Hedge Fund Awards 2014

Dimitris and Michael are the acting Portfolio Managers of the Violet Emerging Markets Fund, a Long / Short Emerging Markets Equi- ties strategy, launched by AppleTree Capital in May 2010. The fund’s objective is to achieve returns in Emerging Europe (Central & Southeastern Europe which includes Russia, Turkey and Greece), a region with high economic growth potential. This is an area with a population of more than 400m and a Market Cap/ GDP that stands as low as 20%. Within 2013, the Violet Emerging Markets Fund yielded a net re- turn of 28% in US$ terms, outperforming its benchmark by 37% (MSCI EMEA) Please provide a brief description of your company AppleTree Capital is an independent financial advisor specializing in Emerging Markets and Absolute Return strategies. In an era where accountability and transparency are becoming the pillars of selecting any financial advisor, AppleTree Capital has established itself by adopting best industry practices. The firm’s mission is to deliver exceptional value to its investors, www.acquisition-intl.com 2014 International Hedge Fund Awards by strictly adhering to its philosophy of Transparency, Liquidity and Risk Management. A key element to our approach is to always question our ideas and try to identify any behavioral financial falla- cies that might challenge our long term investment goals. This is ensured by the valued services of our top notch business partners as well as the liquid and transparent structure of Apple- Tree’s fund which offers monthly liquidity and excellent transpar- ency to investors. We would like to add something here which we feel is very important and clearly depicts the way we see things. When we were setting up the Violet Emerging Markets fund we were trying to find a name, a name that would try to incorporate all the elements that character- ize the fund. Hence, we sat down and wrote what we thought would be important and the Violet abbreviation came up! The name stands for Vision, Insight, Liquidity, Experience and Transparency. Our Vision is straightforward: To become a leading investment ad- visor covering Emerging Europe and Greece, where the team has a competitive edge: long standing relationships and excellent ac- cess to companies, investment flows, decision makers and market participants. How does the company distinguishes itself from competition. AppleTree Capital distinguishes itself by focusing on a niche part of the Emerging Markets world, which is often overlooked by the traditional Emerging Markets funds. The investment team’s experience in Emerging Markets and more specifically Emerging Europe is a valued asset that allows it to bridge the informational inefficiency with the price action gap. This is achieved via: • Long established relationships with local professionals who provide direct feed on political and financial developments • Out of the box investment ideas which are generated by inter- acting with local networks in the real economy • Frequent road shows and company visits • In-house research which identify valuation mispricings • Utilizing technology to get a lead view from local feeds. By following and interacting with local reliable sources though Bloomberg and Twitter we are able to be ahead of the curve and swiftly react and adjust our investment positions. Our size and strategy allows us to enter into specific trades based on catalysts/ fundamentals irrespective of market capital- izations and index participation. This, however, is implemented Fact File Firm: AppleTree Capital Email: [email protected] Web: www .appletree-capital.com Name: Dimitris Apistoulas and Michael Nicoletos Offices: In Georgetown & Athens Our strong 2013 perfor- mance and the AI award gives us the strength to continue. Both achieve- ments confirm that if one persists when times in equity markets are tough with no loss of enthusi- asm, results will come. We are a small team at AppleTree Capital but we all share the same code of ethics and vision: Alignment of inter- est, Transparency and Commitment with our investors. Dimitris Apistoulas and Michael Nicoletos are the Managing Directors of AppleTree Capital, an investment advisor specializing in Emerging Markets. Both have a combined experience of more than 20 years in financial markets and they have been working together for the past 9 years. Emerging Markets Independent Advisor of the Year 10