Route One is a Delaware limited partnership that has been in business since 2010. Although
Route One may manage additional client accounts in the future, currently it serves exclusively as
the investment adviser to three investment funds that have substantially the same investment
strategy: Route One Fund I, L.P. and Route One Fund II, L.P., each a Delaware limited
partnership, and Route One Offshore Master Fund, L.P., a Cayman Islands exempted limited
partnership. These funds are referred to in this brochure as the “Route One Funds.”
Route One Fund I, L.P. is a U.S. fund available only to “qualified purchasers” so that it can be
excluded from the definition of an “investment company” (a so-called mutual fund) under
section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “ICA”). Route One
Fund I, L.P. may admit more than 100 investors under that exclusion.
Route One Offshore Master Fund, L.P. is a “master fund” whose primary, unaffiliated limited
partner is Route One Offshore Fund, Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company. Route One
Offshore Fund, Ltd. is available for investment by non-U.S. investors and U.S. tax-exempt
investors that are “qualified purchasers” so that it also can be excluded from the definition of an
“investment company” under section 3(c)(7) of the ICA.
Route One Fund II, L.P. is a U.S. fund that is excluded from the definition of an “investment
company” under section 3(c)(1) of the ICA, which, among other things, limits the number of
investors in that fund to 100.
Although the Route One Funds have substantially the same investment strategy, their
performance is expected to differ over time due principally to tax related differences in trading,
the different timing of subscriptions to and redemptions or withdrawals from each fund, and
various legal or regulatory restrictions that may apply to one or more of the funds.
Route One’s managers, controlling owners and portfolio managers are William F. Duhamel, Jr.,
Jason E. Moment, Ashish H. Pant and Richard H. Voon (together, the “Principals”). A Route
One affiliate, ROIC, LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company that serves as Route One’s
general partner.
As of December 31, 2019, Route One had total discretionary assets under management of
approximately $4,993,728,001. This number differs from Route One’s “regulatory assets under
management” shown on Part 1A of the Form ADV because it reflects the net value of the assets
under management. “Regulatory assets under management” is a gross assets measurement
approach recently adopted by the SEC that does not allow deduction for liabilities associated
with borrowing securities to effect a short sale. Route One did not adopt this convention for
purposes of this Item 4 because it believes that its approach better reflects the amount of assets
that it actually manages. Route One only manages assets on a discretionary basis.
Route One invests principally, but not solely, in equity, equity-related and credit securities and
commodities that are traded publicly and privately in U.S. and non-U.S. markets on behalf of its
clients, but it is authorized to enter into any type of investment transaction that it deems
appropriate, pursuant to the terms of the client’s partnership or other account agreement. The
investors in the Route One Funds have no opportunity to select or evaluate any fund investments
or strategies. Route One selects all fund investments and strategies.
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Route One’s compensation for the Route One Funds is described below. If it elects to accept
additional clients its compensation in those cases may be negotiable and may vary.
Management Fee/Allocation. For the Route One Funds, Route One charges an asset based
management fee and/or special profit allocation. This fee/allocation is charged quarterly and is
based on the aggregate net assets of the Route One Funds (but for these purposes excluding any
investment by Route One’s affiliate, Route One Investment Company, LLC, which serves as the
general partner of the Route One Funds, and any investment held directly or indirectly by a
Principal or employee of Route One) as follows: (a) 0.375% of those assets up to $500,000,000,
(b) 0.34375% of those assets that exceed $500,000,000, up to $750,000,000, (c) 0.3125% of
those assets that exceed $750,000,000, up to $1,000,000,000, (d) 0.28125% of those assets that
exceed $1,000,000,000, up to $1,250,000,000, and (e) 0.25% of those assets that exceed
$1,250,000,000. Thus, the management fee or allocation charged will be approximately 1.0% to
1.5% per year. The management fee is payable at the beginning of each calendar quarter based
on those Route One Fund assets on the first day of that quarter. The management allocation is
made at the end of the calendar quarter but is based on those Route One Fund assets on the first
day of that quarter.
Performance Based Special Profit Allocation. Each Route One Fund investor is also charged a
performance based “Special Profit Allocation” by the Route One affiliate that serves as the
general partner of each Route One Fund, Route One Investment Company, LLC. This Special
Profit Allocation is based on the profits otherwise allocable to that investor. It is extremely
complex but it generally is calculated with respect to each Route One Fund investor as follows:
the Route One Funds generally account for profits and losses from (a) their liquid investments in
“Liquid Sub-Capital Accounts” and (b) their illiquid investments in “Illiquid Sub-Capital
Accounts” that are established for each illiquid investment. The current Special Profit Allocation
is 18% of the positive sum of:
(a) Profits and losses (including realized and unrealized gains and losses, but excluding
profits and losses from certain investments in U.S. Treasuries securities and disregarding any
7.5% withdrawal fees charged during the period (as discussed below)) otherwise allocable to that
investor’s Liquid Sub-Capital Account in the applicable measurement period; plus
(b) That investor’s Illiquid Sub-Capital Account realized profits minus Illiquid Sub-Capital
Account realized losses during that period; minus
(c) That investor’s remaining unrecouped losses (discussed below).
