Risk Factors

You should carefully consider the information set forth below. Investments in private companies, public companies and funds involve many risks. The following risk factors describe situations in which our business, financial condition and/or results of operations could be materially harmed, and the value of our interests may be adversely affected.

 

The intended monetization of our company interests and the return of value to shareholders are subject to factors beyond our control.

The strategic plans of our portfolio companies may require providing additional capital and operational support to such companies that we may or may not be able to meet. We may not be able to sell our company interests during any specific time frame or otherwise on desirable terms, if at all, and there can be no assurance as to how long this process will take or the results that this process will yield.  There can be no assurance as to whether we will realize the value of securities and other consideration, if any, associated with the sale of our company interests.  Additionally, there can be no assurance that we will be able to satisfy our liabilities during this process.  Further, the method, timing and amount of any return of value resulting from the monetization of existing company interests may be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on market and business conditions and our overall liabilities, capital structure and liquidity position.

 

A disposition of one or more of our company interests may occur at a time that will yield less value than if we held such interests for a longer period of time.

Our companies are at various stages in their life cycles. The value of our interests in our companies at any point in time is highly dependent on the progress and success such companies have made at such time with respect to the development and marketing of their products and services and that value may fluctuate significantly. In order to effect our strategy of monetizing our interests in our companies, we may dispose of such interests at a time prior to the applicable company reaching its maximum value. Doing so will result in a return of value to shareholders that is less than that which may have been returned if we retained our interests in such company for a longer period of time.

 

Our principal business strategy depends upon our ability to make good decisions regarding the deployment of capital into, and subsequent disposition of, our existing company interests and, ultimately, the performance of such companies, which is uncertain.

If we make poor decisions regarding the deployment of capital into, and subsequent disposition of, our existing companies, our business strategy will not succeed. If such companies do not succeed, the value of our assets could be significantly reduced and require substantial impairments or write-offs and our results of operations and the value of holdings in our company would be adversely affected. The risks relating to our companies include:

 

• most of our companies have a history of operating losses and/or limited operating history;

• the intense competition affecting the products and services our companies offer could adversely affect their businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects for growth;

• the inability to adapt to changing marketplaces;

• the inability to manage growth;

• the need for additional capital to fund their operations, which we may not be able to fund or which may not be available from third parties on acceptable terms, if at all;

• the inability to protect their proprietary rights and/or infringing on the proprietary rights of others;

• that our companies could face legal liabilities from claims made against them based upon their operations, products or work;

• the impact of economic downturns on their operations, results and growth prospects;

• the inability to attract and retain qualified personnel;

• the existence of government regulations and legal uncertainties may place financial burdens on the businesses of our companies; and

• the inability to plan for and manage catastrophic events.

As we execute against our strategy, a significant amount of our deployed capital may be concentrated in companies operating in the same or similar industries, limiting our diversification.

Our capital deployments could be concentrated in several companies that operate in the same or similar industries. This may cause us to be more susceptible to any single economic, regulatory or other occurrence affecting those particular industries than we would otherwise be if our companies operated in more diversified industries. Further, the failure of parties that issue committments to our fund, to complete their commitments could have an adverse effect on the fund.

 

Our business model does not rely upon, or plan for, the receipt of operating cash flows from our companies. We rely on cash on hand, liquidity events and our ability to generate cash from capital raising activities to finance our operations.

We need capital to fund the capital needs of our existing companies. We also need cash to finance our corporate overhead and meet our existing funding commitments. As a result, we have substantial cash requirements. Our companies, generally speaking, do not provide us with cash flow from their operations. To the extent our companies generate any cash from operations, they generally retain the funds to develop their own businesses. As a result, we must rely on cash on hand, company liquidity events and new capital raising activities to meet our cash needs. If we are unable to find ways of monetizing our holdings of company interests or raising additional capital on attractive terms, we may face liquidity issues that will require us to constrain our ability to execute our business strategy and limit our ability to provide financial support to our existing companies.

