UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 20-F
(Mark One)
REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2021
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to .
OR
SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Date of event requiring this shell company report
Commission file number: 001-39938
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Not applicable
(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
Leblon – Rio de Janeiro
+55
(21) 2159-6240
(Address of principal executive offices)
Leblon – Rio de Janeiro
(Name, Telephone,
E-mail
and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person) Copies to:
Phone: (212 ) 450-4000
Fax: (212) 450-6858
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:
None
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.
The number of outstanding shares as of the date of this annual report was 41,689,338 Class A common shares and 14,466,239 Class B common shares.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes ☐ No ☒
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ☐ No ☒
Note
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation
S-T
(§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a
non-accelerated
filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large Accelerated Filer |
☐ |
☒ |
Non-accelerated Filer |
☐ | ||||||
Emerging growth company |
||||||||||
If an emerging
growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| † | The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012. |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report: ☐
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this annual report:
| ☐ | U.S. GAAP |
| ☒ |
| ☐ | Other |
If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.
☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18
If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2
of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
VINCI PARTNERS INVESTMENTS LTD.
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ii
PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
All references to “U.S. dollars,” “dollars” or “$” are to the U.S. dollar. All references to “real,” “reais,” “Brazilian ,” “Brazilian ,” or “R$” are to the Brazilian , the official currency of Brazil. All references to “IFRS” are to International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or the IASB.
real
reais
real
Financial Statements
Vinci Partners Investments Ltd., which we refer to in this annual report as “Vinci Partners,” was incorporated on September 21, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability duly registered with the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies. Vinci Partners was incorporated to become the holding entity of Vinci Partners Investimentos Ltda., which we refer to in this annual report as “Vinci Partners Brazil.” Until the contribution of Vinci Partners Brazil’s quotas to us by Vinci Partners Brazil’s quotaholders prior to the consummation of our initial public offering on February 1, 2021, or IPO, Vinci Partners had not commenced its operations and had only nominal assets and liabilities and no material contingent liabilities or commitments.
We present in this annual report the audited consolidated financial statements of Vinci Partners for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the audited consolidated financial statements of Vinci Partners Brazil for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. Both the audited consolidated financial statements of Vinci Partners and Vinci Partners Brazil were prepared in accordance with IFRS, as issued by the IASB. The comparative historical figures presented in Vinci Partners’ audited consolidated financial statements are the ones of its predecessor entity and wholly-owned subsidiary, Vinci Partners Brazil.
Both Vinci Partners and Vinci Partners Brazil maintain their books and records in Brazilian , the presentation currency for their financial statements and also the functional currency of our operations in Brazil. Unless otherwise noted, the financial information presented herein as of December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, is stated in Brazilian , our reporting currency. The consolidated financial information of Vinci Partners contained in this annual report is derived from Vinci Partners’ audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2021, and for the year ended December 31, 2021, together with the notes thereto. The consolidated financial information of Vinci Partners Brazil contained in this annual report is derived from Vinci Partners Brazil’s audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020, and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, together with the notes thereto. All references herein to “our financial statements,” “our audited consolidated financial information,” and “our audited consolidated financial statements” are to the audited consolidated financial statements of both Vinci Partners and Vinci Partners Brazil included elsewhere in this annual report. All references herein to “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” are to (i) Vinci Partners, following the contribution of Vinci Partners Brazil’s quotas to us by Vinci Partners Brazil’s quotaholders, as described above, or (ii) Vinci Partners Brazil, prior to such contribution.
reais
reais
This financial information should be read in conjunction with “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and our audited consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, included elsewhere in this annual report.
Our fiscal year ends on December 31. References in this annual report to a fiscal year, such as “fiscal year 2021,” relate to our fiscal year ended December 31 of that calendar year.
Corporate Events
Our Incorporation
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated with limited liability on September 21, 2020.
Our Corporate Reorganization
Prior to our IPO, all of the quotaholders of Vinci Partners Brazil, held, directly or indirectly, 8,730,000 quotas of Vinci Partners Brazil which are all of the quotas of Vinci Partners Brazil, our Brazilian principal holding company whose audited consolidated financial statements are included elsewhere in this annual report.
Prior to our IPO, all of the quotaholders of Vinci Partners Brazil contributed the entirety of their quotas in Vinci Partners Brazil to us. In return for this contribution, we issued (1) new Class B common shares to Gilberto Sayão da Silva and (2) new Class A common shares to all other quotaholders of Vinci Partners Brazil, in each case in a exchange for the quotas of Vinci Partners Brazil contributed to us, or the Contribution. Until the Contribution, we had not commenced operations and had only nominal assets and liabilities and no material contingent liabilities or commitments.
one-to-4.77
As of December 31, 2021, we had a total of 56,155,577 common shares issued and outstanding, 14,466,239 of these shares were Class B common shares beneficially owned by Gilberto Sayão da Silva, and 41,689,338 of these shares were Class A common shares beneficially owned by the other former quotaholders of Vinci Partners Brazil and the investors of our IPO. In addition, 758,011 Class A common shares were held in treasury. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Major Shareholders.”
The following chart shows our simplified current corporate structure, after giving effect to our corporate reorganization, the Contribution and the IPO:
2
Please read the information in the section entitled “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure—Our Corporate Structure” for a description of the operations of our material operating subsidiaries.
Initial Public Offering
On February 1, 2021, we completed our IPO, consisting of 15,271,488 Class A common shares issued and sold by us (including the partial exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares). We received net proceeds of US$252.2 million, after deducting US$22.7 million in expenses and underwriting discounts and commissions.
Financial Information in U.S. Dollars
Solely for the convenience of the reader, we have translated some of the amounts included in this annual report from into U.S. dollars. You should not construe these translations as representations by us that the amounts actually represent these U.S. dollar amounts or could be converted into U.S. dollars at the rates indicated. Unless otherwise indicated, we have translated amounts into U.S. dollars using a rate of R$5.5805 to US$1.00, the commercial selling rate for U.S. dollars as of December 31, 2021, as reported by the Central Bank.
real
reais
real
Special Note Regarding
Non-GAAP
Financial Measures This annual report presents our FRE, FRE Margin, PRE, PRE Margin, Distributable Earnings, and Distributable Earnings Margin, which are
non-GAAP
financial measures, and their reconciliations to the nearest measure as defined by IFRS, for the convenience of investors. We present fee related earnings, or FRE, because we believe this metric is useful to monitor the baseline performance of, and trends in, our business, in a manner that does not include performance fees or investment income. FRE is calculated as operating profit, (a) net revenue from realized performance fees, (b) net revenue from unrealized performance fees, (c) stock option plan compensation (d) compensation allocated in relation to performance fees. Until December 31, 2020, our FRE was calculated as operating profit, (a) net revenue from realized performance fees, (b) net revenue from unrealized performance fees, (c) compensation allocated in relation to performance fees. Beginning in the year ended December 31, 2021, management decided to change the calculation of FRE previously reported in our annual report on Form
less
less
plus
plus
less
less
plus
20-F
in light of the creation of our stock option plan and, for this reason, stock option plan compensation has been added to the calculation. FRE Margin is calculated as FRE divided by the sum of net revenue from fund management and net revenue from advisory. We present performance related earnings, or PRE, because we believe this measure can provide useful information as a performance measure that we use to assess our ability to generate profits from revenue that relies on outcomes from funds above their respective benchmarks. We calculate PRE as operating profit (a) net revenue from fund management, (b) net revenue from advisory, (c) personnel expenses and profit sharing, (d) other general and administrative expenses, (e) compensation in relation to performance fees. PRE Margin is calculated as PRE divided by net revenue from performance fees.
less
less
plus
plus
less
We present Distributable Earnings as a reference point by our board of directors for determining the amount of earnings available to distribute to shareholders as dividends. Distributable Earnings is calculated as profit for the year, (a) net revenue from unrealized performance fees, (b) income taxes from unrealized performance fees, (c) compensation allocated in relation to unrealized performance fees, (d) unrealized gain from investment income, (e) income taxes on unrealized gain from investment income, (f) stock option plan compensation, (g) depreciation and amortization. Until December 31, 2020, Distributable Earnings was calculated as profit for the year, (a) net revenue from unrealized performance fees, (b) income taxes from unrealized performance fees, (c) compensation allocated in relation to unrealized performance fees, (d) unrealized gain from investment income, (e) income taxes on unrealized gain from investment income. Beginning the year ended December 31, 2020, management decided to change the calculation of Distributable Earnings previously reported in our Registration Statement on Form
less
plus
plus
less
plus
plus
plus
less
plus
plus
less
plus
F-1
(File No. 333-251871)
to improve the 3
analysis of
non-cash
components and for this reason depreciation and amortization have been added back. In order to allow the comparability over the years, Distributable Earnings for the year ended December 31, 2019 are presented with this adjustment in “Non-GAAP
Financial Measures and Reconciliations.” Moreover, beginning the year ended December 31, 2021, management decided to change the calculation of Distributable Earnings previously reported in our annual report on Form 20-F
in light of the creation of our stock option plan and, for this reason, stock option plan compensation has been added to the calculation. Distributable Earnings Margin is calculated as Distributable Earnings divided by sum of net revenue from fund management, net revenue from advisory and realized gain from investment income. FRE, FRE Margin, PRE, PRE Margin, Distributable Earnings and Distributable Earnings Margin as described in this annual report are
non-GAAP
measures that are not a substitute for the IFRS measures of earnings. Additionally, our calculation of these measures may be different from the calculation used by other companies, including our competitors in the financial services industry, and therefore, our measures may not be comparable to those of other companies. In addition, this annual report presents our Adjusted FRE, Adjusted FRE Margin, Adjusted PRE, Adjusted PRE Margin, Adjusted Distributable Earnings, Adjusted Distributable Earnings Margin, Adjusted Profit for the year, Adjusted Profit Margin for the year, Dividends to Partners, Dividends to Partners related to performance fees, Dividends to Partners, excluding performance
fee-related
dividends, and Dividends to Partners excluding unrealized performance fee-related
dividends, which are non-GAAP
financial measures, and their reconciliations to the nearest measure as defined by IFRS, for the convenience of investors. However, because Dividends to Partners are no longer paid beginning in the year ended December 31, 2021, Adjusted FRE, Adjusted FRE Margin, Adjusted PRE, Adjusted PRE Margin, Adjusted Distributable Earnings, Adjusted Distributable Earnings Margin and Adjusted Profit for the year ended December 31, 2021 are equal to FRE, FRE Margin, PRE, PRE Margin, Distributable Earnings, Distributable Earnings Margin and profit for the year ended December 31, 2021, respectively. See “—Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations” for a description of our historical practice for distributing dividends to our partners. We present Adjusted FRE because we believe this metric is useful to monitor the baseline performance of, and trends in, our business, in a manner that does not include performance fees or investment income. Adjusted FRE is calculated as FRE Dividends to Partners, excluding performance
less
fee-related
dividends. Adjusted FRE Margin is calculated as Adjusted FRE divided by the sum of net revenue from fund management and net revenue from advisory. We present adjusted performance related earnings, or Adjusted PRE, because we believe this measure can provide useful information as a performance measure that we use to assess our ability to generate profits from revenue that relies on outcomes from funds above their respective benchmarks. Adjusted PRE is calculated as PRE Dividends to Partners related to performance fees. Adjusted PRE Margin is calculated as Adjusted PRE divided by net revenue from performance fees.
less
We present Adjusted Distributable Earnings as a reference point by our board of directors for determining the amount of earnings available to distribute to shareholders as dividends. Adjusted Distributable Earnings is calculated as Distributable Earnings, Dividends to Partners, excluding unrealized performance
less
fee-related
dividends. Adjusted Distributable Earnings Margin is calculated as Adjusted Distributable Earnings divided by the sum of net revenue from fund management and net revenue from advisory and realized gain from investment income. We present Adjusted Profit for the year because management evaluates this measure and we believe it can provide useful information to investors and analysts regarding the net results of our business, excluding Dividends to Partners. We calculate Adjusted Profit for the year as profit for the year Dividends to Partners. Adjusted Profit Margin for the year is calculated as Adjusted Profit for the year divided by the sum of net revenue from fund management and net revenue from advisory.
less
We present Dividends to Partners, Dividends to Partners related to performance fees, Dividends to Partners, excluding performance
fee-related
dividends, and Dividends to Partners excluding unrealized performance fee-related
dividends as measures that we use to assess the share of distributions made to our partners and for purposes of calculating a number of the non-GAAP
measures described above. Dividends to Partners represents a portion of total dividends distributed or declared for distribution by Vinci Partners, related to management fees or performance 4
fees; Dividends to Partners related to performance fees are those dividends that are distributed or declared for distribution to partners in connection with performance related to fund outcomes above their respective benchmarks; Dividends to Partners, excluding performance
fee-related
dividends are those dividends distributed or declared for distribution to partners other than those related to performance fees; and Dividends to Partners, excluding unrealized performance fee-related
dividends are dividends to partners that are distributed or declared for distribution to partners other than dividends for which performance fees are not yet recognized as realized performance fee-related
dividends under the relevant accounting criteria (i.e., it is highly probable that the amount of revenue related to such fees will not be changed in the income statement). Adjusted FRE, Adjusted FRE Margin, Adjusted PRE, Adjusted PRE Margin, Adjusted Distributable Earnings, Adjusted Distributable Earnings Margin, Adjusted Profit, and Adjusted Profit Margin for the year as described in this annual report are
non-GAAP
measures that are not a substitute for the IFRS measures of earnings. Additionally, our calculation of these measures may be different from the calculation used by other companies, including our competitors in the financial services industry, and therefore, our measures may not be comparable to those of other companies. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Non-GAAP
Financial Measures and Reconciliations” for the reconciliation of our non-GAAP
financial measures. Market Share and Other Information
This annual report contains data related to economic conditions in the market in which we operate. The information contained in this annual report concerning economic conditions is based on publicly available information from third-party sources that we believe to be reasonable. Market data and certain industry forecast data used in this annual report were obtained from internal reports and studies, where appropriate, as well as estimates, market research, publicly available information (including information available from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission website) and industry publications. We obtained the information included in this annual report relating to the industry in which we operate, as well as the estimates concerning market shares, through internal research, public information and publications on the industry prepared by official public sources, such as the Central Bank, or the World Bank, as well as private sources, such as ANBIMA, B3, Bloomberg, BNDES, CVM, Inter.B Consultoria Internacional de Negócios, McKinsey & Company, Oliver Wyman, and Reuters, among others.