If Route One Investment Company, LLC reduces the value of assets in a set of Illiquid
Sub-Capital Accounts below the “cost basis” of those assets, it will use unrealized losses in that
set of Illiquid Sub-Capital Accounts to calculate profits and losses of the related investors’
Liquid Sub-Capital Accounts in that measurement period to determine Special Profit Allocations
and unrecouped losses, if any, applicable to those investors.
The Special Profit Allocation is made at the end of each year (and on withdrawal/redemption of
funds by or distribution of funds to an investor during a year) from each investor’s Sub-Capital
Accounts.
Clause (b) above contains defined terms that are complex, but, simply stated, those terms are
intended to include in the Special Profit Allocation computation profits and losses from illiquid
security investments at the time the related Illiquid Sub-Capital Accounts are closed. Thus, a
Special Profit Allocation is not made with respect to the profits on investments in an Illiquid
Sub-Capital Account until Route One determines that those investments should no longer be held
in that Illiquid Sub-Capital Account.
“Unrecouped losses” of an investor (sometimes referred to as a “high water mark”) are:
(a) The sum of (1) all losses allocated to that investor’s Liquid Sub-Capital Account in each
year, (2) all Illiquid Sub-Capital Account realized losses of that investor in each year, and (3) any
unrealized Illiquid Sub-Capital Account losses used in calculating profits and losses in the
related investor’s Liquid Sub-Capital Accounts, as described above, reduced (but not below zero)
by
(b) The sum of (1) all profits allocated to such investor’s Liquid Sub-Capital Account in the
same year that the losses are so allocated or in any subsequent year and (2) all Illiquid
Sub-Capital Account realized profits of that investor in that year or in any subsequent year.
For purposes of applying the foregoing formula, profits and losses exclude profits and losses that
accrue from certain investments in Treasury securities and disregard any 7.5% withdrawal fees
as if such fees had never been charged to the withdrawing/redeeming investor or credited to the
other investors. Unrecouped losses also exclude profits and losses allocated in any year prior to
the most recent year that began with zero unrecouped losses.
Route One complies with Rule 205-3 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, to the extent
required by applicable law. These performance based Special Profit Allocations may create an
incentive for Route One to make more risky and speculative investments than it would otherwise
make because Route One’s affiliate receives the Special Profit Allocation.
Route One deducts management fees and allocations and Special Profit Allocations directly from
client accounts.
The disclosure in this Item 5, together with the disclosure in Item 12, allow a plan that is subject
to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and that invests in a Route One Fund
to use the “alternative reporting option” to report Route One’s compensation as “eligible indirect
compensation” on the Schedule C of the plan’s Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee
Benefit Plan.
Withdrawal Rights/Charges. A Route One Fund investor may, provided that it notifies Route
One on or before October 15 (or if October 15 is not a business day, the next business day after
October 15) of a calendar year, withdraw/redeem up to one-third of the balance in its Liquid
Sub-Capital Account, as of any December 31 (a “Permitted Withdrawal Date”); provided that if
an investor makes withdrawals/redemptions on consecutive Permitted Withdrawal Dates:
(a) The one-third limit will apply on the first Permitted Withdrawal Date;
(b) If the maximum one-third is withdrawn/redeemed on the first consecutive Permitted
Withdrawal Date, then up to one-half of that investor’s Liquid Sub-Capital Account balance may
be withdrawn/redeemed on the next Permitted Withdrawal Date; and
(c) If the maximum one-half is withdrawn/redeemed on the second consecutive Permitted
Withdrawal Date, then up to the balance of that investor’s Liquid Sub-Capital Account balance
may be withdrawn/redeemed on the next Permitted Withdrawal Date.
If the maximum permissible amount is not withdrawn/redeemed on any of those Permitted
Withdrawal Dates, then the one-third restriction again applies the next time a
withdrawal/redemption occurs. An investor may withdraw/redeem more than the foregoing
amounts from its Liquid Sub-Capital Account but it will be charged a fee of 7.5% of the amount
withdrawn/redeemed that exceeds the foregoing limits. This fee will be retained by the Route
One Fund from which that investor withdrew/redeemed. It will be excluded from profits and
losses for purposes of calculating (a) the Special Profit Allocation that applies in that year to the
other investors and (b) the unrecouped losses of the other investors in that year. The fee also will
be disregarded for purposes of determining any Special Profit Allocation to be made with respect
to the withdrawing investor.
