Nextury Asset Management

Conflict of Interest Management Policy

Nextury Asset Management Conflict of Interest Management Policy: principles, applicable measures and processes for the transparent management of conflicts of interest.

Interesų Konfliktų Valdymo Politika – Nextury Asset Management

General Provisions

This Conflict of Interest Management Policy hereinafter referred to as the “Policy”establishes the procedure for identifying and managing circumstances giving rise to conflicts of interest at UAB “Nextury Asset Management” hereinafter referred to as the “Company” or the “Management Company”.This Policy also sets out the measures used to prevent potential conflicts of interest or, where such conflicts arise, to avoid their adverse impact on the interests of the Company’s Clients.

This Policy applies to the Company’s employees and other persons related to the Company.

The Policy shall be approved by the Board of the Company, while the Director of the Company shall be responsible for its implementation, monitoring compliance with the Policy and maintaining its effectiveness.

The Policy has been prepared in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Collective Investment Undertakings Intended for Informed Investors, as amended and/or supplemented, hereinafter referred to as the “LCIUII”, Resolution No. 03-144 of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania of 12 July 2012 “On the Approval of the Rules on the Organisation and Conduct of Activities of Management Companies”, and other legal acts applicable to the activities of management companies and collective investment undertakings.

Definitions

Compliance Officer
A person performing the compliance function in the Company’s activities.
Company or Management Company
UAB „Nextury Asset Management".
Employee
Any employee of UAB “Nextury Asset Management”. The term “Employees” means all employees of UAB “Nextury Asset Management” collectively.
Director or Head
The head of administration of UAB “Nextury Asset Management”.
Conflict of Interest
A situation where the interests of the parties listed in Chapter 4 of this Policy conflict with each other. In the Management Company, a conflict of interest shall be deemed to be a situation where different interests may harm the financial interests of the participants, Clients, or potential participants, Clients, of collective investment undertakings.
Client
Depending on the context, this shall be understood as each Collective Investment Undertaking managed by the Company and its participant, or any other entity to which the Company provides services.
Collective Investment Undertaking, CIU
An investment fund or investment company whose purpose is to accumulate funds from persons by issuing investment units or shares and to invest such funds collectively by spreading risk.
Board
The Board of the Management Company.
Person Related to the Company
A natural or legal person who is:
  • the head of the Company, a person holding other similar duties or a person of similar status, or a shareholder who directly and/or indirectly holds a majority of votes or may directly or indirectly exercise decisive influence over the Company, as well as a person who provides the Company with services related to the management of a collective investment undertaking or whose significant part of income consists of income received from services provided to the Company;
  • an employee of a collective investment undertaking or of the Company managing it, as well as any other person participating in the activities of the collective investment undertaking or in the management of the collective investment undertaking by the Company managing it, where that person’s services are provided on behalf of, and are controlled by, the collective investment undertaking or the Company managing it;
  • a natural person who directly participates in the activities of a collective investment undertaking or in the activities of the Company managing it under an agreement on the delegation of certain functions, the purpose of which is to ensure that the collective investment undertaking or the Company managing it is able to carry out investment activities;
  • the spouse, cohabiting partner, child or adopted child of the persons referred to in clauses 2.1.9.1, 2.1.9.2 and 2.1.9.3 of this section;
  • a legal person related to the persons referred to in clauses 2.1.9.1, 2.1.9.2 and 2.1.9.3 of this section, whose head, member of the board or supervisory board is a person referred to in clause 2.1.9.4 of this section, or which is controlled by such a person, or which has been established for the benefit of such a person, or whose economic interests are equivalent to the economic interests of such a person.

Obligation to Avoid and Disclose Conflicts of Interest

The Company must take all necessary measures to identify Conflicts of Interest arising between the Company and other Persons Related to the Company and Clients, or solely between Clients, or between different collective investment undertakings managed by the Company or their participants, where such Conflicts of Interest arise in the course of the Company’s management of collective investment undertakings.

The Company must take all necessary measures to prevent potential Conflicts of Interest or, where such conflicts arise, to avoid their adverse impact on the interests of the Client.

Where the interests of the Management Company, a Related Person and Clients conflict, priority must be given to the interests of Clients. The interests of the Management Company shall be satisfied second, and the interests of the shareholders of the Management Company shall be satisfied third.