 

Fluctuations in the price of the common stock of our publicly traded holdings may affect the value of any holdings in us.

From time to time, we may hold equity interests in companies that are publicly traded. Fluctuations in the market prices of the common stock of publicly traded holdings may affect the value of any holdings in us.

 

We may be unable to obtain maximum value for our holdings or to sell our holdings on a timely basis.

We hold small or significant positions in our companies. If we were to divest all or part of our holdings in a company, we may have to sell our interests at a relative discount to intrinsic value. For companies with publicly traded stock, we may be unable to sell our holdings at then-quoted market prices. The trading volume and public float in the common stock of a publicly traded company in which we have an interest may be small relative to our holdings. As a result, any significant open-market divestiture by us of our holdings in such a company, if possible at all, would likely have a material adverse effect on the market price of its common stock and on our proceeds from such a divestiture. Additionally, we may not be able to take our companies public as a means of monetizing our position or creating shareholder value. Registration and other requirements under applicable securities laws and contractual restrictions also may adversely affect our ability to dispose of our company holdings on a timely basis.

 

Our success is dependent on our management.

Our success is dependent on our management team’s ability to execute our strategy. A loss of one or more members of our management team without adequate replacement could have a material adverse effect on us.

 

Our business strategy may not be successful if valuations in the market sectors in which our companies participate decline.

Our strategy involves creating value for our shareholders by helping our companies build value and, if appropriate, accessing the public and private capital markets. Therefore, our success is dependent on the value of our companies as determined by the public and private capital markets. Many factors, including reduced market interest, may cause the market value of our companies to decline. If valuations in the market sectors in which our companies participate decline, their access to the public and private capital markets on terms acceptable to them may be limited.

 

Our companies could make business decisions that are not in our best interests or with which we do not agree, which could impair the value of our holdings.

Although we currently own an interest in some of our companies, we do not maintain a controlling interest in any of our companies. Acquisitions of interests in companies in which we share or have no control, and the dilution of our interests in or a further reduction of control of companies, will involve additional risks that could cause the performance of our interests and our operating results to suffer, including:

 

• the management teams or other equity or debt holders of our companies having economic or business interests or objectives that are different from ours; andthe companies not taking our advice with respect to the financial or operating issues they may encounter.

 

Our inability to control our companies also could prevent us from assisting them, financially or otherwise, or could prevent us from liquidating our interests in them at a time or at a price that is favorable to us. Additionally, our companies may not act in ways that are consistent with our business strategy. These factors could hamper our ability to maximize returns on our interests and cause us to incur losses on our interests in these companies.

 

We may have to buy, sell or retain assets when we would otherwise not wish to do so in order to avoid registration under the Investment Company Act.

The Investment Company Act of 1940 regulates companies which are engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities. Under the Investment Company Act, a company may be deemed to be an investment company if it owns investment securities with a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (excluding government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis, unless an exemption or safe harbor applies. We refer to this test as the “40% Test.” Securities issued by companies other than consolidated companies are generally considered “investment securities” for purposes of the Investment Company Act, unless other circumstances exist which actively involve the company holding such interests in the management of the underlying company. Our ownership levels also may be affected if our companies are acquired by third parties or if our companies issue stock which dilutes our ownership interest. The actions we may need to take to address these issues while maintaining compliance with the 40% Test could adversely affect our ability to create and realize value at our companies.

 

Economic disruptions and downturns may have negative repercussions for us.

Events in the United States and international capital markets, debt markets and economies may negatively impact our value and our ability to pursue certain tactical and strategic initiatives, such as accessing additional public or private equity or debt financing for us or for our companies and selling our interests in companies on terms acceptable to us and in time frames consistent with our expectations.

 

We cannot provide assurance that material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting will not be identified in the future.