The investors also have certain special withdrawal rights if certain events occur with respect to
any two of William F. Duhamel, Jr., Jason E. Moment and Ashish H. Pant, if certain Principals
withdraw proprietary capital that exceeds certain thresholds and if certain other events relating to
Route One, the Principals or its affiliates occur. The 7.5% fee is not charged with respect to
these withdrawals.
A Route One Fund investor may not withdraw/redeem from any Illiquid Sub-Capital Account.
The investor also is subject to certain restrictions on withdrawals/redemptions from its Liquid
Sub-Capital Accounts relating to, among other things, its unused portion of the designated
investment pool that it elects to establish annually to invest in illiquid securities.
In all cases, expenses, the pro rata portion of the management fee or allocation and the Special
Profit Allocation through the date of termination are charged to withdrawing/redeeming
investors. A Route One Fund investor who withdraws/redeems on a date other than any calendar
quarter end does not receive a refund of the management fee previously paid for that quarter.
Each Route One Fund is responsible for its own costs and expenses, including trading costs and
expenses (such as brokerage commissions and charges, expenses related to short sales, and
clearing and settlement charges), ongoing legal, accounting and bookkeeping fees and expenses,
and the fees and expenses charged by the Route One Fund administrator for its accounting,
bookkeeping and other services. Route One bears its own operating, general, administrative and
overhead costs and expenses, other than the expenses described above. All or a portion of these
costs and expenses may be paid, however, by brokerage firms and FCMs that execute clients’
securities and commodities trades, as discussed in Item 12 below.
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As noted above, Route One currently manages only the Route One Funds, which all pay
performance-based Special Profit Allocations as described in Item 5. It does not manage
accounts that do not pay these performance-based allocations.
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Route One provides investment advice to investment funds. Investors in Route One Fund II, L.P.
are required to invest at least $250,000. Investors in the other two Route One Funds are required
to invest at least $10,000,000. Route One may waive these minimums.
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Investment Strategy
Route One’s strategy invests in and trades securities and commodities consisting principally, but
not solely, of equity, equity-related and credit securities that are traded publicly and privately in
U.S. and non-U.S. markets. Route One expects to invest a portion of its clients’ assets in illiquid
securities, which generally are restricted securities of public and private companies. Route One
also invests in preferred stocks, convertible securities, warrants, rights, options (including
covered and uncovered puts and calls and over-the-counter options), swaps and other derivative
instruments, bonds and other fixed income securities, non-U.S. currencies, futures, options on
futures, other commodity interests and money market instruments. Route One also engages in
short-selling, margin trading, hedging and other investment strategies.
Route One’s investing philosophy is value-oriented and has been honed over the decade that the
Principals have invested together across a variety of asset classes (equities, credit, distressed
credit, arbitrage and reinsurance) and geographies (developed and emerging markets), and in
both public and private opportunities. Their strategy was to invest capital where they saw
dislocation and opportunity. Route One defines “value” investing as purchasing securities or
commodities at a significant discount to its assessment of intrinsic value (where intrinsic value is
the value of an asset that generates a reasonable, though unexceptional, return). It uses this
assessment to gauge upside and downside risk and seeks to invest only when this relationship is
skewed dramatically in the Route One Funds’ favor.
The foregoing investment strategies represent Route One’s current intentions, are general in
nature and are not exhaustive. There are no limits on the types of securities or commodities in
which Route One may take positions on behalf of its clients, the types of positions it may take,
the concentration of its investments or the amount of leverage that it may use. Route One may
use any trading or investment techniques, whether or not contemplated by the investment
strategies described above. In addition, there are limitations in describing any investment
strategy due to its complexity, confidentiality and indefinite nature. Depending on conditions
and trends in securities and commodities markets and the economy generally, Route One may
pursue any objectives or use any techniques that it considers appropriate and in the interest of its
clients.
Risk Factors
Investing in securities and commodities involves risk of loss that clients should be prepared to
bear. Below are some of the risks that investors should consider before investing in any Route
One Fund. Any or all of such risks could materially and adversely affect investment
performance, the value of any account or any security or commodity held in a Route One Fund,
and could cause investors to lose substantial amounts of money. Potential investors in a Route
One Fund should review such fund’s offering circular or private offering memorandum carefully
and in its entirety, and consult with their professional advisers before deciding whether to invest.
The Route One Funds may not achieve their investment objectives. An account strategy
may not be successful and investors may lose some or all of their investment.
Route One’s investment strategies and techniques are continually evolving, and
investment positions reflecting new strategies and trading techniques will be incorporated
into its clients’ portfolios from time to time. Route One may use its clients’ capital to
develop and incubate new strategies. These strategies may be unsuccessful and the
resources allocated to implementing new strategies may adversely affect Route One’s
established strategies. In addition, any new investment strategy or hedging technique that
Route One develops or security type that Route One purchases may be more speculative
than current strategies, techniques and security types, and may subject the Route One
Funds’ portfolios to additional risks.