1
Priority
Interests of Clients
2
Second Priority
Interests of the Management Company
3
Third Priority
Interests of the shareholders of the Management Company

In the event of a Conflict of Interest, before providing services to a Client, the Management Company must clearly and understandably, taking into account the Client’s understanding of financial instrument markets, inform each Client in writing about the Conflict of Interest that has arisen and disclose to the Client the nature and source of the Conflict of Interest.

The written notice prepared for the Client must be printed in two copies, and one copy must be stored and managed by the Management Company in accordance with the applicable document management procedures in such a way that it can be reviewed immediately, if necessary. If new circumstances arise in relation to a Conflict of Interest of which the Client has been informed, the information provided to the Client must be updated. The Client must be informed of the changed circumstances in writing.

Information must be disclosed to the Client on a durable medium and must be understandable to each Client, so that the Client can make an informed decision regarding the service in relation to which the Conflict of Interest arises. The services of the Management Company may be provided to the Client only if the Client clearly expresses consent to the provision of the service in the presence of a Conflict of Interest. Client complaints shall be handled in accordance with the complaints handling procedure applicable within the Management Company.

An Employee or any other Person Related to the Company who notices circumstances that, in their opinion, may give rise to a Conflict of Interest, or where, in their opinion, a Conflict of Interest has already arisen, must take all necessary actions to eliminate the conflict so that the interests of Clients are not harmed, and must inform the Head of the Management Company and/or the person responsible for the compliance function thereof.

Identification of Circumstances Giving Rise to Conflicts of Interest

When managing collective investment undertakings, there is a possibility that a Conflict of Interest may arise between: the Company and its Clients; Persons Related to the Company and Clients; one Client and another Client; several collective investment undertakings managed by the Company or their participants.

Minimum Criteria for Identifying Conflicts of Interest

In order to identify and determine Conflicts of Interest that may harm the financial interests of Clients and that may arise when the Management Company manages CIUs, the Management Company shall apply minimum criteria and assess whether the Management Company, a Person or Persons Related to the Management Company, fall within any of the situations listed below:

21.1
The Management Company may obtain financial gain or avoid financial loss at the expense of the CIU managed by the Management Company or the participants of the CIU.
21.2
The Management Company, a Related Person or a person related by control, or a CIU managed by the Management Company, may obtain financial gain or avoid loss at the expense of another CIU managed by the Management Company.
21.3
The Management Company, a Person Related to the Management Company or a CIU managed by the Management Company has an interest in the outcome of a service provided to the Client that differs from the Client’s interest in that outcome.
21.4
The Management Company or a Related Person has a financial or other interest in giving preference to the interests of one Client or Clients at the expense of another Client’s interests.
21.5
The Management Company or a Related Person has a financial or other interest in giving preference to the interests of one CIU at the expense of another CIU.
21.6
The Management Company or a Related Person engages in the same activity, namely the management of collective investment undertakings intended for informed investors, as the Client.
21.7
The Management Company or a Related Person receives or will receive remuneration related to a service provided to the Client or a decision being made, which may be provided in the form of money, goods or services, except for customary payments for services that are officially disclosed by the Management Company.
21.8
The Management Company or a Related Person receives or will receive an inducement from a person other than the CIU, which is related to the CIU management activity being carried out and may be provided in the form of money, goods or services, except for customary commissions or other payments for services.

Conflicts of Interest may arise in the course of the Company’s management of Collective Investment Undertakings. The purpose of managing Collective Investment Undertakings is the long-term growth of the assets accumulated by the participants of such Collective Investment Undertakings. The decisions adopted by the Company must not be adversely influenced by:

The Company’s Clients seeking to issue or acquire financial instruments at the best possible price or to achieve their strategic objectives; the Company’s interests related to the management of its positions in financial instruments; the Company’s interests as a seller of financial instruments; the Company’s Employees seeking to enter into transactions in financial instruments on the best possible terms; improper timing or allocation decisions, where the manner in which transactions are carried out or allocated may be intended to give biased preference to certain funds or Clients at the expense of others.

When identifying types of conflicts of interest, the Management Company must take into account: the interests of the Management Company, including interests arising from its belonging to a group of companies or from the provision of services and performance of activities; the interests of Clients; the duties of the Management Company towards the CIU; the interests of two or more CIUs managed by the Management Company.