Industry publications generally state that the information they include has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but that the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed. Although we have no reason to believe any of this information or these reports are inaccurate in any material respect and believe and act as if they are reliable, neither we, the underwriters, nor their respective agents have independently verified it. Governmental publications and other market sources, including those referred to above, generally state that their information was obtained from recognized and reliable sources, but the accuracy and completeness of that information is not guaranteed. In addition, the data that we compile internally and our estimates have not been verified by an independent source. Except as disclosed in this annual report, none of the publications, reports or other published industry sources referred to in this annual report were commissioned by us or prepared at our request. Except as disclosed in this annual report, we have not sought or obtained the consent of any of these sources to include such market data in this annual report.
Rounding
We have made rounding adjustments to some of the figures included in this annual report. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in some tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that preceded them.
5
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This annual report contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this annual report can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate” and “potential,” among others.
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this annual report and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our intent, belief or current expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to, those identified under the section entitled “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in this annual report. These risks and uncertainties include factors relating to:
| • | general economic, financial, political, demographic and business conditions in Brazil, as well as any other countries we may invest and attract investors from in the future and their impact on our business; |
| • | the actual and potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential to have an ongoing adverse impact on global, regional and national economies; |
| • | fluctuations in interest, inflation and exchange rates in Brazil and any other countries we may serve in the future; |
| • | competition in the investment advisory and financial services industry; |
| • | our ability to implement our business strategy; |
| • | investment performance of investment funds managed by our asset managers or by third parties; |
| • | the availability of government authorizations on terms and conditions and within periods acceptable to us; |
| • | our ability to continue attracting and retaining new appropriately skilled employees; |
| • | our capitalization and ability to fund new investments; |
| • | our ability to adapt to the rapid pace of technological changes in the financial services industry; |
| • | the interests of our controlling shareholder, Gilberto Sayão da Silva, who owns 100% of our outstanding Class B common shares, which represents approximately 77.6% of the voting power of our issued share capital; |
| • | changes in government regulations applicable to the financial services industry in Brazil and elsewhere; |
| • | our ability to compete and conduct our business in the future; |
| • | the success of operating initiatives, including advertising and promotional efforts and new product, service and concept development by us and our competitors; |
| • | changes in investors’ demands regarding investment products, customer experience related to investments and technological advances, and our ability to innovate to respond to such changes; |
| • | changes in labor, distribution and other operating costs; |
| • | our compliance with, and changes to, government laws, regulations and tax matters that currently apply to us; |
| • | other factors that may affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations; and |
6
| • | other risk factors discussed under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors.” |
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to release publicly any revisions to these statements in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
7
PART I
ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
A. |
Directors and Senior Management |
Not applicable.
B. |
Advisers |
Not applicable.
C. |
Auditors |
Not applicable.
ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
A. |
Offer Statistics |
Not applicable.
B. |
Method and Expected Timetable |
Not applicable.
ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION
A. |
[Reserved] |
B. |
Capitalization and Indebtedness |
Not applicable.
C. |
Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds |
Not applicable.
D. |
Risk Factors |
This section is intended to be a summary of more detailed discussions contained elsewhere in this annual report. You should carefully read and consider the following risks, along with the other information included in this annual report. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks that we do not presently consider material, or of which we are not currently aware, may also affect us. Our business, results of operations or financial condition could be impacted if any of these risks materialize and, as a result, the market price of our common shares could be affected. The risks described below are organized by risk category and these categories are not presented in order of importance. However, within each category, the risk factors are presented in descending order of importance, as determined by us as of the date of this annual report. We may change our vision about their relative importance at any time, especially if new internal or external events arise.
Summary of Risk Factors
Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry
| • | Adverse market and economic conditions could reduce the value or performance of our funds. |
Our business and the businesses of the companies in which our funds invest are materially affected by financial markets and economic conditions or events throughout the world, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws, trade barriers and trade tension, commodity prices, currency exchange rates and controls and national and international political circumstances. Future market conditions may be less favorable compared to current and historical market conditions and we could suffer a decrease in our performance and management fees, and a decrease in investment income we earn from our proprietary investments.
8
| • | Fluctuations in interest rates, exchange rates and benchmark indices could have an adverse effect on us. |
Certain of our funding costs and the returns on certain of our investment funds are tied to certain interest rate indices or other benchmark indices, such as the Brazilian long-term interest rate, or TJLP, the CDI Rate, the SELIC rate, certain inflation indices and certain B3 indices. In addition, carrying costs and the returns on certain of our investment funds based in the United States are tied to or denominated in U.S. dollars, exposing us to risks associated with fluctuations in rate of exchange of U.S. dollars for Brazilian . We may not be able to adequately manage our exposure to these benchmarks, which could lead to increased funding costs, carrying costs or decreased returns for our funds, with a consequent adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
reais
| • | Substantial and increasingly intense competition within our industry may harm our business. |
The financial services market is highly competitive. Many of our competitors may have substantially greater resources than we do. These competitors may be able to offer more attractive fees to our current and prospective clients, especially our competitors that are affiliated with financial institutions. Competition could cause us to reduce the performance and management fees and financial services advisory fees we charge for our services and could also result in a loss of existing clients, and greater difficulty in attracting new clients.
| • | We may not be able to keep pace with rapid developments in our industry. |
The financial services market is characterized by rapid technological change, new product and service introductions, evolving industry standards, changing client needs and the entrance of
non-traditional
competitors. There can be no assurance that we will have the funds available to maintain the levels of investment required to support our projects, and if we are unable to develop, adapt to or take advantage of technological changes or evolving industry standards, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. | • | We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. |
In connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we identified a number of material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. The material weaknesses identified refer to our insufficient accounting resources and processes necessary to comply with the reporting and compliance requirements of IFRS and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. We have a remediation plan to improve our internal control over financial reporting, but there is no assurance that our efforts will be effective or prevent any future material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
Risks Relating to Brazil
| • | The Brazilian federal government has exercised significant influence over the Brazilian economy. |
The Brazilian federal government frequently exercises significant influence over the Brazilian economy and occasionally makes significant changes in policy and regulations. We have no control over and cannot predict what measures or policies the Brazilian government may take in the future. We and the market price of our Class A common shares may be harmed by changes in Brazilian government policies, as well as general economic factors.
| • | Economic uncertainty and political instability in Brazil may harm us. |
Brazil’s political environment has historically influenced, and continues to influence, the performance of the country’s economy. Political crises have affected and continue to affect the confidence of investors and the general public, which have historically resulted in economic deceleration and heightened volatility in the securities offered by companies with significant operations in Brazil. Ongoing political uncertainty could harm the Brazilian economy and, consequently, our business and the value of our investments, and could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our Class A common shares.
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| • | We could be adversely affected by a protracted economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Our portfolio investments and our business could be materially and adversely affected by the risks related to health crises such as the
COVID-19
pandemic. The ultimate extent of the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic or other health crisis, on our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain, and could also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks to which we are subject. Risks Relating to Our Class A Common Shares
| • | The concentration of our ownership and voting power with Gilberto Sayão da Silva limits your ability to influence corporate matters. |
Gilberto Sayão da Silva controls our company through his beneficial ownership of all of our outstanding Class B common shares, representing 77.6% of the combined voting power of our issued share capital. So long as Mr. Sayão da Silva beneficially owns a sufficient number of Class B common shares, even if he beneficially owns significantly less than 50% of our outstanding share capital, he will be able to effectively control our decisions.
| • | As a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability, the rights of our shareholders may be different from the rights of shareholders governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions. |
Our corporate affairs are governed by our Articles of Association and by the laws of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders and the responsibilities of members of our board of directors may be different from the rights of shareholders and responsibilities of directors in companies governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions. In particular directors of a Cayman Islands company owe fiduciary duties to the company and separately a duty of care, diligence and skill to the company, whereas under Delaware corporate law, a director has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its stockholders. See “Item 10. Additional Information—B. Memorandum and Articles of Association—Principal Differences between Cayman Islands and U.S. Corporate Law.”
Certain Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry
The
COVID-19
pandemic and other actual or potential epidemics, pandemics, outbreaks, or other public health crises, may have an adverse impact on our investment portfolio and consequently our business and financial condition. Our portfolio investments and our business could be materially and adversely affected by the risks (or the public perception of the risks) related to an epidemic, pandemic, outbreak, or other public health crisis, such as the recent outbreak of novel coronavirus
(COVID-19).
The global spread of the COVID-19
pandemic, which originated in late 2019 and was later declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted supply chains and created significant volatility in global financial markets. Reflecting this, the COVID-19
pandemic has caused the levels of equity and other financial markets to decline sharply and to become volatile since the onset of the impacts of COVID-19,
and the market volatility resulting from the COVID-19
pandemic caused a number of planned public stock offerings and merger and acquisition transactions in Brazil to be postponed or cancelled. The
COVID-19
pandemic and government measures taken in response thereto has caused disruptions in our funds’ portfolio companies’ businesses and could lead to long-term disruptions or closures. For instance, the COVID-19
pandemic has caused work stoppages and increased unemployment, including because of illness or travel or government restrictions in connection with the pandemic. Additionally, the COVID-19
pandemic has resulted in the temporary or permanent closure of many businesses and has required adjustments in how many businesses operate. For example, certain funds in our real estate strategy and certain portfolio companies of our private equity funds were adversely impacted as a result of lockdowns and shopping mall closures in Brazil lasting over three months. In addition, there is uncertainty surrounding real estate funds with concentrated investments in office space as the real estate market adjusts to shifts in office space demand in response to changes in economic activity and remote working arrangements and longer-term trends in demand for the type and size of office space. 10
These factors have adversely impacted certain of the companies in our investment portfolio and severely disrupted operations and economic conditions generally. In addition, significant market fluctuations driven by the
COVID-19
pandemic have resulted in fluctuations in the fair value component of our assets under management, or AUM, and could result in additional fluctuations in our AUM depending on the severity and extent of the ongoing pandemic. The ultimate extent of the impact of
COVID-19,
including the outbreak of more transmissible variants and uncertainty about the availability of effective vaccines, or any other epidemic, pandemic or other health crisis, on our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with any certainty, which future developments could include new information that may emerge concerning the severity of such epidemic, pandemic or other health crisis and actions taken to contain or prevent their further spread, among others. These and other potential impacts of an epidemic, pandemic or other health crisis, such as the COVID-19
pandemic, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section. Difficult market and economic conditions can adversely affect our business in many ways, including by reducing the value or performance of the investments that we manage or by reducing the ability of our funds to raise or deploy capital, each of which could negatively impact our net income and cash flow and adversely affect our financial prospects and condition.
Our business and the businesses of the companies in which our funds invest are materially affected by financial markets and economic conditions or events throughout the world, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic and political uncertainty, such as those deriving from the Brazilian presidential election to be held in late 2022, changes in laws (including laws relating to taxation), trade barriers and trade tension (including between the United States and China), commodity prices, currency exchange rates and controls and national and international political circumstances (including wars, such as the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, terrorist acts or security operations). Future market conditions may be less favorable compared to current and historical market conditions. Adverse conditions in financial markets and the economy can adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition by decreasing our AUM (both directly through a decline in market value or through clients withdrawing investments) and thereby decrease our performance and management fees, as well as by decreasing the investment income we earn from our proprietary investments.
Fluctuations in financial markets and economic conditions are outside our control and may affect the level and volatility of securities prices and liquidity and as a result, the value of our investments and our financial results. In addition, we may not be able to or may choose not to manage our exposure to these conditions and/or events. If not otherwise offset, declines in the equity, commodity and debt in the markets would likely cause us to write down our investments and the investments of our funds. Our profitability may also be materially and adversely affected by our fixed costs and the possibility that we would be unable to scale back other costs within a time frame sufficient to match any decreases in net income relating to a downturn in market and economic conditions.
Unfavorable market and economic conditions may reduce opportunities for our funds to make, exit and realize value from their investments. Challenging market and economic conditions, including those caused by changes in tax laws and other regulatory restrictions, may make it difficult for us to find suitable investments for our funds or secure financing for investments on attractive terms. Such conditions may also result in reduced opportunities for our funds to exit and realize value from their existing investments and lower-than-expected returns on existing investments. Throughout our history, we have exited our portfolio companies through a combination of routes, including selling to strategic buyers, carrying out sponsor to sponsor transactions and through public market exits, including through initial public offerings, or IPOs, and reverse mergers into listed companies. In challenging equity markets, our funds may experience greater difficulty in realizing value from investments. In addition, when financing is not available or becomes too costly, it is difficult for potential buyers to raise sufficient capital to purchase our funds’ investments. Consequently, we may earn lower-than-expected returns on investments, which could cause us to realize diminished or no performance fees, which are typically determined by reference to performance in excess of one or more specified benchmarks.