Route One invests in securities and claims and obligations of domestic and foreign
issuers that are experiencing significant financial or business difficulties (including
companies involved in bankruptcy or other reorganization and liquidation proceedings).
Such investments involve substantial risks not normally associated with investments in
better-performing companies, including adverse business, financial or economic
conditions that can lead to defaults and insolvency proceedings.
Route One may make private equity investments. Private equity investments involve an
extraordinarily high degree of business and financial risk and can result in substantial or
complete losses. Many portfolio companies may be operating at a loss or with substantial
variations in operating results from period to period. These companies may need
substantial additional capital to achieve or maintain competitive positions. These
companies may face intense competition, including competition from companies with
much greater financial resources, much more extensive development, production,
marketing and service capabilities, and a much larger number of qualified managerial and
technical personnel. Any such portfolio company may fail.
Route One may invest in private sector and government debt securities, including without
limitation, “higher yielding” (and therefore generally higher risk) debt securities and
other subordinate debt securities. Such securities may be unrated or below “investment
grade” and face ongoing uncertainties and exposure to adverse business, financial or
economic conditions that could lead to the issuer’s inability to meet timely interest and
principal payments.
Route One’s investment program may include investments in bank loans and
participations, which are subject to unique risks, including (a) the possible invalidation of
an investment as a fraudulent conveyance under relevant creditors’ rights laws; (b) so-
called lender-liability claims by the issuer of the obligations; (c) environmental liabilities
that may arise with respect to collateral securing the obligations; (d) limitations on Route
One’s ability to directly enforce its rights with respect to participations; (e) long and less
certain settlement periods; and (f) adverse consequences from participating in such
instruments with other institutions of lower credit quality.
Investor sentiment on the market, an industry or an individual stock, fixed income or
other security is not predictable and can adversely affect an account’s investments.
A Route One Fund may hold stocks that disappoint earnings expectations and decline,
and may short stocks that beat earnings expectations and rise.
Route One may not be able to obtain complete or accurate information about an
investment and may misinterpret the information that it does receive. Route One also
may receive material, non-public information about an issuer that prevents it from trading
securities of that issuer for a client when the client could make a profit or avoid losses.
Route One engages in hedging, which may reduce profits, increase expenses and cause
losses. Price movement in a hedging instrument and the security hedged do not always
correlate, resulting in losses on both the hedged security and the hedging instrument.
Route One is not obligated to hedge a client’s portfolio positions, and it frequently may
not do so.
A Route One Fund may have higher portfolio turnover and transaction costs than a
similar account managed by another investment adviser. These costs reduce investments
and potential profit or increase loss.
Route One sells securities short, resulting in a theoretically unlimited risk of loss if the
prices of the securities sold short increase.
Management and stockholders of an issuer may sue short sellers to prevent short sales of
the issuer’s securities. Route One could be subject to such actions, even if they are
baseless, and clients could incur substantial costs defending them.
Route One may use leverage by borrowing on margin, selling securities short and trading
futures, other commodity interests and derivatives. These instruments are highly volatile
and risky and can be difficult to value.
Route One may sell covered and uncovered options on securities. The sale of uncovered
options could result in unlimited losses.
Counterparties such as brokers, dealers, FCMs, custodians and administrators with which
Route One does business on behalf of clients may default on their obligations. For
example, a client may lose its assets on deposit with a broker if the broker, its clearing
broker or an exchange clearing house becomes bankrupt.
Route One may cause a Route One Fund to enter into repurchase agreements or reverse
repurchase agreements. These instruments can have effects similar to margin trading and
leveraging strategies.
Route One may cause Route One Funds to invest in securities of non-U.S. private and
government issuers. The risks of these investments include political risks; economic
conditions of the country in which the issuer is located; limitations on foreign investment
in any such country; currency exchange risks; withholding taxes; limited information
about the issuer; limited liquidity; and limited regulatory oversight.
Changes in economic conditions can adversely affect investment performance. At times,
economic conditions in the U.S. and elsewhere have deteriorated significantly, resulting
in volatile securities markets and large investment losses. Government actions
responding to these conditions could lead to inflation and other negative consequences to
investors.
It is difficult for businesses to obtain financing from lenders in the current market.
Companies in which a Route One Fund invests may be required to curtail or stop
production, causing losses for the Route One Fund, or the Route One Fund may be may
be forced to sell its interest for a loss.
Route One may acquire for a Route One Fund a large position in an issuer’s securities but
the Route One Fund nevertheless is unlikely to have any control over the issuer’s
management. If a Route One Fund holds a large position in an issuer’s securities, it could
depress the market for those securities.
Some of a Route One Fund’s positions may be or become illiquid, in which case Route
One may not be able to sell such positions.
A Route One Fund may invest in restricted securities that are subject to long holding
periods or that are not traded in public markets. These securities are difficult or
impossible to sell at prices comparable to the market prices of similar publicly-traded
securities and may never become publicly traded.