We cannot assure you that material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting will not be identified in the future. Any failure to maintain or implement required new or improved controls, or any difficulties we encounter in their implementation, could result in a material weakness, or could result in material misstatements in our Consolidated Financial Statements. These misstatements could result in a restatement of our Consolidated Financial Statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and/or cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, leading to a decline in our stock price.

 

The venture capital and accelerator businesses are intensely competitive, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.

    We compete as a venture capital firm for both fund investors, investment opportunities and accelerator opportunities. The venture capital business is highly fragmented, with our competitors consisting of venture funds, investment banks and high net worth investors. A number of factors serve to increase our competitive risks:

 

• a number of our competitors in some of our businesses may have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources and more personnel than we do, and, in the case of some asset classes or geographic regions, longer operating histories, more established relationships, greater expertise or better reputation;

• our funds may not perform as well as competitors’ funds or other available investment products;

• our competitors have raised or may raise significant amounts of capital, and many of them have similar investment objectives and strategies to our funds, which may create additional competition for investment opportunities and may reduce the size and duration of pricing inefficiencies that many alternative investment strategies seek to exploit; we are relatively new as a group and this might present competitive and operational challenges

• some of these competitors may also have a lower cost of capital and access to funding sources that are not available to us, which may create competitive disadvantages for us with respect to investment opportunities;

• some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances, different risk assessments or lower return thresholds, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and to bid more aggressively than us for investments;

• there are relatively few barriers to entry impeding the formation of new funds, including a relatively low cost of entering these businesses, and the successful efforts of new entrants into our various lines of business, including major commercial and investment banks and other financial institutions, have resulted in increased competition;

 

We may not be successful in executing upon or managing the complexities of new investment strategies, markets and businesses, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our growth strategy is based, in part, on the expansion of our platform through selective investment strategies. If our investment strategies do not perform as expected we are at risk of losing all of our capital committed to these transactions.

 

There is a risk that our employees, consultants or sub-contractors could engage in misconduct that adversely affects our business. We are subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from our business and our authority over the assets we manage. The violation of these obligations and standards by any of our employees, consultants or sub-contractors would adversely affect our clients and us. We may also be adversely affected if there is misconduct by senior management of portfolio companies in which we invest, even though we may be unable to control or mitigate such misconduct. Such misconduct may also negatively affect the valuation of the investments in such portfolio companies. Our current and former employees, consultants or sub-contractors and those of our portfolio companies may also become subject to allegations of sexual harassment, racial and gender discrimination or other similar misconduct, which, regardless of the ultimate outcome, may result in adverse publicity that could significantly harm our and such portfolio company’s brand and reputation. Furthermore, our business often requires that we deal with confidential matters of great significance to companies in which we may invest. If our employees, consultants or sub-contractors were improperly to use or disclose confidential information, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position and current and future business relationships, as well as face potentially significant litigation or investigation. It is not always possible to detect or deter such misconduct, and the precautions we take may not be effective in all cases. If any of our employees, consultants or sub-contractors or the employees of portfolio companies were to engage in misconduct or were to be accused of such misconduct, our business and our reputation could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Risks Related to Our Companies

 

Most of our portfolio companies have a history of operating losses and/or limited operating history and may never be profitable.

Most of our portfolio companies have a history of operating losses and/or limited operating history, have significant historical losses and may never be profitable. Many have incurred substantial costs to develop and market their products, have incurred net losses and cannot fund their cash needs from operations. We expect that the operating expenses of certain of our companies will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as they continue to develop products and services, increase sales and marketing efforts, and expand operations.

 

Our companies face intense competition, which could adversely affect their business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects for growth.

There is intense competition in the growth,  technology, industrials, consumer, business and other industries/marketplaces, and we expect competition to intensify in the future. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations will be materially adversely affected if our companies are not able to compete successfully. Many of the present and potential competitors may have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than those of our companies. This may place our companies at a disadvantage in responding to the offerings of their competitors, technological changes or changes in client requirements. Also, our companies may be at a competitive disadvantage because many of their competitors have greater name recognition, more extensive client bases and a broader range of product offerings. In addition, our companies may compete against one another.

