Principle 1.
Institutional investors should have a clear policy on how they fulfill their stewardship responsibilities, and publicly disclose it.

By engaging proactively in constructive “dialog with a purpose” (engagement), Ant Capital serves not only the interests of our investors, but also contributes to the development of Japan’s industry and economy by increasing the value of the investee companies by collaborating with management based on a common understanding.

Our strength lies in our ability to provide solutions involving hands-on support and capital strategy to our investee companies, and we have a framework that allows effective dialog with investee companies. To grasp the situation at an investee company, our experienced investment managers builds a friendly and cooperative relationship with the investee company’s management team and after gaining a deep understanding of the investee company, encourages sustainable growth with an emphasis on raising the value of the company over the medium to longer term.

Principle 2.
Institutional investors should have a clear policy on how they manage conflicts of interest in fulfilling their stewardship responsibilities and publicly disclose it.

By establishing a “Compliance Manual” with a code of conduct that should be followed by all employees and officers whenever there is a conceivable conflict of interest with an investment partnership (fund) managed by Ant Capital as a general partner or a conflict of interest when investing in a group company, and by building a strict compliance regime, Ant Capital has limited the possibility of conflicts of interest arising in our stewardship activities, including in the exercise of our voting rights.

Even if a conflict of interest arises, Ant Capital will make decisions in good faith with the intention of maximizing profits for the investment partnership (fund) in accordance with the stated purpose of the investment partnership (fund) and the partnership agreement.

Principle 3.
Institutional investors should monitor investee companies so that they can appropriately fulfill their stewardship responsibilities and support the sustainable growth of the companies.

When choosing investee companies, Ant Capital makes our investment decisions after conducting due diligence by interviewing industry sources and by working with attorneys, accountants, tax advisors, and other outside experts so that we have an accurate grasp of the investee company’s situation.

Even after investing we continue to assess the situation at the investee company, not only in terms of its business results, but also in terms of non-financial matters such as its governance and risk management framework, by participating in board of directors and other meetings as necessary, by regularly talking to the management team, and by regularly obtaining financial information.

Principle 4.
Institutional investors should seek to arrive at an understanding in common with investee companies and work to solve problems through constructive engagement with investee companies.

Ant Capital continually engages in dialog with investee companies so that we can have a common understanding. We build a relationship of mutual trust by maintaining a close relationship with the management team and the managers of an investee company. By doing so we seek to reach mutual understanding about not only a company’s situation, but also the external environment. We maintain as our basic policy to seek further proactive dialog when issues arise, in order to remedy such issues.

Principle 5.
Institutional investors should have a clear policy on voting and disclosure of voting activity. The policy on voting should not be comprised only of a mechanical checklist; it should be designed to contribute to the sustainable growth of investee companies.

Ant Capital exercises our voting rights in accordance with a clear policy and process, and we determine whether to vote for or against a resolution in light of the basic policies that we have established internally. When exercising our voting rights we actively engage in dialog with the investee company, and after sharing the issues affecting the investee company’s sustainable growth, we seek to manifest our intentions through the exercise of our voting rights.

Because the majority of our investee companies are unlisted companies, we refrain from disclosing voting results.

Principle 6.
Institutional investors in principle should report periodically on how they fulfill their stewardship responsibilities, including their voting responsibilities, to their clients and beneficiaries.

We fulfill our stewardship responsibilities by being actively engaged with our investee companies and by gaining an accurate understanding of the situation at the investee companies and by working to solve their problems. We report on the fulfillment of our stewardship responsibilities to our investors at the general investor meetings that are held at least once each year, during which we review the situation at the investee companies and the processes by which we are seeking to solve their problems.

Principle 7.
To contribute positively to the sustainable growth of investee companies, institutional investors should have in-depth knowledge on the investee companies and their business environment and capabilities to appropriately engage with the companies and make proper judgments in fulfilling their stewardship activities.

Ant Capital believes that in order to engage in substantive discussion from the same perspective as the management team when we are engaged in dialog with an investee company, it is necessary for our officers and employees to have the capacity to properly carry out stewardship activities.

To make this happen, our investment managers work tirelessly and engage in substantive dialog with our investee companies. By internally sharing information about the kinds of support that are effective in raising the value of investee companies and achieving sustainable growth, accumulating examples of how we can fulfill our stewardship responsibilities, and enhancing our processes and infrastructure to further strengthen the organization, Ant Capital continuously strives to be the kind of investment firm that investee companies are seeking.