A Route One Fund may invest in other investment entities, which may cause investors to
pay two levels of advisory fees and allocations.
A Route One Fund’s investments may not be diversified. Therefore, a loss in any one
position, industry or sector in which a Route One Fund has invested may cause
significant losses.
Route One determines the value of securities and commodities held by the Route One
Funds, whether or not a public market exists for those instruments. If Route One’s
valuation is inaccurate, it might receive more compensation than that to which it is
entitled, a new investor in a Route One Fund might receive an interest that is worth less
than the investor paid and an investor that is withdrawing/redeeming assets might receive
more than the amount to which the investor is entitled, to the detriment of other investors.
The Route One Fund and not Route One is responsible for any trade errors that Route
One makes in that account, even when the error hurts the Route One Fund.
Route One and its affiliates and agents generally are not responsible to any Route One
Fund or investor for losses incurred in an account unless the conduct resulting in such
loss involved Route One’s bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct.
There is not and will not be an active market for the interests in the Route One Funds. It
may be impossible to transfer any such interests, even in an emergency.
A Route One Fund may not be able to generate cash necessary to satisfy investor
withdrawals/redemptions. Substantial withdrawals/redemptions in a short period could
force Route One to liquidate investments too rapidly, and may so reduce the size of a
fund that it cannot generate returns or reduce losses.
A Route One Fund may limit or suspend withdrawals/redemptions of an investor’s assets
from the fund.
A Route One Fund may establish a reserve for contingencies if Route One considers it
appropriate. Investors may not withdraw or redeem assets covered by that reserve until it
is lifted.
If the assets that Route One and its affiliates manage grow too large, it may adversely
affect performance, because it is more difficult for Route One to find attractive
investments as the amount of assets that it must invest increases.
No Route One Fund or investor has been represented by separate counsel. The attorneys
who represent Route One or the Principals do not represent the Route One Funds or their
investors. The Route One Funds and their investors must hire their own counsel for legal
advice and representation.
A Route One Fund may dissolve or expel any investor at any time, even if such actions
adversely affect one or more investors.
Route One, an administrator or any government agency may freeze assets that any of
them believes a client holds in violation of anti-money laundering laws or rules or on
behalf of a suspected terrorist, and may transfer such assets to a government agency.
None of Route One, a Route One Fund or an administrator will be liable for losses related
to anti-money laundering regulation.
The Route One Funds do not intend to make distributions, but intend instead to reinvest
substantially all income and gain. Therefore, an investor may have taxable income from
a fund without a cash distribution to pay the related taxes.
Federal, state and international governments may increase regulation of investment
advisers, private investment funds and derivative securities, which may increase the time
and resources that Route One must devote to regulatory compliance, to the detriment of
investment activities.
Route One is not registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer or with the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission as a commodity pool operator or commodity trading
adviser. The equity interests in the Route One Funds are not registered under the
Securities Act of 1933, and the Route One Funds are not registered investment companies
under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Route One believes that none of these
registrations is required because exemptions are available under applicable law. If a
regulatory authority deems that any of these registrations is required, Route One and any
fund could be subject to expensive legal action and potential termination. In addition,
Route One Fund investors do not have certain regulatory protection afforded to investors
that they would have if these registrations were in place.
Route One’s activities could cause adverse tax consequences to clients and investors,
including liability for interest and penalties.
Route One’s activities may cause an account that is subject to the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 to engage in a prohibited transaction under that Act.
If a Route One Fund becomes insolvent, investors may be required to return with interest
any distributions and forfeit any undistributed profits.
Route One and its affiliates may spend time on activities that compete with a Route One
Fund without accountability to investors, including investing for other clients and their
own accounts. If Route One receives better compensation and other benefits from
managing other assets or client accounts compared to managing a Route One Fund, it has
incentive to allocate more time to those other activities. These factors could influence
Route One not to make investments on a fund’s behalf even if such investments would
benefit the fund.
Route One may provide certain investors or clients more frequent or detailed reports,
special compensation arrangements and withdrawal/redemption rights that it does not
provide to other investors or clients.
Route One and its service providers rely heavily on internal and third-party computer
hardware and software, online services, data feeds, trading platforms, and other
technology to conduct investment and trading activities, and trade settlement, operations
and accounting processes. Disruptions to these systems or resources may make it
difficult or impossible to implement Route One’s investment strategy and could
materially and adversely affect clients and investors. Examples of such circumstances
include natural disasters, terrorism, cybersecurity attacks, public service or utility
disruptions such as those caused by fires, floods, earthquakes, market trading halts,
systems failures and other extraordinary events.