 

The success or failure of many of our companies is dependent upon the ultimate effectiveness of newly-created technologies, medical devices, financial services, healthcare diagnostics, etc.

Our companies’ business strategies are often highly dependent upon the successful launch and commercialization of an innovative technology or device, including, without limitation, technologies or devices used in healthcare, financial services or digital media.  Despite all of our efforts to understand the research and development underlying the innovation or creation of such technologies and devices before we deploy services or  capital into a company, sometimes the performance of the technology or device does not match our expectations or those of such company. In those situations, it is likely that we will incur a partial or total loss of the capital which we deployed in such company.

 

Our companies may fail if they do not adapt to changing marketplaces.

If our companies fail to adapt to changes in technology and customer and supplier demands, they may not become or remain profitable. There is no assurance that the products and services of our companies will achieve or maintain market penetration or commercial success, or that the businesses of our companies will be successful.

 

Our portfolio company industries are characterized by:Our future success will depend on our companies’ ability to adapt to these evolving marketplaces. They may not be able to adequately or economically adapt their products and services, develop new products and services or establish and maintain effective distribution channels for their products and services. If our companies are unable to offer competitive products and services or maintain effective distribution channels, they will sell fewer products and services and forego potential revenue, possibly causing them to lose money. In addition, we and our companies may not be able to respond to the marketplace changes in an economically efficient manner, and our companies may become or remain unprofitable.

 

Our companies may grow rapidly and may be unable to manage their growth.

We expect some of our companies to grow rapidly. Rapid growth often places considerable operational, managerial and financial strain on a business. To successfully manage rapid growth, our companies must, among other things:

 

• rapidly changing technology;

• evolving industry standards;

• frequent introduction of new products and services;

• shifting distribution channels;

• evolving government regulation;

• frequently changing intellectual property landscapes; and

• changing customer demands.

• improve, upgrade and expand their business infrastructures;

• scale up development, research and production operations;

• develop appropriate financial reporting controls;

• attract and retain qualified personnel; and

• maintain appropriate levels of liquidity.

 

If our companies are unable to manage their growth successfully, their ability to respond effectively to competition and to achieve or maintain profitability will be adversely affected.

 

Based on our business model, some or all of our companies will need to raise additional capital to fund their operations at any given time. We may not be able to, plan to, or decline to, fund some or all of such amounts and such amounts may not be available from third parties on acceptable terms, if at all. Further, if our companies do raise additional capital from third parties, either debt or equity, such capital may rank senior to, or dilute, our interests in such companies.

We cannot be certain that our companies will be able to obtain additional financing on favorable terms when needed, if at all. We may not plan to, be able to, or decline to, provide our companies with sufficient capital resources to enable them to reach a cash-flow positive position or a sale of the company. General economic disruptions and downturns may also negatively affect the ability of some of our companies to fund their operations from other stockholders and capital sources. We also may fail to accurately project the capital needs of companies. If our companies need capital, but are not able to raise capital from us or other outside sources, they may need to cease or scale back operations. In such event, our interest in any such company will become less valuable. If our companies raise additional capital from third parties, either debt or equity, such capital may be dilutive, making our interests less valuable or if such capital ranks senior to the capital we have deployed, such capital may entitle its holders to receive returns of capital before we are entitled to receive any return of our deployed capital. Also, in the event of any insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of one or more of our companies, holders of such company’s instruments that rank senior to our deployed capital will typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any return of our deployed capital or interests. After returning such senior capital, such company may not have any remaining assets to use for returning capital to us, causing us to lose some or all of our deployed capital in such company.

 

COVID-19 continues to impact the United States and other countries throughout the world, and it has caused and may further cause disruptions to our business and adversely affect our financial results.