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We generally raise capital for a successor fund following the substantial and successful deployment of capital from the existing fund. In the event of poor performance by existing funds, our ability to raise new funds is impaired. Our fundraising may also be negatively impacted by any change in or rebalancing of fund investors’ asset allocation policies. During periods of unfavorable fundraising conditions, fund investors may negotiate for lower fees, different fee sharing arrangements for transaction or other fees, and other concessions. The outcome of such negotiations could result in our agreement to terms that are materially less favorable to us than for prior funds we have managed. Our current funds, including all our recent private equity funds, have performance hurdles, which require us to generate a specified return on investment prior to our right to receive performance fees. This requirement will likely be in all our future funds, and the hurdle rate could increase for our future funds. In addition, successor funds raised by us when such unfavorable circumstances exist would also likely result in smaller funds than our comparable predecessor funds. Fund investors may also seek to redeploy capital away from certain of our credit or other
non-private
equity investment vehicles, which permit redemptions on relatively short notice, in order to meet liquidity needs or invest in other asset classes or with other managers. Any of these developments could materially and adversely affect our future revenues, net income, cash flow, financial condition or ability to retain our employees. During periods of difficult market or economic conditions or slowdowns (which may occur across one or more industries, sectors or geographies), companies or assets in which we have invested may experience decreased revenues, financial losses, credit rating downgrades, difficulty in obtaining access to financing and increased funding costs. These companies may also have difficulty in expanding their businesses and operations or be unable to meet their debt service obligations or pay other expenses as they become due, including amounts payable to us. Negative financial results in our funds’ portfolio companies may result in lower investment returns for our investment funds, which could materially and adversely affect our operating results and cash flow. To the extent the operating performance of such portfolio companies (as well as valuation multiples) deteriorate or do not improve, our funds may sell those assets at values that are less than we projected or even at a loss, thereby significantly affecting those funds’ performance and consequently our operating results and cash flow and resulting in lower or no performance fees being paid to us. Adverse conditions may also increase the risk of default with respect to private equity, credit and other investments that we manage or the abandonment or foreclosure of our real asset investments. Even if economic and market conditions do improve broadly, adverse conditions in particular sectors may also cause our performance to suffer. In addition, low interest rates related to monetary stimulus, economic stagnation or deflation may negatively impact expected returns on all types of investments as the demand for relatively higher return assets increases and the supply decreases. As a result, adverse conditions in financial markets as described above, as well as lower level of transaction activities involving our funds’ investments, which can be unpredictable and outside our control, may negatively impact both the frequency and size of fees generated by our business.
Our performance is subject to the risks of the industries and businesses in which the portfolio companies of our investment funds operate.
Our performance directly
ties-in
to the payment of fund management and performance fees by our investment funds, which, in turn, are subject to a number of risks inherent to their operations and also to the risk of the businesses and industries in which the portfolio companies of such investment funds operate, as well as advisory fees for financial advisory services, which are subject to transaction closings and realization of IPOs advised by Vinci Partners. Some of these industries are particularly noteworthy for the inherent risks therewith associated, such as infrastructure and real estate. These risks include but are not limited to, those associated with the burdens of ownership of real property, general and local economic conditions, changes in supply of and demand for competing properties in an area (as a result, for instance, of overbuilding), operating income, the financial resources of tenants, changes in building, environmental, zoning and other laws, casualty or condemnation losses, energy and supply shortages, various uninsured or uninsurable risks, natural disasters, changes in government regulations (such as rent control or operational licenses), changes in real property tax rates, changes in income tax rates, changes in interest rates, the reduced availability of mortgage funds which may render the sale or refinancing of properties difficult or impracticable, increased mortgage defaults, increases in borrowing rates, changes to the taxation of business entities and the deductibility of corporate interest expense or other applicable tax exemptions or benefits, negative developments in the economy that depress travel activity, environmental liabilities, contingent liabilities on disposition of assets, acts of god, terrorist attacks, war and other factors that are beyond our control. In addition, the acquisition of direct or indirect interests in undeveloped land or underdeveloped real property, which may often be non-income
producing, is subject to the risks normally associated with such assets and development activities, including risks relating to the availability and timely receipt of zoning and other regulatory or environmental approvals and licenses, the cost and timely completion of construction (including risks beyond the control of our fund, such as weather or labor conditions or material shortages) and the availability of both construction and 12
permanent financing on favorable terms. Additionally, the investment in energy, manufacturing, transportation, water and sanitation, and other infrastructure capital-intensive projects, as well as the development and operation of assets associated with real estate and certain other assets, may expose our investment funds, and, consequently, us, to increased environmental liabilities that are inherent in the ownership of such assets, which under the applicable laws may be imposed regardless of fault.
Changes in the debt financing markets may negatively impact the ability of our investment funds’ portfolio companies and strategies pursued with our balance sheet assets to obtain attractive financing for their investments or to refinance existing debt and may increase the cost of such financing or refinancing if it is obtained, which could lead to lower-yielding investments and potentially decrease our net income.
In the event that our portfolio companies regularly utilize the corporate debt markets in order to obtain financing for their operations, to the extent that credit markets render such financing difficult to obtain or more expensive, this may negatively impact the operating performance of those portfolio companies and, therefore, the investment returns on our funds. In addition, to the extent that conditions in the credit markets impair the ability of our portfolio companies to refinance or extend maturities on their outstanding debt, either on favorable terms or at all, the operating performance of those portfolio companies may be negatively impacted, which could impair the value of our investment in those portfolio companies and lead to a decrease in the investment income earned by us. In some cases, the inability of our portfolio companies to refinance or extend maturities may result in the inability of those companies to repay debt at maturity or pay interests when due, and may cause the companies to sell assets, undergo a recapitalization or seek bankruptcy protection, any of which would also likely impair the value of our investment and lead to a decrease in investment income earned by us.
Our failure to comply with investment guidelines set by our clients could result in damage awards against us or a reduction in AUM, either of which would cause our earnings to decline and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
When clients retain us to manage assets on their behalf, they specify certain guidelines regarding investment allocation and strategy that we are required to observe in the management of their portfolios. Our failure to comply with these guidelines and other limitations could result in clients terminating their investment management agreement with us and forcing an early redemption of their investments in our funds, as these investment agreements generally are terminable without cause on 30 days’ notice, and/or permit our clients to force an early redemption of their investment without prior notice or on relatively short notice. Clients could also sue us for breach of contract and seek to recover damages from us. In addition, such guidelines may restrict our ability to pursue certain allocations and strategies on behalf of our clients that we believe are economically desirable, which could similarly result in losses to a client, early redemption of a client’s quota, or termination of the asset management agreement and a corresponding reduction in AUM. Even if we comply with all applicable investment guidelines, a client may be dissatisfied with its investment performance or our services or fees, and may terminate their asset management agreements, redeem their quotas or be unwilling to commit new capital to our specialized funds or separate management accounts. Any of these events could cause our earnings to decline and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Fluctuations in interest rates, exchange rates and certain benchmark indices could impact our funding costs and the value of our funds, and fluctuations in these rates and benchmarks could adversely affect our funding costs and the returns on certain of our funds, which could have a material adverse effect on our funds’ liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.
Certain of our funding costs and the returns on certain of our investment funds are tied to certain interest rate indices or other benchmark indices, such as the Brazilian long-term interest rate, or TJLP, the CDI Rate, the SELIC rate, certain inflation indices and certain B3 indices. In addition, carrying costs and the returns on certain of our investment funds based in the United States are tied to or denominated in U.S. dollars, exposing us to risks associated with fluctuations in rate of exchange of U.S. dollars for . We have no control over fluctuations in interest rates, market indices or exchange rates and we may not be able to adequately manage our exposure to these benchmarks, which could lead to increased funding costs, carrying costs or decreased returns for our funds, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “—Certain Risks Relating to Brazil—Inflation and certain measures by the Brazilian government to curb inflation have historically harmed the Brazilian economy and Brazilian capital markets, and high levels of inflation in the future would harm our business and the price of our Class A common shares” and “—We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and may enter into derivatives transactions to manage our exposure to exchange rate risk.”
reais
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We have significant liquidity requirements, and adverse market and economic conditions may adversely affect our sources of liquidity, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We expect that our primary liquidity needs will consist of cash required to:
| • | continue to grow our business lines, including seeding new strategies, funding our capital commitments made to existing and future funds, and otherwise supporting investment vehicles that we sponsor; |
| • | service any contingent liabilities that may give rise to future cash payments; and |
| • | fund cash operating expenses and contingencies, including for litigation matters. |
These liquidity requirements are significant and, in some cases, involve capital that will remain invested for extended periods of time. As of December 31, 2021, we had R$6.7 billion of remaining unfunded capital commitments to our investment funds. Our commitments to our funds will require significant cash outlays over time, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flows from realizations of investments to fund them.
In the event that our liquidity requirements were to exceed available liquid assets for the reasons specified above or for any other reasons, we could be forced to sell assets or seek to raise debt or equity capital on unfavorable terms. For further discussion of our liquidity needs, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
Our earnings and cash flow are highly variable due to the nature of our business and we do not intend to provide earnings guidance, each of which may cause the value of interests in our business to be volatile.
Our earnings are highly variable from quarter to quarter due to the volatility of investment returns of most of our funds, other investment vehicles and our balance sheet assets and the transaction and other fees earned from our businesses. We recognize earnings on investments in our funds based on our allocable share of realized and unrealized gains (or losses) reported by such funds and for certain of our recent funds, when a performance hurdle is achieved. During times of market volatility the fair value of our funds and our balance sheet assets are more variable, and as publicly traded equity securities currently represent a proportion of the assets of many of our funds and balance sheet assets, volatility in the equity markets may have a significant impact on our reported results. A decline in realized or unrealized gains, a failure to achieve a performance hurdle or an increase in realized or unrealized losses, would adversely affect our profit for the period.
Net revenue from fund management, net revenue from performance fees and net revenue from advisory, which we recognize when contractually earned, can vary due to fluctuations in AUM, the number of investment transactions made by our funds, the number of portfolio companies we manage, the fee provisions contained in our funds and other investment products and transactions by our financial advisory services. In any particular quarter, fee income may vary significantly due to the variances in size and frequency of management and performance fees, or fees received for our financial advisory services. We may create new funds or investment products or vary the terms of our funds or investment products (for example our funds now include performance hurdles), which may alter the composition or mix of our income from time to time.
We may also experience fluctuations in our results from quarter to quarter, including our net revenue from services rendered and profit for the period, due to a number of other factors, including changes in the values of our funds’ investments, changes in the amount of distributions or interest earned in respect of investments, changes in the number of completed transactions (such as merger and acquisition, or M&A, transactions and/or initial public offerings, or IPOs) for our financial advisory clients, changes in our operating expenses, the degree to which we encounter competition and general market and economic conditions. Such fluctuations may lead to variability in the value of interests in our business and cause our results for a particular period not to be indicative of our performance in future periods. It may be difficult for us to achieve steady growth in net income and cash flow on a quarterly basis, which could in turn lead to large adverse movements in the value of interests in our business.
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We are entitled to receive performance fees when the return on assets under management, over a given period established in each fund’s private memorandum, exceeds certain return benchmarks or other performance benchmarks. The timing and receipt of performance fees from our investment funds are unpredictable and will contribute to the volatility of our cash flows. Performance fee payments from investments depend on our funds’ performance and opportunities for realizing gains, which may be limited. It takes a substantial period of time to identify attractive investment opportunities, to raise all the funds needed to make an investment and then to realize the cash value (or other proceeds) of an investment through a sale, public offering or other exit. To the extent an investment is not profitable, no performance fees will be received from our funds with respect to that investment and, to the extent such investment remains unprofitable, we will only be entitled to a management fee on that investment. Furthermore, certain vehicles and separately managed accounts may not provide for the payment of any performance fees at all. Even if an investment proves to be profitable, it may be several years before any profits can be realized in cash. We cannot predict when, or if, any realization of investments will occur. In addition, if finance providers, such as commercial and investment banks, make it difficult for potential purchasers to secure financing to purchase companies in our investment funds’ portfolio, it may decrease potential realization events and the potential to earn performance fees. A downturn in the equity markets would also make it more difficult to exit investments by selling equity securities. If we were to have a realization event in a particular quarter, the event may have a significant impact on our cash flows during the quarter that may not be replicated in subsequent quarters. A decline in realized or unrealized gains, or an increase in realized or unrealized losses, would adversely affect our investment income, which could further increase the volatility of our quarterly results.
The timing and receipt of performance fees also vary with the life cycle of certain of our funds. Our performance-paying funds that have completed their investment periods and are able to realize mature investments, sometimes referred to as being in a “harvesting period,” are more likely to make larger distributions than our performance-paying funds that are in their fundraising or investment periods that precede the harvesting period. During times when a significant portion of our AUM is attributable to performance-paying funds that are not in their harvesting periods, we may receive substantially lower performance fee distributions.
Our investment management activities may involve investments in relatively high-risk, illiquid assets, and we and our clients may lose some or all of the amounts invested in these activities or fail to realize any profits from these activities for a considerable period of time.
The investments made by our funds may include high-risk, illiquid assets. We have made and expect to continue to make investments alongside our investors, as the general partner, in our existing funds and certain customized separate accounts and in any new private markets funds we may establish in the future. The private markets funds in which we invest capital generally invest in securities that are not publicly traded. Even if such securities are publicly traded, many of these funds may be prohibited by contract or applicable securities laws from selling such securities for a period of time. Such funds 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 requirements is available. Accordingly, the private markets funds in which we invest our clients’ capital may not be able to sell securities when they desire and therefore may not be able to realize the full value of such securities. The ability of private markets funds to dispose of investments is dependent in part on the public equity and debt markets, to the extent that the ability to dispose of an investment may depend upon the ability to complete an IPO of the portfolio company in which such investment is held or the ability of a prospective buyer of the portfolio company to raise debt financing to fund its purchase. Furthermore, large holdings of publicly traded equity securities can often be disposed of only over a substantial period of time, exposing the investment returns to risks of downward movement in market prices during the disposition period. Contributing capital to these funds is risky, and we may lose some or the entire amount of our specialized funds’ and our clients’ investments.
The portfolio companies in which private markets funds have invested or may invest will sometimes involve a high degree of business and financial risk. These companies may be in an early stage of development, may not have a proven operating history, may be operating at a loss or have significant variations in operating results, may be engaged in a rapidly changing business with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence, may be subject to extensive regulatory oversight, may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, to finance expansion or to maintain their competitive position, may have a high level of leverage, or may otherwise have a weak financial condition.
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In addition, these portfolio companies may face intense competition, including competition from companies with greater financial resources, more extensive development, manufacturing, marketing, and other capabilities, and a larger number of qualified managerial and technical personnel. Our portfolio companies may be subject to additional risks, including changes in currency exchange rates, exchange control regulations, risks associated with different types (and lower quality) of available information, expropriation or confiscatory taxation and adverse political developments, which risks may be exacerbated for any portfolio companies that may be organized in jurisdictions outside of Brazil. In addition, during periods of difficult market conditions or slowdowns in a particular investment category, industry or region, portfolio companies may experience decreased revenues, financial losses, difficulty in obtaining access to financing and increased costs. During these periods, these companies may also have difficulty in expanding their businesses and operations and may be unable to pay their expenses as they become due. A general market downturn or a specific market dislocation may result in lower investment returns for the private markets funds or portfolio companies in which our specialized funds and customized separate accounts invest, which consequently would materially and adversely affect investment returns for our specialized funds and customized separate accounts. Furthermore, if the portfolio companies default on their indebtedness, or otherwise seek or are forced to restructure their obligations or declare bankruptcy, we could lose some or all of our investment and also suffer reputational harm.