Although Route One and its affiliates may employ various computer security measures, there
can be no guarantee that they would be successful in fending off cybersecurity attacks from
viruses, malware, computer hackers or other malicious corruption of their information
technology systems. Cybersecurity disruptions may cause disruptions to business operations,
cause losses due to theft or other reasons, interfere with net asset value calculations, impede
trading, or lead to violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines and
penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional
compliance costs. Route One cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place
by service providers and the issuers in which its clients invest. Systems can and will be
compromised. Any cybersecurity disruption could materially and adversely affect clients and
investors.
The above is only a brief summary of some of the important risks that a client or investor may
encounter. Before deciding to invest in a Route One Fund, prospective investors should consider
carefully all of the risk factors and other information in the fund’s offering circular or private
offering memorandum.
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Personal Trading Route One has adopted a Code of Ethics in compliance with Rule 204A-1 under the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940, that establishes standards of conduct for its Supervised Persons (as
defined below). The Code of Ethics includes general requirements that Supervised Persons
comply with their fiduciary obligations to clients and applicable securities laws, and specific
requirements relating to, among other things, personal trading, insider trading, conflicts of
interest and confidentiality of client information. It requires Supervised Persons to comply with
the personal trading restrictions described below and periodically to report their personal
securities transactions and holdings to Route One’s Chief Compliance Officer (the "CCO"), and
requires the CCO to review those reports. It also requires Supervised Persons to report any
violations of the Code of Ethics promptly to the CCO. Each Supervised Person receives a copy
of the Code of Ethics and any amendments to it and must acknowledge in writing having
received those materials. Annually, each Supervised Person must certify that he or she complied
with the Code of Ethics during the preceding year. Investors may obtain a copy of Route One’s
Code of Ethics by contacting the CCO, telephone 415-796-6800, email
sbarron@routeonepartners.com.
Under Route One’s Code of Ethics, personal security transactions policies and procedures apply
to all accounts holding any securities or commodities over which any partner, officer, director (or
other person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions), employee or other
person who provides investment advice on behalf of Route One and is subject to the supervision
and control of Route One (each a “Supervised Person”) has any beneficial ownership interest,
which typically includes accounts held by immediate family members sharing the same
household.
Supervised Persons are permitted to continue to hold individual equities owned before the
beginning of their Route One employment. However, once employed by Route One, Supervised
Persons are prohibited from purchasing individual equities, including IPOs. Supervised Persons
can invest in a limited number of specified types of securities, which consist of U.S. and foreign
government securities, gold, corporate bonds, municipal bonds and diversified investment
vehicles such as mutual funds, index funds, exchange traded funds, and private placements such
as hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds. Personal security transactions
will also be permitted to implement hedges at the individual level.
Supervised Persons must receive prior CCO approval of trades in the foregoing permissible types
of securities, except for transactions in U.S. and foreign government securities, municipal bonds,
mutual funds, index funds, exchange traded funds, closed end funds, and redemptions from
private placement investments. Trades in these excepted securities may be made without
preapproval. In addition, Supervised Persons must have written pre-clearance before opening
any new brokerage or bank account in which they intend to trade securities.
Subject to limited exceptions, Supervised Persons must submit to the CCO quarterly reports
regarding securities transactions and newly opened accounts, as well as annual reports regarding
holdings and existing accounts.
Because Route One manages more than one account, there may be conflicts of interest over its
time devoted to managing any one account and allocating investment opportunities among all
accounts that it manages. For example, Route One selects investments for each client based
solely on investment considerations for that client. Different clients may have differing
investment strategies and expected levels of trading. Route One may buy or sell a security for
one type of client but not for another, or may buy (or sell) a security for one type of client while
simultaneously selling (or buying) the same security for another type of client. Route One may
give advice to, and take action on behalf of, any of its clients that differs from the advice that it
gives or the timing or nature of action that it takes on behalf of any other client. Route One is
not obligated to acquire for any account any security or commodity that Route One or its partners,
managers, members or employees may acquire for its or their own accounts or for any other
client, if in Route One’s absolute discretion, it is not practical or desirable to acquire a position in
such security or commodity for that account.
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Route One has complete discretion in selecting the broker or FCM that it uses for client
transactions and the commission rates that clients pay such brokers and FCMs. In selecting a
broker or FCM for any transaction or series of transactions, Route One may consider a number
of factors, including, for example:
net price, clearance, settlement and reputation;
financial strength and stability;
efficiency of execution and error resolution;
block trading and block positioning capabilities;
willingness to execute related or unrelated difficult transactions in the future;
special execution capabilities;
order of call;
offering to Route One on-line access to computerized data regarding clients’ accounts;
computerized trading systems; and
the availability of stocks to borrow for short trades.
Route One does not expect to enter into formal “soft dollar” arrangements but may receive
products or services from a broker or FCM or allow a broker or FCM to pay for the following:
capital introduction services;
research reports, services and conferences, including third party research fees;
technical data;
performance measurement data;
news wire and data processing charges;
quotation services;
periodical subscription fees;
government and self-regulatory agency filing fees;
trade cost analysis reporting;
accounting and administrative fees; and
legal fees.
