own in your portfolio. As an active manager, we correspond with investee companies to emphasize our view that, because quality and sustainability are important, we support long-term investment over short-term financial engineering; management equity programs rather than management options that only align management to shareholder upside but avoid the downside; fair treatment of all stakeholders, including labor, community, environment, and shareholders; and good corporate governance. For example, letters highlighting our views are sent out annually to all companies in which we have a meaningful holding.

We feel fortunate to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. We are appreciative to have such a solid and well-informed client base and are thankful for your interest and for the many longstanding relationships. Kopernik is happy to be invested right along with you and are honored to serve you!

Neda Yarich

President