We may pursue investment opportunities that involve business, regulatory, legal or other complexities.
We may pursue investment opportunities that have unusually complex business, regulatory and/or legal aspects to them. This complexity presents risks, as such transactions can be more difficult, expensive and time-consuming to finance and execute, it can be more difficult to manage or realize value from the assets acquired in such transactions and such transactions sometimes involve a higher level of regulatory scrutiny or a greater risk of contingent liabilities. Any of these risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our funds may face risks relating to undiversified investments.
While we have a policy of maintaining diversification in accordance with fund objectives and, where applicable, mandatory fund allocation rules, there can be no assurance as to the degree of diversification, if any, that will be achieved in any fund investments. Difficult market conditions or slowdowns affecting a particular asset class, geographic region or other category of investment could have a significant adverse impact on a given fund if its investments are concentrated in that area, which would result in lower investment returns. Accordingly, a lack of diversification on the part of a fund could adversely affect its investment performance and, as a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Investments by our funds may in many cases rank junior to investments made by other investors.
In many cases, the companies in which our funds invest have indebtedness or equity securities, or may be permitted to incur indebtedness or to issue equity securities, that rank senior to our clients’ investments in our specialized funds, customized separate accounts or advisory accounts. By their terms, these instruments may provide that their holders are entitled to receive payments of dividends, interest or principal on or before the dates on which payments are to be made in respect of our clients’ investments. Also, in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of a company in which one or more of our funds hold an investment, holders of securities ranking senior to our clients’ investments would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before distributions could be made in respect of our clients’ investments. After repaying senior security holders, the company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying amounts owed in respect of our clients’ investments. To the extent that any assets remain, holders of claims that rank equally with our clients’ investments would be entitled to share on an equal and ratable basis in distributions that are made out of those assets. Also, during periods of financial distress or following an insolvency, our ability to influence a company’s affairs and to take actions to protect investments by our funds may be substantially less than that of those holding senior interests, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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A decline in the pace or size of investment by our funds would result in our receiving less revenue from fees.
The performance fees (including realized and unrealized performance fees) and management fees that we earn are driven in part by the pace at which our funds make investments and the size of those investments. Any decline in that pace or the size of investments would reduce our revenue from transaction and management fees. Likewise, during an attractive selling environment, our funds may capitalize on increased opportunities to exit investments. Any increase in the pace at which our funds exit investments, if not offset by new commitments and investments, would reduce future management fees. Additionally, in certain of our funds that derive management fees only on the basis of invested capital, the pace at which we make investments, the length of time we hold such investment and the timing of disposition will directly impact our revenues. Many factors could cause such a decline in the pace of investment or the transaction and management fees we receive, including:
| • | the inability of our investment professionals to identify attractive investment opportunities; |
| • | competition for such opportunities among other potential acquirers; |
| • | unfavorable market and economic conditions; |
| • | decreased availability of capital on attractive terms; |
| • | our failure to consummate identified investment opportunities because of business, regulatory or legal complexities and adverse developments in the Brazilian or global economy or financial markets; |
| • | default by the investors of our investment funds on their contractual obligation to pay-in capital calls as requested by us or the third-party managers with whom we invest, impairing the ability to deploy capital at the intended rate; |
| • | terms we may agree with or provide to our fund investors or investors in separately managed accounts with respect to fees such as increasing the percentage of transaction or other fees we may share with our fund investors; and |
| • | new regulations, guidance or other actions provided or taken by regulatory authorities. |
Given our focus on achieving investment performance that exceeds the performance of our main competitors, and on maintaining and strengthening investor relations, we may reduce our AUM, restrain its growth, reduce our fees or otherwise alter the terms under which we do business when we deem it in the best interests of our investors—even in circumstances where such actions might be contrary to the near-term interests of holders of our Class A common shares.
From time to time if we decide it is in the best interests of all stakeholders, we may take actions that could reduce the profits we could otherwise realize in the short term. While we believe that our commitment to treating our investors fairly is in the long-term interest of us and our shareholders, we may take actions that could adversely impact our short-term profitability, and there is no guarantee that such actions will benefit us in the long term. The means by which we seek to achieve investment performance that exceeds the performance of our main competitors in each of our strategies could include limiting the AUM in our strategies to an amount that we believe can be invested appropriately in accordance with our investment philosophy and current or anticipated economic and market conditions. Additionally, we may voluntarily reduce management fee rates and terms for certain of our funds or strategies when we deem it appropriate, even when doing so may reduce our short-term revenue. For instance, in order to enhance our relationship with certain fund investors, we have reduced management fees or ceased charging management fees on certain funds in specific instances. In certain investment funds, we have agreed to charge management fees based on invested capital or net asset value as opposed to charging management fees based on committed capital.
We have increasingly undertaken business initiatives to increase the number and type of investment products we offer to retail investors, which could expose us to new and greater levels of risk.
Although retail investors have been part of our historic distribution efforts, we have increasingly undertaken business initiatives to increase the number and type of investment products we offer to high net worth individuals, family offices and other mass affluent investors. In some cases we seek to distribute our funds to such retail investors indirectly through feeder funds sponsored by brokerage firms, private banks or third party feeder providers, and in other cases directly to the qualified clients of private banks, independent investment advisors and brokers. In other cases we create investment funds specifically designed for direct investment by retail investors. Our initiatives to access retail investors entail the investment of resources and our objectives may not be fully realized.
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Accessing retail investors and selling retail directed products exposes us to new and greater levels of risk, including heightened litigation and regulatory enforcement risks. To the extent we distribute retail products through new channels, including through unaffiliated firms such as digital distribution platforms, we may not be able to effectively monitor or control the manner of their distribution, which could result in litigation against us, including with respect to, among other things, claims that products distributed through such channels are distributed to customers for whom they are unsuitable or distributed in any other inappropriate manner. Although we seek to ensure through due diligence and onboarding procedures that the channels through which retail investors access our investment products conduct themselves responsibly, to the extent that our investment products are being distributed through third parties, we are exposed to reputation damage and possible legal liability to the extent such third parties improperly sell our products to investors. Similarly, the hiring of employees to oversee independent advisors and brokers presents risks if they fail to follow training, review and supervisory procedures. In addition, the distribution of retail products through new channels whether directly or through market intermediaries could expose us to additional regulatory risk in the form of allegations of improper conduct and/or actions by regulators against us with respect to, among other things, product suitability, conflicts of interest and the adequacy of disclosure to customers to whom our products are distributed through those channels.
Our inability to raise additional or successor funds (or raise successor funds of a size comparable to our predecessor funds) could have a material adverse impact on our business.
Our current private equity funds and certain other funds and investment vehicles have a finite life and a finite amount of commitments from fund investors. Once a fund nears the end of its investment period, our success depends on our ability to raise additional or successor funds in order to keep making investments and, over the long term, earning management fees (although our funds and investment vehicles continue to earn management fees after the expiration of their investment periods, they are generally at a reduced rate). Even if we are successful in raising successor funds, to the extent we are unable to raise successor funds of a size comparable to our predecessor funds or the extent that we are delayed in raising such successor funds, our revenues may decrease as the investment periods of our predecessor funds expire and associated fees decrease. The performance of our funds also impacts our ability to raise capital, and deterioration in the performance of our funds would result in challenges with regard to future fundraising. The evolving preferences of our fund investors may necessitate that alternatives to the traditional investment fund structure, such as separately managed accounts, smaller funds and
co-investment
vehicles, become a larger part of our business going forward. This could increase our cost of raising capital at the scale we have historically achieved. Furthermore, in order to raise capital for new strategies and products without drawing capital away from our existing products, we will need to seek new sources of capital such as individual investors. Our ability to raise new funds could also be hampered if the general appeal of private equity and alternative investments were to decline. An investment in a limited partner interest in a private equity fund is less liquid than an exchange-traded instrument and the returns on such investment may be more volatile than returns on an investment in securities for which there is a more active and transparent market. Private equity and alternative investments could fall into disfavor as a result of concerns about liquidity and short-term performance. Institutional investors in private equity funds that have suffered from decreasing returns, liquidity pressure, increased volatility or difficulty maintaining target asset allocations may materially decrease or temporarily suspend making new investments in private equity funds. Such concerns could be exhibited, in particular, by public pension funds, which have historically been among the largest investors in alternative assets. Many public pension funds are significantly underfunded and their funding problems have been, and may in the future be, exacerbated by economic downturns. Concerns with liquidity could cause such public pension funds to reevaluate the appropriateness of alternative investments, and other institutional investors may reduce their overall portfolio allocations to alternative investments. This could result in a smaller overall pool of available capital in our industry. There is no assurance that the amount of commitments investors are making to alternative investment funds will continue at recent levels or that our ability to raise capital from investors will not be hampered.
In addition, the asset allocation rules or regulations or investment policies to which such third-party investors are subject could inhibit or restrict the ability of third-party investors to make investments in our investment funds. Coupled with a lack of distributions from their existing investment portfolios, many of these investors may have been left with disproportionately outsized remaining commitments to, and invested capital in, a number of investment funds, which may significantly limit their ability to make new commitments to third-party managed investment funds such as those advised by us.
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Fund investors may also seek to redeploy capital away from certain of our credit or other
non-private
equity investment vehicles, which permit redemptions on relatively short notice in order for investors to meet liquidity needs or invest in other asset classes. We believe that our ability to avoid excessive redemption levels primarily depends on our funds’ continued satisfactory performance, although redemptions may also be driven by other factors important to our fund investors, including their need for liquidity and compliance with investment mandates, even if our performance is superior. Investors’ liquidity needs tend to be more pronounced during periods of market volatility. Any such redemptions would decrease our AUM and revenues. The number of funds raising capital varies from year to year, and in years where relatively few funds are raising capital, the growth of our AUM and associated fees may be significantly lower. There is no assurance that the raising of funds for new strategies or successor funds will experience success similar to our existing or predecessor funds in the future.
If we cannot make the necessary investments to keep pace with rapid developments and change in our industry, the use of our services could decline, reducing our revenues.
The financial services market in which we compete is subject to rapid and significant changes. This market is characterized by rapid technological change, new product and service introductions, evolving industry standards, changing client needs and the entrance of
non-traditional
competitors. In order to remain competitive and maintain and enhance customer experience and the quality of our services, we must continuously invest in projects to develop new products and features. These projects carry risks, such as cost overruns, delays in delivery, performance problems and lack of client adoption. There can be no assurance that we will have the funds available to maintain the levels of investment required to support our projects, and any delay in the delivery of new services or the failure to differentiate our services or to accurately predict and address market demand could render our services less desirable, or even obsolete, to our clients. In addition, the services we deliver are designed to process highly complex transactions and provide reports and other information concerning those transactions, all at high volumes and processing speeds. Any failure to deliver an effective and secure service, or any performance issue that arises with a new service, could result in significant processing or reporting errors or other losses. As a result of these factors, our development efforts could result in increased costs and/or we could experience a loss in business that could reduce our earnings or could cause a loss of revenue if promised new services are not timely delivered to our clients or do not perform as anticipated. We also rely in part, and may in the future rely in part, on third parties for the development of, and access to, new technologies. Our future success will depend in part on our ability to develop or adapt to technological changes and evolving industry standards. We cannot predict the effects of technological changes on our business. If we are unable to develop, adapt to or take advantage of technological changes or evolving industry standards on a timely and cost-effective basis, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Furthermore, our competitors may have the ability to devote more financial and operational resources than we can to the development of new technologies and services that provide improved functionality and features to such competitors’ existing service offerings. If successful, their development efforts could render our services less desirable to clients, resulting in the loss of clients or a reduction in the performance and management fees and financial services advisory fees we could generate from our service offerings, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The success of our business depends on the identification and availability of suitable investment opportunities for our clients.
Our success largely depends on the identification and availability of suitable investment opportunities for our clients. The availability of investment opportunities will be subject to market conditions and other factors outside of our control and the control of the fund managers with which we invest. Past returns of our funds have benefited from investment opportunities and general market conditions that may not continue or reoccur, including favorable borrowing conditions in the debt markets, and there can be no assurance that our funds, or the underlying funds in which we invest, will be able to avail themselves of comparable opportunities and conditions. There can also be no
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assurance that the private markets funds we manage will be able to identify sufficient attractive investment opportunities to meet their investment objectives. Further, the due diligence investigations we conduct before investments are made by our funds may not uncover all facts relevant to the suitability of such opportunities. See “—Our due diligence processes for investments may not reveal all relevant facts, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.”
Substantial and increasingly intense competition within our industry may harm our business.
The financial services market is highly competitive. Our growth will depend on a combination of the continued expansion of the financial services we offer and our ability to increase our market share. Our primary competitors include other alternative investment advisors as well as traditional financial services providers such as affiliates of financial institutions and well-established financial services companies in Brazil. We also face competition from
non-traditional
financial services providers that have significant financial resources and develop different kinds of services. Many of our competitors may have substantially greater financial, technological, operational and marketing resources than we do. Accordingly, these competitors may be able to offer more attractive fees to our current and prospective clients, especially our competitors that are affiliated with financial institutions. If competition causes us to reduce the performance and management fees and financial services advisory fees we charge for our services, we will need to aggressively control our costs in order to maintain our profit margins and our revenues may be adversely affected. Moreover, we may not be successful in reducing or controlling costs and our margins may be adversely affected. In particular, we may need to reduce the performance and management fees and financial services advisory fees we charge in order to maintain market share, as clients may demand more customized and favorable pricing from us. We may also decide to terminate client relationships which may no longer be profitable to us due to such pricing pressure. Competition could also result in a loss of existing clients, and greater difficulty in attracting new clients. One or more of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For further information regarding our competition, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—Business Overview—Competition.”
