Shuhei Abe

SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd. (SPARX) is the wholly-owned investment management subsidiary of SPARX Group Co., Ltd. (TYO: 8739) in Japan. The firm was founded by Shuhei Abe in 2006. Headquartered in Tokyo, SPARX provides portfolio management services and manages client accounts and funds.

SPARX Group Co. Ltd. /Venture Capital/ (SPARX Group) is an operating division dedicated for venture capital investments and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The firm was founded in 1989 by Abe Shuhei.

Nomura Securities International, Inc. (NSI) is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1969. The firm is a division of Nomura Holding America, Inc. and their ultimate parent is Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMR, TYO: 8604, AMS: 8604). NSI provides securities brokerage services, as well as asset management, domestic retail, global markets, global investment banking and global merchant banking services. The firm's fixed-income business consists of bond sales and trading, origination and product supply for securitization deals and real estate-focused asset finance operations (in cooperation with Investment Banking). In the equity markets, NSI offers sales and trading of domestic and foreign stocks on a global basis, primarily for institutional investors.

SPARX Investment & Research, USA, Inc. was established in 1994 as an SEC-registered investment advisor. It is providing client service for the SPARX funds to institutional investors in the US. SPARX's core competence is based on a direct-research approach. Their team of analysts visits companies annually to conduct interviews with top management. Each piece of information obtained through the onsite research process is analyzed and the resulting stock selection of individual companies is reflected in their investment strategies. They believe that this disciplined approach minimizes downside risks and maximizes the potential returns to generate consistently exceptional long-term investment results.