Management of Conflicts of Interest

24
Public Disclosure
Disclosure of Information about a Conflict of Interest
In all cases where it is not possible to avoid situations giving rise to a Conflict of Interest and the measures applied by the Management Company are not sufficient to ensure the prevention of harm to the Client’s interests, the Management Company must immediately publicly disclose information about the Conflict of Interest. The Management Company must disclose information about the Conflict of Interest in the same manner as the prospectus, incorporation documents and annual reports of the relevant CIU are published.
25
Minimisation of Losses
Duties of Employees in the Event of an Unavoidable Conflict
In cases where it is impossible to avoid situations giving rise to a Conflict of Interest, Employees must act in such a way that the Management Company or Persons Related to it are not able to obtain benefits or avoid losses at the expense of the Client, and so that any losses that may be incurred by the Client are minimised as far as possible. Where a Conflict of Interest cannot be avoided, Employees must collect documents proving that it was not possible to avoid the Conflict of Interest, as well as documents proving that the actions taken by the Management Company comply with the above requirements regarding the minimisation of losses incurred by the Client.
26
Between CIUs
Conflicts between Several Managed CIUs
In cases where a Conflict of Interest arises between two or more CIUs managed by the Management Company, the Management Company must act in such a way that none of the managed CIUs obtains benefits or avoids losses at the expense of another CIU, and so that any potential losses of the CIUs are minimised as far as possible.
27
Registration and Notification
Notification and Registration of Conflicts of Interest
The Management Company shall ensure that the Head of the Management Company and/or the person responsible for the compliance function is informed in a timely manner of any potential or actual Conflicts of Interest, and that such Conflicts of Interest are registered and, where necessary, the records are updated. The Management Company must regularly update the data and inform Clients about services provided by the Management Company or on its behalf in relation to which a Conflict of Interest has arisen or may arise.
28
Archiving — for at Least 10 Years
Documentation of Each Conflict of Interest Case
Each case of a Conflict of Interest arising within the Management Company must be described and, together with the related documents, archived in accordance with the document management and retention procedures applicable within the Management Company for a period of at least 10 ten years. The description must include information about the nature of the Conflict of Interest, the actions taken by the Management Company to avoid and manage the Conflict of Interest, as well as information related to the consequences of the Conflict of Interest and their remediation, including minimisation of losses and similar measures. The description shall be prepared by the Head of the Management Company, and if new circumstances become known, the information must be updated.

More Common Cases of Conflict of Interest Management

29.1
Investment by the Management Company in CIUs Managed by It
The Management Company, including Persons Related to the Management Company, may invest in Collective Investment Undertakings managed by the Management Company, in all cases subject to the restrictions set out in Article 17(2) of the LCIUII applicable to the specific Collective Investment Undertaking managed by the Management Company. In such cases, this shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure and conditions established in the incorporation documents of the relevant Collective Investment Undertaking, which shall be the same as those applicable to other investors. The incorporation documents of each Collective Investment Undertaking managed by the Management Company shall, in order to comply with the criteria established by law, specify whether and to what extent the Management Company itself and Persons Related to the Management Company may invest in such Collective Investment Undertaking.
29.2
Distribution through a Distributor Managed by a Related Person
The Management Company may distribute units of the Collective Investment Undertakings managed by it through a distributor whose head is a Person Related to the Management Company. In such case, the distributor of the Management Company shall be specified in the documents of the relevant Collective Investment Undertaking. When distributing the units of Collective Investment Undertakings managed by the Management Company, the distributor shall inform all Investors in writing that the head of the distributor is a Person Related to the Management Company, specifying the nature of their relationship. The Management Company shall also ensure that any remuneration paid by the Management Company to such Related Person who is the head of the distributor is not directly linked to the units of the Collective Investment Undertaking distributed by the distributor.
29.3
Transactions between Employees and Clients
Transactions between Employees of the Management Company and Clients related to Collective Investment Undertakings managed by the Management Company are prohibited without the prior consent of the Management Company. When investing in Collective Investment Undertakings, Clients undertake not to transfer the instruments of the Collective Investment Undertaking acquired by them without informing the Management Company. Therefore, the Management Company will be able to identify the acquiring persons. Decisions regarding the assets of Collective Investment Undertakings, including the assets of companies managed by Collective Investment Undertakings, shall be made strictly in accordance with the established procedure, which allows the other party to the transaction to be identified.
29.4
Terms of Transactions
The terms of transactions between the Client and the Management Company must correspond to market conditions and may in no way be worse for the Client than the market conditions existing at the time of entering into the transaction.