Route One may receive soft dollar credits based on principal, as well as agency, securities and
commodities transactions with brokers and FCMs or direct a broker or FCM that executes
transactions to share some of its commissions with a broker or FCM that provides soft dollar
benefits to Route One.
Route One may allocate the costs of certain computer equipment and software used for both
research and non-research purposes between their research and non-research uses, and use soft
dollars to pay only for the portion that Route One allocates to research uses.
Route One has retained Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and UBS Securities LLC to serve as
the Route One Funds’ prime brokers and custodians. Route One may replace any such firm or
appoint an additional prime broker and custodian at any time. The services that these firms
currently provide as prime brokers may include custody, margin financing, clearing, settlement
and stock borrowing in accordance with the terms of the prime brokerage agreements entered
into between each Route One Fund and each of these firms. Morgan Stanley & Co.
Incorporated’s address is 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020. UBS
Securities LLC’s address is 51 West 52nd Street, New York, New York 10019. These firms
have custody of most of the Route One Funds’ assets and provide Route One with other services.
These services may include: technology services (such as internet access, IT support, Bloomberg
connections, wireless networking, email archiving and disaster recovery systems), portfolio
reporting and access to electronic communications networks. These firms also may, at their
discretion, provide capital introduction services. Route One expects to use a substantial portion
of these services for research and trading on behalf of the investment funds, but some may be
used for administrative purposes, which would not be within the safe harbor of section 28(e).
Although many prime brokers provide similar services to investment advisers in exchange for
brokerage, custody and clearance fees and other charges, if Route One did not receive these
services from these firms, Route One would be required to pay for all or some portion of them.
Route One is not required to direct a particular number of trades to any of these firms or to
continue to use them as the investment funds’ custodians, but it has an incentive to do so based
on their prior and continued services.
Each Route One Fund’s obligations to any of its prime brokers and any other custodian it selects
are secured by a first priority perfected security interest over all of the fund’s assets held in
custody by that custodian. A custodian may transfer to itself all rights, title and interest in and to
those assets as collateral and may deal with, lend, dispose of, pledge or otherwise use all such
collateral for its own purposes. If any such transfer occurs, the Route One Fund will rank as
such custodian’s (or affiliate’s) unsecured creditor. If such custodian or affiliate becomes
insolvent, the fund may not be able to recover such equivalent securities in full. In addition, the
Route One Fund’s cash held by a custodian may not be segregated from such custodian’s own
cash and, if not so segregated, may be used by such custodian or affiliate in the course of its
business and the fund will therefore rank as an unsecured creditor in relation thereto.
If any of a Route One Fund’s investments are registered in the name of a custodian or its affiliate
due to the nature of the law or market practice of a particular jurisdiction, such investments will
not be segregated from the custodian’s or affiliate’s own investments and if such custodian or
affiliate becomes insolvent, the fund may not be able to recover such equivalent investments in
full.
Route One may pay to a broker or FCM commissions and mark-ups that exceed those that
another broker or FCM might charge for effecting the same transaction because of the value of
the brokerage, research, other services and soft dollar relationships that such broker or FCM
provides. Route One determines in good faith that such compensation is reasonable in relation to
the value of such brokerage, research, other services and soft dollar relationships, in terms of
either the specific transaction or Route One’s overall fiduciary duty to its clients. A Route One
Fund may, however, pay higher commissions and mark-ups than are otherwise available or may
pay more commissions or mark-ups based on account trading activity. The research and other
benefits resulting from Route One’s brokerage relationships benefit Route One’s operations as a
whole and the Route One Funds, including those that do not generate the soft dollars that pay for
such research. Route One does not allocate soft dollar benefits to the Route One Funds
proportionately to the soft dollar credits that the Route One Funds generate.
Route One’s relationships with brokers and FCMs that provide soft dollar services influence
Route One’s judgment and create conflicts of interest in allocating brokerage business between
firms that provide soft dollar services and firms that do not, and in allocating the costs of mixed-
use products between their research and non-research uses. Route One has an incentive to select
or recommend a broker or FCM based on Route One’s interest in receiving soft dollar services
rather than clients’ interest in receiving the most favorable execution. These conflicts of interest
are particularly influential to the extent that Route One uses soft dollars to pay expenses it would
otherwise be required to pay itself.
Route One addresses these conflicts of interest by evaluating, on at least a semi-annual basis, the
trade execution services that Route One receives from the brokers and FCMs that it uses to
execute trades for clients. Such evaluation includes comparing those services to the services
available from other brokers and FCMs. Route One considers, among other things, alternative
market makers and market centers, the quality of execution services, the value of continuing with
various soft dollar services and adding or removing brokers or FCMs, increasing or decreasing
targets for each broker or FCM and the appropriate level of commission rates.