Client attrition could cause our revenues to decline and the degradation of the quality of the products and services we offer, including support services, could adversely impact our ability to attract and retain clients and partners.
We experience client attrition resulting from several factors, including, among others, closures of businesses of our clients, transfers of investments to our competitors and lack of client satisfaction with investment returns and overall customer relationship and investor experience. We cannot predict the level of attrition in the future and our revenues could decline as a result of higher-than-expected attrition, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, should we not be successful in selling additional solutions or investment opportunities to our clients, we may fail to achieve our desired rate of growth.
Moreover, our clients expect a consistent level of quality on our investment platform. If the reliability, performance or functionality of our products and services is compromised or the quality of those products or services is otherwise degraded, we could lose existing clients and find it harder to attract new clients and partners, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Poor performance by our funds may adversely affect our brand and reputation, the performance fees and investment income received by us, and our growth and ability to raise capital for future funds.
In the event that our funds were to perform unsatisfactorily, in particular if this were the case for a larger fund, this may lead to difficulties for Vinci Partners in attracting fund investors and raising capital for new funds in the future. Poor performance by our funds could also result in a reduction in the performance fees expected to be received by us and the amount of performance fees ultimately received by us or could even result in us receiving no performance fees at all. Fund investors in future Vinci Partners funds may negotiate a lower management fee or a lower allocation of performance fees and investment income to us and the economic terms of our future funds may be less favorable to us than those of existing Vinci Partners funds.
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The performance of our funds is always measured against the performance of competitors’ funds and public markets performance, and there is subsequently a risk that, even if our funds perform in line with expectations, where our competitors’ funds or public markets perform better by comparison, this may have an adverse effect on Vinci Partners’ ability to retain or attract fund investors and further adversely affect our ability to negotiate management fee rates or other economic terms of our future funds.
The performance of our funds could be adversely affected by a number of factors, for instance if competition for investment opportunities, on which a particular Vinci Partners fund is focused, increases. Competition for investment opportunities is based primarily on the ability to source such investment opportunities, the pricing, terms and structure of a proposed investment and the certainty of execution. Competition for investment opportunities is also influenced by our funds’ historical returns. For example, a Vinci Partners fund may be chosen as the preferred acquirer because of our history even where competitors are on equal or better footing in terms of pricing at the time of investment; conversely, a Vinci Partners fund may lose out on a potential investment if Vinci Partners was damaged by poor performance, even where a Vinci Partners fund offered better pricing terms than its competitors. Our funds may have been created under different organizational structures with the result that applicable laws and investment limitations might differ from current or future funds. Further, there is a risk that current and future Vinci Partners funds will not benefit from investment opportunities and general market conditions from historical periods. In addition, Vinci Partners funds could also generate lower returns on investments or experience increased risks of investment losses in situations where Vinci Partners offers more aggressive terms for certain investment opportunities when participating in competitive sales processes.
We are subject to risks relating to the dilution of our corporate culture and Brazilian heritage.
We have a strong corporate culture and continuously work to uphold this corporate culture within our organization. Our growth across new product offerings, investment opportunities, asset classes and markets may lead to organizational and cultural challenges. Without the existence of thoughtful strategies aimed at maintaining corporate culture despite rapid growth, there is a risk that our corporate culture will be diluted and our values will change over time. Our focus on our personnel has further been decisive in retaining employees and maintaining good organizational health.
Dilution of our corporate culture and of our Brazilian heritage may lead to key employees leaving us, a change in our leadership style or additional strain on our ability to successfully integrate new employees, new systems or other resources. If we do not uphold our corporate culture, this may also adversely affect our ability to retain and recruit investment advisory professionals and other key personnel. Our personnel is our most important asset, and a dilution of our corporate culture could have a material adverse effect on our continued development, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Changed trends in the Brazilian and in the global savings markets or in the private markets industry may adversely affect us.
We are affected by trends in the market for management of savings assets, which market has grown significantly in recent years. Growth has been primarily driven by investment returns, most notably rising equity market values. However, net inflows have made an increasing contribution towards overall growth in industry-wide AUM in recent years.
In the last five years, the Brazilian basic interest rate, known as the SELIC rate, fell from a nominal 14.25% per year to as low as 2.0% until March 2021. This rapid and significant drop in the SELIC rate initiated a never-before-seen migration of capital flows to alternative asset management products, accelerating the migration of retail and institutional investors in Brazil from fixed-income products to alternative investments, such as ours. However, with global economic recovery currently underway, and as a result of disruptions in global supply chains, commodity prices (and prices generally) have increased significantly in 2021, leading to a global increase in inflation, and in Brazil in particular. This led the Brazilian Central Bank to repeatedly raise the SELIC rate throughout 2021 to 9.75% as of December 31, 2021, in an attempt to curb rising inflation, which, as measured by the National Consumer Price Index (, or IPCA), which is published by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (, or IBGE), came in at 10.1% for the year ended December 31, 2021. Additional increases are expected in 2022, and the market
Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor Amplo
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
priced-in
a more aggressive adjustment with an expected SELIC rate at 13.0% as of December 31, 2022 according to the Brazilian Central Bank’s March 25, 2022. Focus report
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In the year ended December 31, 2021, we posted a positive performance despite this hike in interest rates. The aforementioned nominal rates translate into real rates at around 7% survey point to interest rates and inflation dropping significantly in the coming years. As the environment of low to negative SELIC rates resumes in the future, we expect to continue drawing retail investors to alternative asset classes; we also believe the share of investment from Brazilian institutional investors in listed funds, which is currently low, may increase significantly in the coming years, which could continue to support the potential growth in this asset class.
(one-year
rate deflated by market expectations for inflation in the next 12 months). The neutral real interest rate in Brazil is estimated to be between 3% and 4%, which means that the current 7% rate is already at a level poised to reduce inflation in due course. Market expectations compiled by the Brazilian Central Bank’s Focus
If basic interest rates are further increased more than expected, this could result in a significant slowdown in our AUM growth and could necessitate a shift by us to investments in other asset classes or change our mix of investments, and we may not be able to generate the same investment returns that we have generated historically, or could experience a loss on in investments in real terms. In addition, if the positive trends in the asset management industry do not continue or if the industry were to be subject to negative trends, this may impede our ability to raise capital for new funds. Furthermore, fund investors’ investment returns can be impacted by overall public share prices and a decrease in share prices may affect our funds’ returns to fund investors.
Despite the recent hike in interest rates to mitigate the impact of commodity price shock on Brazilian inflation, we believe that the overall macroeconomic environment remains favorable for our business, driving migration toward alternative investments, such as those that we offer. There is a risk, however, that, in the future, fund investors may, for instance due to an overall downturn in the public markets, end up over-allocated to private markets, which in turn could have a negative impact on our ability to raise capital for new funds. This may also lead to increased competition from new entrants and established players, making it more difficult for us to source suitable investment opportunities for our funds. For example, within the private equity sector, competitors include Advent International Ltd., Patria Investments Ltd., Kinea Investimentos Ltda. and Kinea Private Equity Investimentos S.A. (which we refer to together as Kinea). Within the infrastructure sector, competitors include Patria and Perfin Administração de Recursos Ltda. Within the real estate sector, competitors include Kinea, XP Inc., Banco BTG Pactual S.A. and Credit Suisse Hedging-Griffo (through Credit Suisse Hedging-Griffo Wealth Management S.A. and Credit Suisse Hedging-Griffo Corretora de Valores S.A.). Within the credit sector our main competitors are the large Brazilian banks, including Itau Unibanco S.A., Banco Bradesco S.A., Banco do Brasil and Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., and investment platforms tied to other financial institutions, including Kinea, XP Inc. and Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Our financial advisory services compete against those of local and international boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firms. Alternatively, for a variety of reasons, fund investor sentiment may turn against private markets investing. For example, the returns generated by private markets may decline, and other asset classes or investment opportunities may be perceived to offer superior returns. Certain institutional fund investors are also demonstrating a preference to
“in-source”
their own investment advisory professionals. Such institutional investors may cease to invest in, or reduce their allocations to, our funds, as well as potentially become competitors of Vinci Partners and our funds, all of which could adversely affect our earning potential. To meet the demands of fund investors, we have a multi-strategy Private Markets platform including private equity, real estate, infrastructure and credit, enabling fund investors to simplify their investment manager relationships by investing across multiple investment strategies with the same manager. If fund investor requirements and preferences change, this could adversely affect the level of interest for investing in specific asset classes or investing in our funds. Such changes may impede our ability to raise capital for new funds, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may face damage to our professional reputation and legal liability if our services are not regarded as satisfactory or for other reasons.
As an asset management firm, we depend to a large extent on our relationships with our clients and our reputation for integrity and high-caliber professional services to attract and retain clients. As a result, if a client is not satisfied with our services, such dissatisfaction may be more damaging to our business than to other types of businesses.
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In recent years, the volume of claims and amount of damages claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial advisors has been increasing. Our asset management and advisory activities may subject us to the risk of significant legal liabilities to our clients and third parties, including our clients’ stockholders or beneficiaries, under securities or other laws and regulations for materially false or misleading statements made in connection with securities and other transactions. In our investment management business, we make investment decisions on behalf of our clients that could result in substantial losses. Any such losses also may subject us to the risk of legal and regulatory liabilities or actions alleging negligent misconduct, breach of fiduciary duty or breach of contract. Moreover, litigation risk may also arise from a perception from investors that any investment opportunity identified by us that is appropriate for two or more investment funds in a manner that excludes one or more funds or results in a disproportionate allocation based on factors or criteria that we determine is inconsistent with the fiduciary obligations of our subsidiaries under applicable law, governing fund agreements or Vinci Partners’ own policies. These risks often may be difficult to assess or quantify and their existence and magnitude often remain unknown for substantial periods of time. We may incur significant legal expenses in defending litigation. In addition, negative publicity and press speculation about us, our investment activities or the private markets in general, whether or not based in truth, or litigation or regulatory action against us or any third-party managers with whom we invest directly or indirectly involving us may tarnish our reputation and harm our ability to attract and retain clients. Substantial legal or regulatory liability could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations or cause significant reputational harm to us, which could seriously harm our business.
Climate change and climate change-related regulation could adversely affect our business.
We and our portfolio companies face risks associated with climate change, including risks related to the impact of climate change and environmental, social and governance matters, or ESG matters, including climate change and ESG legislation and regulation (both domestically and internationally), risks related to climate-related business trends, and risks stemming from the physical impacts of climate change. New climate change-related regulations or interpretations of existing laws may result in enhanced disclosure obligations, which could negatively affect us or our portfolio companies and materially increase our regulatory burden. Increased regulations generally increase our costs, and we could continue to experience higher costs if new laws require us to spend more time, hire additional personnel or buy new technology to comply effectively. At the portfolio company level, there are still individual portfolio companies in these and other sectors that could face transition risk if carbon-related regulations or taxes are implemented. Further, advances in climate science may change society’s understanding of sources and magnitudes of negative effects on climate, which could negatively impact portfolio company financial performance and regulatory jeopardy.
In addition, we face business trend-related climate risks including the increased attention to climate-related legislation and regulation by our fund investors. Certain fund investors have considered ESG factors, including climate risks, in determining whether to invest in our funds. See “—We are subject to increasing scrutiny from certain investors with respect to the ESG impact of investments made by our funds, which may constrain capital deployment opportunities for our funds and adversely impact our ability to raise capital from such investors.” For our portfolio companies, business trends related to climate change may require capital expenditures, product or service redesigns, and changes to operations and supply chains to meet changing customer expectations. While this can create opportunities, not addressing these changed expectations could create business risks for portfolio companies, which could negatively impact the returns in our funds.
Further, significant physical effects of climate change, including extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods or droughts, can also have an adverse impact on certain of our portfolio companies and investments, especially our real asset investments and portfolio companies that rely on physical factories, plants or stores located in the affected areas. As the effects of climate change increase, we expect the frequency and impact of weather and climate-related events and conditions to increase as well. For example, unseasonal or violent weather events can have a material impact to businesses or properties that focus on tourism or recreational travel. While the geographic distribution of our portfolio inherently limits our physical climate risk, some physical risk is inherent in the companies in our portfolio given the unknown potential for extreme weather that could occur related to climate change.
Moreover, in October 2021, the final draft rules for financial product disclosures under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, or SFDR, were published by the European Supervisory Authorities in their “Final Report on Draft Regulatory Technical Standards,” or the Final Draft RTS. The Final Draft RTS aims to create a single rulebook for sustainability-related disclosures for SFDR
pre-contractual
and periodic product disclosures, including taxonomy-related product disclosures. These are the requirements applicable to what have become known as SFDR 23
Article 8 and Article 9 products, which are financial products with environmental or social characteristics (Article 8, sometimes called “light green products”) or sustainable investment objectives (Article 9, or “dark green products”). These rules may adversely affect fundraising for our Vinci Impact Climate Change fund (VICC) and our Vinci Impact and Return V fund with European limited partners.
We are subject to increasing scrutiny from certain investors with respect to the ESG impact of investments made by our funds, which may constrain capital deployment opportunities for our funds and adversely impact our ability to raise capital from such investors.
In recent years, certain investors, especially pension funds, have placed increasing importance on the negative impacts of investments made by the private equity and other funds to which they commit capital, including with respect to ESG matters. Certain investors have also demonstrated increased activism with respect to existing investments, including by urging asset managers to take certain actions that could adversely impact the value of an investment, or refrain from taking certain actions that could improve the value of an investment. At times, investors have conditioned future capital commitments on the taking or refraining from taking of such actions. Increased focus and activism related to ESG and similar matters may constrain our capital deployment opportunities, and the demands of certain investors may further limit the types of investments that are available to our funds. In addition, investors may decide to withdraw previously committed capital from our funds (where such withdrawal is permitted) or to not commit capital to future fundraises as a result of their assessment of our approach to and consideration of the social cost of investments made by our funds. To the extent our access to capital from investors, including pension funds, is impaired, we may not be able to maintain or increase the size of our funds or raise enough capital for new funds, which may adversely impact our revenues.