COVID-19 has caused, and continues to cause, severe disruptions to the U.S. and global economics. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic and the United States declared a national emergency due to the outbreak. In connection with these declarations, various governments around the world have instituted measures to slow the transmissions of COVID-19, which substantially restrict individual and business activities. These measures have included, for example, closures of non-essential businesses, limitations of crowd size, stay-at-home orders, quarantines, heightened border controls and limitations on travel. Governments in the United States and around the world have responded with fiscal and monetary stimuli that aim to provide emergency assistance to individuals and businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the actions taken in response have had far reaching impact on the U.S. and global economies, contributing to significant volatility in the financial markets, resulting in increased volatility in equity prices and lower interest rates, and causing furloughs and layoffs in the labor market. In recent months, the number of COVID-19 cases rebounded in many countries around the world, including the United States, especially after more infectious strains of the virus started to spread globally. Although a number of vaccines for COVID-19 have been developed or are in the process of development, the timing of widespread vaccination is uncertain and these vaccines may be less effective against any new mutated strains of the virus.

 

The scale and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic may heighten the potential adverse effects on our business, financial performance and operating results, which may be material and affect us in ways that we cannot foresee at this time. Many of the adverse ways in which COVID-19 may impact us have already materialized and may in the future materialize and adversely affect our valuation, our portfolio valuations, and the operations of our businesses and the businesses of our portfolio companies, as well as the businesses of counterparties, including suppliers and customers. These risks may, in the future, become even more significant than is currently the case or than is currently anticipated. Although it is impossible to predict with certainty the potential full magnitude of the business and economic ramifications, COVID-19 has impacted, and may further impact, our business in various ways beyond the ways specified herein.

 

We may have conflicts with our portfolio companies.

We may have conflicts with our portfolio companies that may adversely affect our equity holdings. Some of our portfolio companies grant us equity in exchange for future services. In the event that we do not provide such services or are unable to provide such services, certain portfolio companies may dispute our equity holdings in them.

 

Economic disruptions and downturns may negatively affect our companies’ plans and their results of operations.

Many of our companies are largely dependent upon outside sources of capital to fund their operations. Disruptions in the availability of capital from such sources will negatively affect the ability of such companies to pursue their business models and will force such companies to revise their growth and development plans accordingly. Any such changes will, in turn, negatively affect our ability to realize the value of our capital deployments in such companies.

 

In addition, downturns in the economy as well as possible governmental responses to such downturns and/or to specific situations in the economy could affect the business prospects of certain of our companies, including, but not limited to, in the following ways: weaknesses in the financial services industries; reduced business and/or consumer spending; and/or systemic changes in the ways the healthcare system operates in the United States.

 

Some of our companies may be unable to protect their proprietary rights and may infringe on the proprietary rights of others.

Our companies assert various forms of intellectual property protection. Intellectual property may constitute an important part of our companies’ assets and competitive strengths. Federal law, most typically copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret laws, generally protects intellectual property rights. Although we expect that our companies will take reasonable efforts to protect the rights to their intellectual property, third parties may develop similar intellectual property independently. Moreover, the complexity of international trade secret, copyright, trademark and patent law, coupled with the limited resources of our companies and the demands of quick delivery of products and services to market, create a risk that our companies’ efforts to prevent misappropriation of their technology will prove inadequate.

 

Some of our companies also license intellectual property from third parties and it is possible that they could become subject to infringement actions based upon their use of the intellectual property licensed from those third parties. Our companies generally obtain representations as to the origin and ownership of such licensed intellectual property. However, this may not adequately protect them. Any claims against our companies’ proprietary rights, with or without merit, could subject the companies to costly litigation and divert their technical and management personnel from other business concerns. If our companies incur costly litigation and their personnel are not effectively deployed, the expenses and losses incurred by our companies will increase and their profits, if any, will decrease.