Data Retention

The Management Company must retain and regularly update data and information relating to the activities of the Management Company, the services provided, or certain collective investment undertaking management functions, or related functions, carried out on behalf of the Management Company, in relation to which a Conflict of Interest has arisen, or may arise if the provision of services and performance of activities has not yet been completed, and which may harm the interests of one or more Collective Investment Undertakings.

If the organisational and/or administrative measures taken by the Company to manage Conflicts of Interest are insufficient to ensure that the risk of harm to the interests of a Collective Investment Undertaking or its participants is avoided, the Head of the Company and/or the Compliance Officer must be informed immediately so that the necessary decision can be made to ensure that the Company acts, in all cases, in the best interests of the Collective Investment Undertaking or its participants.

Information about the situations referred to in Clause 6.2 of the Policy must be provided by the Company to Clients immediately on a durable medium, together with the reasons for the decisions adopted.

Remuneration Received by the Management Company

The Management Company has the right to receive fees, commissions or non-monetary benefits. The Management Company is not entitled to receive financial benefits if this is inconsistent with the Management Company’s obligation to act honestly, fairly, professionally and in the interests of the Client.

The Management Company shall be deemed to act honestly, fairly, professionally and in the interests of the Client if any fee, remuneration or non-monetary benefit paid to it meets the following conditions:

34.1
Condition 1
Payments or non-monetary benefits are received from the Client or from a person acting on behalf of the Client.
34.2
If the First Condition Is Not Met — Appropriate Payments Must Meet Two Criteria
  • Such payments enable the management of Collective Investment Undertakings or are necessary for their management.
  • The nature of the payments must not give rise to any conflict with the Management Company’s duty to act honestly, fairly, professionally and in the interests of Clients.
34.3
If the First Two Conditions Are Not Met — Appropriate Payments Must Meet the Following Two Criteria
  • The Client must be clearly informed in advance about such payment or other benefit, including its purpose, nature and amount.
  • The payment or provision of a non-monetary benefit must be intended to improve the quality of the service provided to the Client and must not breach the Management Company’s duty to act in the interests of the Client.

Where the Management Company receives a financial or other benefit, other than a benefit related to the provision of services, from a person who is not the Client or the Client’s representative, the Management Company must inform the Client thereof before providing the relevant service to the Client. Upon the Client’s written request, the Management Company undertakes to provide the Client with all additional information related to the receipt of financial benefits by the Management Company, insofar as this relates to the services provided by the Management Company to the Client. For this purpose, proper informing of the participants of a Collective Investment Undertaking shall be deemed to include disclosure of information about the benefit received in the prospectus of the relevant Collective Investment Undertaking managed by the Management Company or in a similar informative document.

All internal arrangements within the Management Company, including payment or benefit arrangements with third parties, must be concluded in writing, reviewed and approved in advance by the Head of the Management Company. All such arrangements and related documentation must be retained for the period established by applicable laws.

If a payment or benefit arrangement or a payment to a third party is permitted, the Client must be informed thereof before the provision of the service begins. Such information must indicate the existence, nature and amount of the fee, commission or benefit. Where the amount cannot be determined, it is sufficient to provide information on the calculation method.

Conflict of Interest Provisions in Other Documents and Final Provisions

The job descriptions and confidentiality undertakings of the Management Company shall provide that information related to Clients may be used and disclosed to third parties only with the Client’s consent and, in the absence of such consent, only where such disclosure is required by applicable laws.

This Policy shall enter into force on the date of its approval and may be revoked, amended and/or supplemented only by a decision of the Board. Amendments and/or supplements to the Policy shall enter into force on the day following the date of their adoption. The Head of the Management Company must ensure that the Employees of the Management Company are informed in a timely manner of any amendments and/or supplements to the Policy.

The Head of the Company must ensure that all Employees of the Management Company are introduced to this Policy against signature.