Unauthorized disclosure, destruction or modification of data, through cybersecurity breaches, computer viruses or otherwise, or disruption of our services could expose us to liability and protracted and costly litigation and damage our reputation.
Our business involves the collection, storage, processing and transmission of customers’ personal data, including names, addresses, identification numbers, bank account numbers and trading and investment portfolio data. An increasing number of organizations, including large clients and businesses, other large technology companies, financial institutions and government institutions, have disclosed breaches of their information technology systems, some of which have involved sophisticated and highly targeted attacks, including on portions of their websites, networks or infrastructure, or those of third parties who provide services to them. We could also be subject to breaches of security by hackers. Threats may derive from human error, fraud or malice on the part of employees or third-party service providers, or may result from accidental technological failure. Concerns about security are increased when we transmit information. Electronic transmissions can be subject to attack, interception or loss. Also, computer viruses and malware can be distributed and spread rapidly over the internet and could infiltrate our systems or those of our associated participants, which can impact the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information, and the integrity and availability of our products, services and systems, among other effects. Denial of service or other attacks could be launched against us for a variety of purposes, including interfering with our services or creating a diversion for other malicious activities. These types of actions and attacks could disrupt our delivery of products and services or make them unavailable, which could damage our reputation, force us to incur significant expenses in remediating the resulting impacts, expose us to uninsured liability, subject us to lawsuits, fines or sanctions, distract our management or increase our costs of doing business.
In the scope of our activities, we share information with third parties, commercial partners, third-party service providers and other agents, who collect, process, store and transmit sensitive data, and we may be held responsible for any failure or cybersecurity breaches attributed to these third parties insofar as they relate to the information we share with them. The loss, destruction or unauthorized modification of data by us or such third parties or through systems we provide could result in significant fines, sanctions and proceedings or actions against us by governmental bodies or third parties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any such proceeding or action, and any related indemnification obligation, could damage our reputation, force us to incur significant expenses in defense of these proceedings, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business or result in the imposition of financial liability.
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Our encryption of data and other protective measures may not prevent unauthorized access to or use of sensitive data. A breach of our system or of the system of one of our commercial partners or third-party service providers may subject us to material losses or liability, including fines. A misuse of such data or a cybersecurity breach could harm our reputation and deter clients from using our products and services, thus reducing our revenues. In addition, any such misuse or breach could cause us to incur costs to correct the breaches or failures, expose us to uninsured liability, increase our risk of regulatory scrutiny, subject us to lawsuits, and result in the imposition of material penalties and fines under state and federal laws or regulations.
We cannot assure you that there are written agreements in place with every third party or that such written agreements will prevent the unauthorized use, modification, destruction or disclosure of data or enable us to obtain reimbursement from such third parties in the event we should suffer incidents resulting in unauthorized use, modification, destruction or disclosure of data. Any unauthorized use, modification, destruction or disclosure of data could result in protracted and costly litigation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Cybersecurity incidents are increasing in frequency and evolving in nature and include, but are not limited to, installation of malicious software, unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and the corruption of data. Given the unpredictability of the timing, nature and scope of information technology disruptions, there can be no assurance that the procedures and controls we employ will be sufficient to prevent security breaches from occurring and we could be subject to the manipulation or improper use of our systems and networks or financial losses from remedial actions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to risks related to noncompliance with data protection laws and the new Brazilian General Data Protection Law, which provides for application of sanctions, including financial penalties, in case of noncompliance.
In 2018, the President of Brazil approved Brazilian Law No. 13,709/2018, named the General Personal Data Protection Law (), or the LGPD, which came into force on September 18, 2020, a comprehensive data protection law establishing the general principles and obligations that apply across multiple economic sectors and contractual relationships. The LGPD establishes detailed rules for the collection, use, processing and storage of personal data in all economic sectors, regardless of whether data is collected in a digital or physical environment. Certain aspects of the LGPD will be subject to further regulation to be enacted by the National Data Protection Authority and should result in changes to the LGPD’s approach that are not yet defined as of the date of this annual report.
Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados
Moreover, the administrative sanctions provisions of LGPD became enforceable as of August 1, 2021, pursuant to Law No. 14,010/2020. In the event of a violation of the LGPD, we may be subject to (1) legal notices and the required adoption of corrective measures, (2) fines of up to 2% of the our or our economic group’s revenues up to a limit of R$50.0 million per infraction, (3) publication of the infraction following confirmation of its occurrence, (4) the blocking and erasing of personal data involved in the infraction, (5) partial or complete suspension of the infringing processing activities for up to one year and (6) partial or complete prohibition to engage in processing activities. Moreover, we may be liable for property, moral, individual or collective damages caused by us, including by third party providers that process personal data for us, and jointly liable for property, moral, individual or collective damages caused by our subsidiaries, due to
non-compliance
with the obligations established by the LGPD and certain other sector-specific laws and regulations on data protection still in force. If we are unable to use sufficient measures to protect the personal data we manage and store or to maintain compliance with the LGPD, we may incur material costs which could have an adverse effect in our reputation and results of operations. Moreover, we may be held liable for material, punitive, individual or collective damages to the data subjects due to its processing and treatment and could be held individually or severally responsible for material, punitive, individual or collective damages caused by us, our subsidiaries, service providers that process personal data on our behalf or our affiliates due to non-compliance
with the obligations set forth by the LGPD, which may adversely affect our reputation and results and, consequently, the value of our Class A common shares. In the event of failure or insufficiency in the adoption of measures to protect the personal data that is processed or to maintain compliance with the LGPD, we may incur relevant costs, such as the payment of fines and indemnities, implementation of adjustment measures, and loss of business, as well as such failure or insufficiency having an adverse effect on our reputation and results of operations. As a result, we may be held liable regardless of
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LGPD sanctions since consumer protection authorities and the Public Prosecutor’s Office have already been active in pursuing data privacy violations even before the LGPD became effective. Accordingly, failures in the protection of the personal data processed by us, or any failure to implement adequate data protection measures in response to applicable legislation, may subject us to high fines, the disclosure of the incident to the market, the payment of indemnities, the elimination of personal data from the database in question and the suspension of access to our databases, prohibition of our activities related to the processing of infringed data in addition to civil sanctions, which may adversely affect our reputation and results.
In addition, the application of administrative sanctions under other laws that deal with privacy and data protection issues may still apply, such as the Consumer Protection Code and the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet. These administrative sanctions may be imposed by other public authorities, such as the Public Prosecutors’ Offices, the National Consumer Secretariat and consumer protection agencies. We may also be subject to liability in the civil sphere for violation of these laws. Sanctions imposed against us by these authorities may also adversely affect our reputation and results and, consequently, the value of our Class A common shares.
Our business depends on our well-regarded, reliable brand, and any failure to maintain, protect, and enhance our brand and related brands, including through effective marketing and communications strategies, would harm our business.
We have developed a well-regarded and reliable brand, “Vinci Partners,” that has contributed significantly to the success of our business. Maintaining, protecting, and enhancing our brands is critical to expanding our client base, and our relationships with other third-party partners, as well as increasing engagement with our products and services. This will depend largely on our ability to remain widely known, maintain trust, and continue to provide high-quality and secure products and services. Any negative publicity about our industry or our company, the quality, reliability and performance of our products and services, our risk management processes, changes to our products and services, our ability to effectively manage and resolve client complaints, our privacy and security practices, litigation, regulatory activity, and the experience of clients with our products or services could adversely affect our reputation and the confidence in and use of our products and services. Harm to our brands can arise from many sources, including failure by us or our partners to satisfy expectations of service and quality, inadequate protection of personal information, compliance failures and claims, litigation and other claims, third-party trademark infringement claims, administrative proceedings at the applicable national trademark offices, employee misconduct, and misconduct by our partners, service providers, or other counterparties. If we do not successfully maintain well-regarded and widely known brands, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
We may in the future be the target of incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading or false statements about our company, our business, and our products and services that could damage our brands and materially deter people from adopting our services. Negative publicity about our company or our management, including about our product quality, reliability and performance, changes to our products and services, privacy and security practices, litigation, regulatory enforcement, and other actions, as well as the actions of our clients and other users of our services, even if inaccurate, could cause a loss of confidence in us. Our ability to respond to negative statements about us may be limited by legal prohibitions on permissible public communications by us during our initial public offering process or during future periods.
In addition, we believe that promoting our brands in a cost-effective manner is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our products and services and to expanding our base of clients. Our brand promotion activities may not generate customer awareness or increase revenue, and even if they do, any increase in revenue may not offset the expenses we incur in building our brands. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brands or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
The introduction and promotion of new services, as well as the promotion of existing services, may be partly dependent on our visibility on third-party advertising platforms, such as LinkedIn and Google. Changes in the way these platforms operate or changes in their advertising prices or other terms could make the maintenance and promotion of our products and services and our brands more expensive or more difficult. If we are unable to market and promote our brands on third-party platforms effectively, our ability to acquire new clients would be materially harmed, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Large investments made by certain of our funds may involve certain complexities and risks that may not be encountered in the context of small- and
medium-sized
investments and concentrated positions in any of our funds may expose us to losses. Where our funds make large investments, these may involve certain complexities and risks that may not be encountered in small- and
medium-sized
investments. For example, larger transactions may be more difficult to finance or may entail greater challenges in implementing changes in the relevant portfolio company’s management, culture, finances or operations, and may face greater scrutiny by regulators, interest groups and other third parties. Further, in larger transactions, the amount of equity capital required to complete an investment has increased significantly. This has resulted in some larger private equity deals being structured as consortium transactions. Consortium transactions generally entail a reduced level of control over the investment because governance rights must be shared with the other consortium investors. Accordingly, in such deals, our funds may not be able to separately control decisions relating to a consortium investment and the timing and nature of any exit. In addition, large investments could result in concentrated positions in certain of our funds, or certain of our funds may have concentrated positions in the securities of certain issuers or of issuers of a particular industry, country or region, which could expose us to losses in respect of such issuer, industry, country or region. Any of these factors could increase the risk that our funds’ larger investments could be less successful than investments over which the relevant Vinci Partners fund has full control or has a more diversified position. The consequences of an unsuccessful larger investment by a Vinci Partners fund could be more severe given the size of the investment and any such adverse consequences could, in turn, have a material adverse impact on our brand and reputation as well as adversely affect the performance fees and investment income received by us from the relevant fund, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We rely on a number of external service providers for certain key market information and data, technology, processing and supporting functions.
We rely on a number of external service providers for certain key market information and data, technology, processing and supporting functions, such as Microsoft, SS&C Eze, and Inoa, among others. The functions these service providers provide include portfolio management and asset allocation services, compliance management, communication systems, registration systems, data control systems, information security systems, and others which are of critical importance for us in order to provide our services to our clients in a satisfactory manner. These service providers may face technical, operational and security risks of their own, including risks similar to those that we face as described herein. Any significant failures by them, including improper use or disclosure of our confidential customer, employee or company information, could interrupt our business, cause us to incur losses and harm our reputation. Particularly, we rely on certain systems and institutions to allow our portfolio managers to access real-time market information data, such as Bloomberg, Reuters, Broadcast, Quantum and Economática, which are essential for our managers to make their investment decisions and take certain actions (such as making trades). Any failure of such information providers to update or deliver such data in a timely manner could lead to potential losses of our funds, which may in turn affect our business operations and reputation and may cause us to incur losses.
We cannot assure you that the external service providers will be able to continue to provide these services to meet our current needs in an efficient and cost-effective manner, or that they will be able to adequately expand their services to meet our needs in the future. Some external service providers may have assets and infrastructure that are important to the services they provide us that are located in or outside Brazil, and their ability to provide these services is subject to risks from unfavorable political, economic, legal or other developments, such as social or political instability, changes in governmental policies or changes in the applicable laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which their assets and operations are located.
An interruption in or the cessation of service by any external service provider as a result of system failures, capacity constraints, financial constraints or problems, unanticipated trading market closures or for any other reason and our inability to make alternative arrangements in a smooth and timely manner, if at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Further, disputes might arise in relation to the agreements that we enter into with our service providers or the performance of the service providers thereunder. To the extent that any service provider disagrees with us on the quality of the products or services to be provided under the terms and conditions of the payment under or other provisions of any such agreement, we may face claims, disputes, litigations or other proceedings initiated by such service provider against us. We may incur substantial expenses and require significant attention of management in defending against these claims, regardless of their merit. We could also face damage to our reputation as a result of such claims, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
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We may not be able to ensure the accuracy of the information for third-party funds that we invest in for our clients, and we have no control over the performance of these third-party funds.
We invest our clients’ funds in certain third-party funds. While the information related to these third-party funds has been generally reliable, there can be no assurance that the reliability can be maintained in the future. If these third-party funds or their service providers or agents provide incomplete, misleading, inaccurate or fraudulent information in relation to their funds, we may lose the trust of existing and prospective investors.
Furthermore, as clients invest in these third-party funds through funds managed by us, they may have the impression that we are at least partially responsible for the quality and performance of these funds. Although we have established standards to screen fund providers before we invest in these funds, we have limited control over the performance of these third-party funds. In the event that an investor is dissatisfied with a third-party fund invested in by us, we do not have any means to directly make improvements in response to client complaints. If investors become dissatisfied with these third-party funds, our business, reputation, financial performance and prospects could be adversely affected.
We rely upon our systems and upon third-party data center service providers to host certain aspects of our platform and content, and any systems failure due to factors beyond our control or any disruption to, or interference with, our use of third-party data center services could interrupt our service, increase our costs and impair our ability to deliver our platform, resulting in customer dissatisfaction, damaging our reputation and harming our business.
We utilize data center hosting facilities from a third-party service provider to make certain content available on our platform. Our primary data centers are located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our operations depend, in part, on our providers’ ability to protect their facilities against damage or interruption from natural disasters, power or telecommunications failures, criminal acts and similar events. The occurrence of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, vandalism or sabotage, a decision to close a facility without adequate notice, or other unanticipated problems at our providers’ facilities could result in lengthy interruptions in the availability of our platform, which would adversely affect our business.