 

Third parties have and may assert infringement or other intellectual property claims against our companies based on their patents or other intellectual property claims. Even though we believe our companies’ products do not infringe any third party’s patents, they may have to pay substantial damages, possibly including treble damages, if it is ultimately determined that they do. They may have to obtain a license to sell their products if it is determined that their products infringe on another person’s intellectual property. Our companies might be prohibited from selling their products before they obtain a license, which, if available at all, may require them to pay substantial royalties. Even if infringement claims against our companies are without merit, defending these types of lawsuits takes significant time, is expensive and may divert management attention from other business concerns.

 

Certain of our companies could face legal liabilities from claims made against their operations, products or work.

Because the design, development, manufacture and sale of certain company products entail an inherent risk of product liability, certain of our companies maintain product liability insurance. There can be no assurance that our companies will be able to maintain or acquire adequate product liability insurance in the future and any product liability claim could have a material adverse effect on a company’s financial stability, revenues and results of operations. In addition, engagements of our companies may involve projects that are critical to the operation of their clients’ businesses. If our companies fail to meet their contractual obligations, they could be subject to legal liability, which could adversely affect their business, operating results and financial condition. Our companies’ contracts typically include provisions designed to limit their exposure to legal claims relating to their services and products. However, these provisions may not protect our companies or may not be enforceable. Also, some of our companies depend on their relationships with their clients and their reputation for high-quality services and integrity to retain and attract clients. As a result, claims made against our companies’ work may damage their reputation, which in turn could impact their ability to compete for new work and negatively impact their revenue and profitability.

 

Our companies’ success depends on their ability to attract and retain qualified personnel.

Our companies depend upon their ability to attract and retain senior management and key personnel, including trained technical, sales, operations, strategy, general management, financial and marketing personnel. Our companies also will need to continue to hire additional personnel as they expand. Any work stoppage could have a material adverse effect on their respective operations. A shortage in the availability of the requisite qualified personnel or work stoppage would limit the ability of our companies to grow, to increase sales of their existing products and services, and to launch new products and services.

 

Government regulations and legal uncertainties may place financial burdens on the businesses of our companies.

Manufacturers of many devices and operators of technical facilities are subject to potentially strict federal and state regulation. Failure to comply with these regulatory requirements could result in civil or criminal penalties or enforcement proceedings, including the recall of a product/service or a “cease distribution” order. The enactment of any additional laws or regulations could negatively affect some of our companies. 

 

Some of our companies may be subject to significant environmental, health, data security and safety regulation.

Some of our companies may be subject to licensing and regulation under federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and human health and safety. In addition, some of our companies may be subject to federal, state and local financial securities and data security regulations, including, without limitation, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, the California Consumer Privacy Act and the European General Data Protection Regulation, which impose varying degrees of additional obligations, costs and risks upon such companies, including the imposition of significant penalties in the event of any non-compliance. Further, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established extensive requirements relating to workplace safety. Compliance with such regulations could increase operating costs at certain of our companies, and the failure to comply could negatively affect the operations and results of some of our companies.

 

Catastrophic events may disrupt our companies’ businesses.

Some of our companies are highly automated businesses and rely on their network infrastructure, various software applications and many internal technology systems and data networks for their customer support, development, sales and marketing and accounting and finance functions. Further, some of our companies provide services to their customers from data center facilities in multiple locations. Some of these data centers are operated by third parties, and the companies have limited control over those facilities. A disruption or failure of these systems or data centers in the event of a natural disaster, telecommunications failure, power outage, cyber-attack, war, terrorist attack or other catastrophic event could cause system interruptions, reputational harm, delays in product development, breaches of data security and loss of critical data. Such an event could also prevent the companies from fulfilling customer orders or maintaining certain service level requirements, particularly in respect of their SaaS offerings. While certain of our companies have developed certain disaster recovery plans and maintain backup systems to reduce the potentially adverse effect of such events, a catastrophic event that resulted in the destruction or disruption of any of their data centers or their critical business or information technology systems could severely affect their ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, their business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