Route One may aggregate securities sale and purchase orders for a client with similar orders
being made contemporaneously for other accounts that Route One manages or with accounts of
its affiliates. In such event, Route One may charge or credit a client, as the case may be, the
average transaction price of all securities purchased or sold in such transactions. As a result,
however, the price may be less favorable to the client than it would be if Route One were not
executing similar transactions concurrently for other accounts. Route One may also cause a
client to buy or sell securities directly from or to another client, if such a cross-transaction is in
the interests of both clients.
Route One may direct a certain amount of brokerage to a broker or FCM in return for the
broker’s or FCM’s referral of prospective clients or investors. Directing brokerage to a broker in
exchange for client or investor referrals creates a conflict of interest in that Route One has an
incentive to refer its clients’ brokerage business to brokers to which it might not otherwise direct
its brokerage transactions. Route One has policies and procedures to review its brokerage
practices regularly, including its use of brokers from which Route One receives client or investor
introductions.
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The Principals continuously review all accounts during the course of their regular portfolio
management activities. The Principals also hold ad hoc meetings as necessary, and typically will
meet weekly to review all accounts. Those reviews take into account such matters as asset
allocation, investment ideas, economic developments, current events, investment strategies and
Route One Fund holdings. Each account receives a monthly letter stating performance for the
month and a quarterly letter discussing performance and investment outlook.
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Route One may engage solicitors to whom it pays cash or a portion of the advisory fees paid by
clients referred to it by those solicitors. In such cases, this practice is disclosed in writing to the
client and Route One complies with the other requirements of Rule 206(4)-3 under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, to the extent required by applicable law.
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Route One has discretionary authority to manage investment accounts on behalf of clients
pursuant to a grant of authority in a Route One Fund’s limited partnership agreement or a limited
power of attorney in an account agreement.
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Route One will decide whether to vote proxies on behalf of an account over which it has proxy
voting authority after considering whether the proposal will have a material effect on that
account's investment strategy. If Route One decides to vote a proxy and the CCO determines
that doing so will not create a material conflict of interest, Route One will vote in a manner
believed to maximize the value of that account's assets. In determining whether a proposal
serves the best interests of an account, Route One considers a number of factors, including:
a vote's likely short-term and long-term impact on the issuer;
whether the issuer has responded to the subject of the proxy vote in some other manner;
whether the issues raised by the proxy vote would be better handled by some other action
by the government or the issuer;
whether implementation of the proxy proposal appears likely to achieve the proposal's
stated objectives; and
whether the proposal appears consistent with the client accounts' best interests.
If a material conflict of interest over proxy voting arises between Route One and a client, the
CCO will convene a meeting of available Principals and any other Supervised Persons as deemed
appropriate during which the CCO will propose an appropriate course of action. Each meeting
attendee will consider the CCO's proposal and make a recommendation. The CCO will record
each attendee's recommendation and will then vote the proxy according to the recommendation
of a majority of the attendees. If a majority cannot be reached, Route One will engage an outside
proxy voting service or consultant to make a decision.
A client can obtain a copy of Route One’s proxy voting policy and a record of votes cast by
Route One on behalf of that client by contacting Route One.
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Not Applicable.
Item 19. Requirements For State-Registered Advisers Not Applicable.
Privacy Policy Route One and the Route One Funds are committed to safeguarding the confidential information
provided to them by their clients, limited partners and shareholders, former clients, limited
partners and shareholders, and persons who have applied to be clients, limited partners and
shareholders (together, “Clients”). This notice provides information to you about Route One’s
and the Route One Fund’s privacy policies and practices.
Route One and the Route One Funds collect nonpublic personal information about Clients from
the following sources: interviews and other conversations between Clients and representatives of
Route One or the Route One Funds; subscription agreements, offering questionnaires and other
documents provided by Clients; information about Clients’ transactions with a Route One Fund,
its affiliates and others; and information that Route One and the Route One Funds receive from
consumer reporting agencies.
Route One and the Route One Funds do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about
any of their Clients to anyone, except as permitted by law. Disclosures that are permitted by law
include disclosures that are necessary to effect, administer or enforce a transaction that a Client
requests or authorizes. Other examples of disclosures that are permitted by law are disclosures to
Route One’s or the Route One Funds’ accountants, auditors and lawyers, disclosures to
regulators that examine Route One’s or the Route One Funds’ business and disclosures that
Clients specifically request.
Route One and the Route One Funds do not provide personal information about investors to
mailing list vendors or solicitors for any purpose. Route One and the Route One Funds restrict
access to nonpublic personal information about Clients to those employees of Route One who
have a business or professional reason to know such information. In addition, Route One and the
Route One Funds maintain a secure office and computer environment to ensure that the
confidentiality of Clients’ information is not placed at unreasonable risk.
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Open Brochure from SEC website