In addition, we depend on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of numerous systems, including our computer systems, software, data centers and telecommunications networks, as well as the systems of third parties. Our systems and operations or those of our third-party providers could be exposed to damage or interruption from, among other things, fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure, unauthorized entry and computer viruses. Defects in our systems or those of third parties, errors or delays in the processing of transactions, telecommunications failures or other difficulties could result in:
| • | loss of revenues; |
| • | loss of clients; |
| • | loss of client data; |
| • | loss of licenses, registrations or authorizations with the CVM, ANBIMA and/or any other applicable authority; |
| • | fines imposed by applicable regulatory authorities and other issues relating to noncompliance with applicable asset management services or data protection requirements; |
| • | harm to our business or reputation resulting from negative publicity; |
| • | exposure to fraud losses or other liabilities; |
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| • | additional operating and development costs; and/or |
| • | diversion of technical and other resources. |
Valuation methodologies for certain assets in Vinci Partners funds involve subjective judgments and assumptions and the fair value of assets established pursuant to such methodologies could, therefore, be incorrect, which could have an adverse effect on fund performance, accrued performance fees and investment income.
Valuation methodologies for investments held by our funds can involve subjective judgments, and the fair value of assets established pursuant to such methodologies may therefore be incorrect, which could have an adverse effect on fund performance and accrued performance fees.
There are often no readily ascertainable market prices for a portion of the investments of funds that we manage. As of December 31, 2021, investments in
non-listed
companies comprise 90.5% of investments in portfolio companies for the private equity funds that we manage. Valuations of the investments held by our funds are generally prepared in line with applicable and recognized valuation processes and procedures (including, in respect of private equity investments in accordance with the international private equity and venture capital valuation guidelines). There is a risk that investments held by our funds will not be realized for amounts equal to, or greater than, the amounts at which they are valued, or that the past valuations based on such performance information will not accurately reflect the realization value of such investments. An investment’s actual realization value will depend on, among other factors, future operating results of the relevant investment, the value of the assets and market conditions at the time of disposal, any related transaction costs and the timing and manner of sale, all of which may differ from the assumptions on which previous valuations were determined. Valuations of unrealized investments held by our funds can affect the amount of performance fees generated by our funds in circumstances where unrealized investments are written off or written down in value. To the extent that a valuation is incorrect, this may result in a recognition of revenue from performance fees, a subsequent reduction of which could ultimately reduce our profitability. Valuation of unrealized investments held by our funds could also affect management fees in the case of a bankruptcy of a portfolio company of a Vinci Partners fund, whereby the investment is considered realized and the invested capital is deducted from the base on which management fee is calculated, which could have an effect on the income from management fees received by Vinci Partners from existing funds.
Changes in values attributed to investments from time to time may result in volatility in the results of operations that our funds and we report from period to period. Also, a situation where asset values turn out to be materially different to those values previously realized could cause fund investors to lose confidence in us, which could in turn result in difficulty in raising capital for additional funds, and as a consequence, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The historical performance of our investments should not be considered as indicative of the future results of our investments or our operations or any returns expected on an investment in our Class A common shares.
Past performance of our funds is not necessarily indicative of future results or of the performance of our Class A common shares. An investment in our Class A common shares is not an investment in any of our funds. In addition, the historical and potential future returns of funds that we manage are not directly linked to returns on our Class A common shares. Therefore, you should not conclude that continued positive performance of funds will necessarily result in positive returns on an investment in our Class A common shares. However, poor performance of our specialized funds could cause a decline in our revenue, and could therefore have a negative effect on our performance and on returns on an investment in our Class A common shares.
The historical performance of our funds should not be considered indicative of the future performance of these funds or of any future funds we may raise, in part because:
| • | market conditions and investment opportunities during previous periods may have been significantly more favorable for generating positive performance than those we may currently be experiencing or that we may experience in the future; |
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| • | the performance of our funds is generally calculated on the basis of net asset value of the funds’ investments, including unrealized gains, which may never be realized; |
| • | our historical returns derive largely from the performance of our earlier funds, whereas future fund returns will depend increasingly on the performance of our newer funds or funds not yet formed; |
| • | our newly established funds may generate lower returns during the period that they initially deploy their capital; |
| • | competition continues to increase for investment opportunities, which may reduce our returns in the future; |
| • | the performance of particular funds also will be affected by risks of the industries and businesses in which they invest; and |
| • | we may create new funds that reflect a different asset mix and new investment strategies, as well as a varied geographic and industry exposure, compared to our historical funds, and any such new funds could have different returns from our previous funds. |
If we lose key personnel, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
We are dependent upon the ability and experience of a number of key personnel, including our partners and other members of senior management, who have substantial experience with our operations, the financial services industry and the markets in which we offer our products and services. Many of our key personnel have worked for us for a significant amount of time or were recruited by us specifically due to their industry experience. It is possible that the loss of the services of one or a combination of our senior executives or key managers, including our chief executive officer, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The ability to attract, recruit, develop and retain qualified employees and continue to strengthen our business is critical to our success and growth. If we are not able to do so, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
Our business functions at the intersection of rapidly changing technological, social, economic and regulatory developments that require a wide-ranging set of expertise and intellectual capital. In order for us to successfully compete and grow, we must attract, recruit, develop and retain the necessary personnel who can provide the needed expertise across the entire spectrum of our intellectual capital needs. While we have a number of our key personnel who have substantial experience with our operations, we must also develop our personnel to provide succession plans capable of maintaining continuity in the midst of the inevitable unpredictability of human capital. However, the market for qualified personnel is competitive, and we may not succeed in recruiting additional personnel or may fail to effectively replace current personnel who depart with qualified or effective successors. We must continue to hire additional personnel to execute our strategic plans. Our effort to retain and develop personnel may also result in significant additional expenses, which could adversely affect our profitability. We cannot assure you that our qualified employees will continue to be employed by us or that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Failure to retain or attract key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, in order to manage our growth effectively, we must continue to strengthen our existing infrastructure, develop and improve our internal controls, create and improve our reporting systems, and timely address issues as they arise. These efforts may require substantial financial expenditures, commitments of resources, developments of our processes, and other investments and innovations. Furthermore, we encourage employees to quickly develop and launch new features for our products and services. As we grow, we may not be able to execute our strategies as quickly as smaller, more efficient organizations. If we do not successfully manage our growth, our business will suffer.
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Implementing our growth strategy, including new investment products and business initiatives, may be unsuccessful.
We may be subject to a number of risks and uncertainties associated with our growth strategy, including the risk that new business initiatives will not contribute towards achieving our objectives or that we will not execute such new initiatives successfully. New initiatives may also be difficult to launch, for instance where we do not have a proven track record within the area of the new initiative, or may not reach the set goals and expectations following launch. Any new products we offer may have different economic structures than our traditional investment funds and may require a different marketing approach. Given our diverse offering of products and services, these initiatives could create conflicts of interests with existing products, increase our costs and expose us to new market risks and legal and regulatory requirements and could expose us to greater reputation and litigation risk. Implementing our growth strategy may also entail significant difficulties and costs, including the logistical and overhead costs of opening and expanding offices, the cost of recruiting, training and retaining a higher number of investment advisory professionals and higher costs arising from exposure to additional jurisdictions (including the laws, rules and regulations thereof) and activities. New initiatives and expanding our business, including to open new offices or develop new product offerings, could also divert significant time and attention of our senior management in the development of such new initiatives to the detriment of our existing business. Furthermore, we may be directly exposed to new business risks or be subjected to enhanced exposure to existing risks if business initiatives are financed with our own capital.
We may be exposed to asset-specific risks, including those relating to the holding of publicly traded securities, such as fluctuating stock prices and additional media scrutiny, which by extension may have an adverse effect on our brand and reputation. In addition, when our funds acquire minority stakes in public companies, or our portfolio companies are listed, these public companies may make decisions with which the relevant Vinci Partners fund disagrees, and the majority stakeholders or the management of the company may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our funds’ interests.
Any failure of our new initiatives to meet or exceed expectations could lead to us not reaching profitability within the initiative, not growing in accordance with our growth strategy and not being able to enjoy the benefits that this is expected to lead to, as well preventing us from reaching our growth targets. In order for us to successfully compete and grow, we must attract, recruit, develop and retain the necessary personnel who can provide the needed expertise across the entire spectrum of our intellectual capital needs.
We are subject to various risks associated with the securities industry, any of which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, cash flows and results of operations.
We are subject to uncertainties that are common across the securities industry. These uncertainties include:
| • | the volatility of domestic and international financial, bond and stock markets, and the markets for funds and other asset classes, in particular in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine or political turbulence arising from the Brazilian presidential elections to be held in October 2022; |
| • | extensive governmental regulation; |
| • | litigation; |
| • | intense competition; |
| • | poor performance of investments made by us or by third party investment managers with whom we invest; |
| • | substantial fluctuations in the volume and price level of securities; and |
| • | dependence on the solvency of various third parties. |
As a result, our revenues and earnings may vary significantly from quarter to quarter and from year to year. Sudden sharp declines in market values of securities and the failure of issuers and counterparties to perform their obligations can result in illiquid markets which, in turn, may result in our having difficulty selling securities. In the event of a market downturn, or in the event of increased market volatility, including as a result of the
COVID-19
pandemic, our business could be adversely affected in many ways, potentially for a prolonged period of time. 31
Our holding company structure makes us dependent on the operations of our subsidiaries.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability. As a holding company, our corporate purpose is to invest, as a partner, quotaholder or shareholder, in other companies, consortia or joint ventures in Brazil, where most of our operations are located, and outside Brazil. Accordingly, our material assets are our direct and indirect equity interests in our subsidiaries, and we are therefore dependent upon the results of operations and, in turn, the payments, dividends and distributions from our subsidiaries for funds to pay our holding company’s operating and other expenses and to pay future cash dividends or distributions, if any, to holders of our Class A common shares, and we may have tax costs in connection with any dividend or distribution. In addition, the payments, dividends and distributions from our subsidiaries to us for funds to pay future cash dividends or distributions, if any, to holders of our Class A common shares, could be restricted under financing arrangements that we or our subsidiaries may enter into in the future and we and such subsidiaries may be required to obtain the approval of lenders to make such payments to us in the event they are in default of their repayment obligations. Furthermore, exchange rate fluctuation will affect the U.S. dollar value of any distributions our subsidiaries make with respect to our equity interests in those subsidiaries. See “—Certain Risks Relating to Brazil—Exchange rate instability may have adverse effects on the Brazilian economy, us and the price of our Class A common shares,” “—Certain Risks Relating to Brazil—Economic uncertainty and political instability in Brazil may harm us and the price of our Class A common shares” and “Item 8.—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Dividends and Dividend Policy .”
We may be subject to credit risks and could be subject to losses that would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We may be subject to the risk that our counterparties’ credit worthiness will deteriorate and that they no longer will be able to fulfil their financial obligations towards us. Our credit risks relate primarily to receivables and contract assets, cash held in bank accounts, any derivative instruments outstanding with a positive fair value, and any financial guarantees. If measures taken by us to minimize credit risks are not sufficient, or if one or more counterparties run into financial difficulties, we could be subject to losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
The performance of our funds may also be affected by credit risks, which subsequently could adversely affect us. In our funds’ activities, defaults on commitments may have adverse consequences on the investment process. For instance, fund investors may not satisfy their contractual obligation to fund capital calls when requested by the general partner or fund manager of the relevant fund. This may result in shortfalls in capital and may affect the relevant fund’s ability to consummate investments and adversely affect our ability to receive management fees and other income.
We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and may enter into derivatives transactions to manage our exposure to exchange rate risk.
We hold certain funds in currencies, and will continue to do so in the future, and our offshore operating subsidiaries generate revenue in currencies. Accordingly, our financial results are affected by the translation of these non-currencies into . In addition, to the extent that we need to convert future financing proceeds into Brazilian for our operations, any appreciation of the Brazilian against the relevant foreign currencies would materially reduce the Brazilian amounts we would receive from the conversion, and any depreciation of the Brazilian against the relevant foreign currencies could increase the amounts in Brazilian that we are require to convert into the relevant foreign currencies in order to service such relevant foreign currency financings. No assurance can be given that fluctuations in foreign exchange rates will not have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We may also have foreign exchange risk on any of our other assets and liabilities denominated in currencies, or with pricing linked to currencies, other than our functional currency, including certain contract assets. Fluctuations in the Brazilian versus any of these foreign currencies may have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations including, for example as a result of overall market declines and increased volatility due to the
non-Brazilian
real
non-Brazilian
real
real
reais
reais
real
real
real
reais
real
COVID-19
pandemic. 32
In addition, we may in the future enter into derivatives transactions to manage our exposure to exchange rate risk. Such derivatives transactions would be designed to protect us against increases or decreases in exchange rates, but not both. If we enter into derivatives transactions to protect against, for example, decreases in the value of the Brazilian and the instead increases in value, we may incur financial losses. Such losses could materially and adversely affect us.
real
real
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and, if we fail to remediate such deficiencies (and any other ones) and to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations and/or prevent fraud.
Prior to our IPO, we were a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources to address our internal control over financial reporting and procedures. As a result of our IPO, we are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Under current SEC rules, we are required to perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to assess the effectiveness of our internal controls.
In connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we identified a number of material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weaknesses identified relate to the processes necessary to comply with the reporting and compliance requirements of IFRS and the SEC and managing access to our systems, data and
end-user
computing, or EUC, controls, and computer operations controls, which were not designed or operating effectively. To address these material weaknesses, we hired an external consultant with the experience we deemed necessary to assist us with designing the required processes and controls, addressing any systems and EUC deficiencies, implementing a risk and control matrix, and creating action plans for our controls Additionally, we identified material weaknesses related to training, specifically, training addressing financial reporting topics for a public company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. Beginning in the year ended December 31, 2021 and continuing onto 2022, we have sought to address these material weaknesses by hiring a firm to train our employees on financial reporting topics for a public company.
In addition, we identified material weaknesses as of December 31, 2020 related to the supervision of financial reporting for a public company, including lack of an audit committee. In 2021, we created our audit committee in connection with our IPO (see “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—C. Board Practices—Audit Committee”) and further created an internal controls department, which is leading the remediation process along with the external consultant and is responsible for completing our action plans, monitoring, reviewing and testing controls, and ensuring that new controls are in place for new processes or changes in existing processes. We further created an internal audit department, which reports directly to the audit committee.