We cannot provide assurance that our companies’ disaster recovery plans will address all of the issues they may encounter in the event of a disaster or other unanticipated issue, and their business interruption insurance may not adequately compensate them for losses that may occur from any of the foregoing. In the event that a natural disaster, terrorist attack or other catastrophic event were to destroy any part of their facilities or interrupt their operations for any extended period of time, or if harsh weather or health conditions prevent them from delivering products in a timely manner, their business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

 

The historical returns attributable to us and other performance attributes, including those presented in any location, should not be considered as indicative of the future results of our funds or our fund interests.

We have presented in various locations certain information relating to our investment returns, such as net and gross IRRs, multiples of invested capital and realized and unrealized investment values. Historical returns may not be indicative of the future results that you should expect from us for a variety of reasons. Further there may be human errors in our calculations. There are also a range of methodologies used to calculate results that produce different outcomes.

 

The due diligence process that we undertake in connection with our investments may not reveal all facts that may be relevant in connection with an investment
Before making our investments, we conduct due diligence that we deem reasonable and appropriate based on the facts and circumstances applicable to each investment. The objective of the due diligence process is to identify attractive investment opportunities based on the facts and circumstances surrounding an investment, to identify possible risks associated with that investment. When conducting due diligence, we typically evaluate a number of important business, financial, tax, accounting, technological, cyber-security, regulatory and legal issues in determining whether or not to proceed with an investment. Nevertheless, when conducting due diligence and making an assessment regarding an investment, we rely on resources available to us, including information provided by the target of the investment and, in some circumstances, third-party investigations. The due diligence process may at times be subjective with respect to newly organized companies or carve-out transactions for which only limited information is available.

Our funds and our balance sheet may hold investments in securities that are not publicly traded. In many cases, our funds or we may be prohibited by contract or by applicable securities laws from selling such securities at many points in time. Our funds or we will generally not be able to sell these securities publicly unless their sale is registered under applicable securities laws, or unless an exemption from such registration is available, and then only at such times when we do not possess material nonpublic information. The ability of many of our funds or us to dispose of investments is heavily dependent on the capital markets and in particular the public equity markets. For example, the ability to realize any value from an investment may depend upon the ability to complete an initial public offering of the portfolio company in which such investment is made. Even if the securities are publicly traded, large holdings of securities can often be disposed of only over a substantial length of time, exposing our investment returns to risks of downward movement in market prices during the intended disposition period. Moreover, because the investment strategy of many of our funds, particularly our private equity funds, often entails having representation on our funds’ public portfolio company boards, our funds may be restricted in their ability to effect such sales during certain time periods. In addition, market conditions and regulatory environment can also delay our funds’ ability to exit and realize value from their investments. For example, rising interest rates and challenging credit markets may make it difficult for potential buyers to raise sufficient capital to purchase our funds’ investments. Government policies regarding certain regulations, such as antitrust law, or restrictions on foreign investment in certain of our funds’ portfolio companies or assets can also limit our funds’ exit opportunities. For example, under FIRRMA, CFIUS has the authority to review and potentially block or impose conditions on certain foreign investments in U.S. companies or real estate, which may reduce the number of potential buyers and limit the ability of our funds to exit from certain investments. As many of our funds have a finite term, we could also be forced to dispose of investments sooner than otherwise desirable. Accordingly, under certain conditions, our funds may be forced to either sell their investments at lower prices than they had expected to realize or defer sales that they had planned to make, potentially for a considerable period of time. Moreover, we may determine that we may be required to sell our balance sheet assets alongside our funds’ investments at such times. We have made and expect to continue to make significant capital investments in our current and future funds and other strategies. Contributing capital to these funds is risky, and we may lose some or all of the principal amount of our investments.

Please email any concerns in connection with these risk factors to legal@crosswork.us