Moreover, we identified control deficiencies as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, related to controls around the financial reporting closing process, the procedures in existence to maintain formal accounting policies, processes and controls to analyze, account for and disclose complex transactions. Such deficiencies, when considered in the aggregate, would be considered a material weakness. Beginning in the year ended December 31, 2021 and continuing onto 2022, we have sought to remedy our control deficiencies through procedures such as updated accounting policies and procedures, and controls regarding the reviewing process and the accuracy of the information required to produce the financial statements.
These material weaknesses did not result in a material misstatement to our consolidated financial statements. However, additional testing may reveal other deficiencies in our internal controls that are deemed to be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies and render our internal controls over financial reporting ineffective. We incur additional accounting and auditing expenses and spend significant management time in complying with these requirements. If we are not able to comply with these requirements in a timely manner, or if we or our management identifies material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our Class A common shares may decline and we may be subject to investigations or sanctions by the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, or other regulatory authorities. Moreover, we cannot assure you that our efforts will be effective or prevent any future material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
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In addition, these obligations also require substantial attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the management of our business. These cost increases and the diversion of management’s attention could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operation results.
day-to-day
Requirements associated with being a public company in the United States require significant company resources and management attention.
We are subject to certain reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, and other SEC and Nasdaq rules and regulations. We are also subject to various other regulatory requirements, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These rules and regulations increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. New rules and regulations relating to information disclosure, financial reporting and controls and corporate governance, which could be adopted by the SEC, the Nasdaq or other regulatory bodies or exchange entities from time to time, could result in a significant increase in legal, accounting and other compliance costs and make certain corporate activities more time-consuming and costly, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These rules and regulations may also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.
These obligations also require substantial attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the management of our business. Given that most of the individuals who constitute our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies, initially, these obligations could demand even greater attention. These cost increases and the diversion of management’s attention could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
day-to-day
Our business is subject to complex and evolving regulations and oversight related to our provision of financial products and services and to costs and risks associated with other increased or changing laws and regulations affecting our business, including developments in data protection and privacy laws, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
As an asset management firm in Brazil, our business is subject to Brazilian laws and regulations relating to asset management in Brazil, comprising Federal Law No. 6,385/1976 and related rules and regulations issued by the CVM and ANBIMA, among others.
The laws, rules, and regulations that govern our business include or may in the future include those relating to consumer financial protection, tax, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing and escheatment (rules relating to unclaimed property). These laws, rules, and regulations are enforced by multiple authorities and governing bodies in Brazil, including the CVM. In addition, as our business continues to develop and expand, we may become subject to additional rules and regulations, which may limit or change how we conduct our business. In addition, during periods of heightened political and economic uncertainty, the Brazilian federal government could implement additional rules and regulations that could adversely impact our business. See “—Certain Risks Relating to Brazil—The Brazilian federal government has exercised, and continues to exercise, significant influence over the Brazilian economy. This involvement as well as Brazil’s political and economic conditions could harm us and the price of our Class A common shares.”
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We are subject to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions that prohibit, among other things, involvement in transferring the proceeds of criminal or terrorist activities. We could be subject to liability and forced to change our business practices if we were found to be subject to, or in violation of, any laws or regulations impacting our ability to maintain a bank account in the countries where we operate, including the United States, or if existing or new legislation or regulations applicable to banks in the countries where we maintain a bank account, including the United States, were to result in banks in those countries being unwilling or unable to establish and maintain bank accounts for us.
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority (“FRA”) of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Law (Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the FRA, pursuant to the Terrorism Law (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Certain of our subsidiaries are subject to regulation in the United States. If we or any of our subsidiaries obtain additional licenses or registrations in the United States, we could be subject to compliance with additional applicable laws and regulations, including anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws and regulations, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Although we have a compliance program focused on applicable laws, rules, and regulations (which currently is principally focused on Brazilian law) and are continually investing in this program, we may nonetheless be subject to fines or other penalties in one or more jurisdictions levied by federal, state or local regulators, as well as those levied by foreign regulators. In addition to fines, penalties for failing to comply with applicable rules and regulations could include significant criminal and civil lawsuits, forfeiture of significant assets, or other enforcement actions, including loss of required licenses or approvals in a given jurisdiction. We could also be required to make changes to our business practices or compliance programs as a result of regulatory scrutiny. In addition, any perceived or actual failure to comply with applicable laws, rules, and regulations could have a significant impact on our reputation as a trusted brand and could cause us to lose existing clients, prevent us from obtaining new clients, require us to expend significant funds to remedy problems caused by breaches and to avert further breaches, and expose us to legal risk and potential liability, and we could be (1) required to pay substantial fines and disgorgement of our profits or (2) required to change our business practices. Any disciplinary or punitive action by our regulators or failure to obtain required operating authorizations could seriously harm our business and results of operations.
In addition, the Brazilian regulatory and legal environment exposes us to other compliance and litigation risks that could materially affect our results of operations. These laws and regulations may change, sometimes significantly, as a result of political, economic or social events. Some of the federal, state or local laws and regulations in Brazil that affect us include: those relating to consumer products, product liability or consumer protection; those relating to the manner in which we advertise, market or sell products; labor and employment laws, including wage and hour laws; tax laws or interpretations thereof; bank secrecy laws, data protection and privacy laws and regulations; and securities and exchange laws and regulations. For instance, data protection and privacy laws are developing to take into account the changes in cultural and consumer attitudes towards the protection of personal data (including as a result of the LGPD). There can be no guarantee that we will have sufficient financial and personnel resources to comply with any new regulations or successfully compete in the context of a changing regulatory environment.
We are subject to regulatory activity and antitrust litigation under competition laws.
We are subject to scrutiny from governmental agencies under competition laws in Brazil. Other companies or governmental agencies may allege that our actions violate antitrust or competition laws, or otherwise constitute unfair competition. Contractual agreements with clients or companies, as well as our unilateral business practices, could give rise to regulatory action or antitrust investigations or litigation. Some regulators may perceive our business to have such significant market power that otherwise uncontroversial business practices could be deemed anticompetitive. Any such claims and investigations, even if they are unfounded, may be expensive to defend, involve negative publicity and substantial diversion of management time and effort, and could result in significant judgments against us.
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We are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and regulations and failure to comply with such laws and regulations could result in criminal liability, administrative and civil lawsuits, significant fines and penalties, forfeiture of significant assets, as well as reputational harm.
We operate in jurisdictions that have a high risk of corruption and we are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and regulations, including the Brazilian Federal Law No. 12,846/2013, or the Clean Company Act, the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the FCPA, and the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom, or the Bribery Act. Each of the Clean Company Act, the FCPA and the Bribery Act impose liability against companies who engage in bribery of government officials, either directly or through intermediaries. We have a compliance program that is designed to manage the risks of doing business in light of these new and existing legal and regulatory requirements. Violations of the anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and regulations could result in criminal liability, administrative and civil lawsuits, significant fines and penalties, forfeiture of significant assets, as well as reputational harm.
Regulators regularly reexamine their rules and regulatory measures, requirements and procedures, which may lead us to adjust our compliance and anti-money laundering programs, including the procedures we use to verify the identity of our clients and to monitor their transactions and transactions made by our funds. Costs associated with fines or enforcement actions, changes in compliance requirements, or limitations on our ability to grow could harm our business, and any new requirements or changes to existing requirements could impose significant costs, result in delays to planned product improvements, make it more difficult for new customers to join our network and reduce the attractiveness of our products and services. As a result, allegations of improper conduct as well as negative publicity and press speculation about us or our portfolio companies, or the private equity industry in general, whether or not valid, may harm our reputation, which may be more damaging to our business than to other types of businesses.
Misconduct of our employees, consultants or subcontractors could harm us by impairing our ability to attract and retain clients and subjecting us to significant legal liability and reputational harm. Fraud and other deceptive practices or other misconduct at our funds’ portfolio companies could similarly subject us to liability and reputational damage and also harm performance.
Our employees, consultants and subcontractors could engage in misconduct that adversely affects our business. We are subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from our asset management business and our authority over the assets managed by our asset management business. The violation of these obligations and standards by any of our employees, consultants and subcontractors would adversely affect our clients and us. If our employees, consultants and subcontractors were to improperly use or disclose confidential information, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position and current and future business relationships. Detecting or deterring employee misconduct is not always possible, and the extensive precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in all cases. If one of our employees, consultants and subcontractors were to engage in misconduct or were to be accused of such misconduct, our business and our reputation could be adversely affected.
As just mentioned above, regulatory authorities across various jurisdictions, such as Brazil the United States and the United Kingdom, among others, have increasingly focused on enhancing and enforcing anti-bribery laws, such as the Clean Company Act, FCPA and the Bribery Act. While we have developed and implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure strict compliance by us and our personnel with such laws, such policies and procedures may not be effective in all instances to prevent violations. Any determination that we have violated the Clean Company Act, the FCPA, the U.K. anti-bribery laws or other applicable anti-corruption laws could subject us to, among other things, civil and criminal penalties or material fines, profit disgorgement, injunctions on future conduct, securities litigation and a general loss of investor confidence, any one of which could adversely affect our business prospects, financial position or the market value of our Class A common shares.
In addition, we may also be adversely affected if there is misconduct by personnel of portfolio companies in which our funds invest. For example, financial fraud or other deceptive practices at our funds’ portfolio companies, or failures by personnel at our funds’ portfolio companies to comply with anti-bribery, trade sanctions, anti-harassment or other legal and regulatory requirements, could subject us to, among other things, civil and criminal penalties or material fines, profit disgorgement, injunctions on future conduct and securities litigation, and could also cause significant reputational and business harm to us. Such misconduct may undermine our due diligence efforts with respect to such portfolio companies and could negatively affect the valuations of the investments by our funds in such portfolio companies.
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Changes in tax laws, tax incentives, benefits or differing interpretations of tax laws may adversely affect our results of operations.
Changes in tax laws, regulations, related interpretations and tax accounting standards in Brazil, the United States or the Cayman Islands may result in a higher tax rate on our earnings, which may significantly reduce our profits and cash flows from operations. If the taxes applicable to our business increase or any tax benefits are revoked and we cannot alter our cost structure to pass our tax increases on to clients, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected. Our activities are also subject to a Municipal Tax on Services (), or ISS. Any increases in ISS rates could also harm our profitability.
Imposto sobre Serviços
There are a number of proposed drafts of legislation currently before the Brazilian Congress that aim to implement overall tax reform. Among the drafts under discussion, there are proposals that aim to completely change the consumption taxation system, which would extinguish three federal taxes—excise tax, PIS and COFINS, as well as state value-added taxes, and municipal taxes—and would impose in their place a dual system for consumption taxes, with both a federal value-added tax (replacing excise tax, PIS and COFINS) and a unified state/municipal value-added tax, which could lead to a higher tax burden on us as compared to PIS/COFINS. In addition, an income tax reform bill presented by the Brazilian federal government in June 2021 (Bill of Law No. 2,337/2021) would subject dividends to tax withholding at a rate of 15% and establish an annual withholding tax on the gains of certain investment funds. If any tax reform is approved, or if there is any change in the laws and regulations that affects the taxes or tax incentives applicable to us and our subsidiaries or portfolio companies, such change or changes could, directly or indirectly, adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Moreover, tax rules in Brazil, particularly at the local level, can change without notice. We may not always be aware of all such changes that affect our business and we may therefore fail to pay the applicable taxes or otherwise comply with tax regulations, which may result in additional tax assessments and penalties for our company.
At the municipal level, the Brazilian government enacted Supplementary Law No. 157/16, which imposed changes regarding the ISS collection applied to the rendering of part of our services. These changes created new obligations, as ISS will now be due in the municipality in which the client contracting our services is located rather than in the municipality in which the service provider’s facilities are located. This obligation was enacted in December of 2016, but its force has been delayed by Direct Unconstitutionality Action No. 5835, or ADI 5835, filed by taxpayers. ADI 5835 challenges the constitutionality of Supplementary Law No. 157/16 before the Supreme Court, arguing that the new legislation would adversely affect companies’ activities due to the increase of costs and bureaucracy related to the ISS payment to several municipalities and the compliance with tax reporting obligations connected therewith. As a result, the Supreme Court granted an injunction to partially suspend the enforcement of article one of Supplementary Law No. 157/16. As of the date of this annual report, a final decision on this matter is currently pending. On September 23, 2020, the Brazilian federal government enacted Supplementary Law No. 175/2020, which aims to establish a standard for determining the location where ISS must be collected in connection with the rendering of specific services, including investment fund management. ISS is a municipal tax payable by the service provider. Under Supplementary Law No. 175/2020 the ISS collection location for fund management services changes from the municipality where the services originate to the municipality where the services are destined to, which means, in our case, the municipality of incorporation or residence of the quotaholders of the investment funds managed by us. Although ISS for our services is currently taxed in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (the municipalities where we are incorporated) at the rate of 2%, the applicable rate may be defined by each municipality at up to 5%. Therefore, the new rules of Supplementary Law 175/2020 could cause an increase in ISS tax payable by us in connection with the services we provide, if we are required to pay ISS in municipalities that charge a ISS rate higher than the 2% rate charged in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Moreover, tax laws, regulations and treaties are complex and the manner in which they apply to us or to our funds is sometimes open to interpretation and, in some cases, they may be interpreted differently between us and the relevant tax authorities. The application of indirect taxes, such as value-added tax, services tax, business tax and gross receipt tax, to businesses such as ours is complex and continues to evolve. We are required to use significant judgment in order to evaluate applicable tax obligations. In many cases, the ultimate tax determination is uncertain because it is not clear how existing statutes apply to our business. One or more states or municipalities, the federal
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government or other countries may seek to challenge the taxation or procedures applied to our transactions, which could impose additional reporting, record-keeping or indirect tax collection obligations on businesses like ours or the charge of taxes due, plus charges and penalties. New taxes, social security and labor charges could also require us to incur substantial costs to capture data and collect and remit taxes. If such obligations were imposed, the additional costs associated with tax collection, remittance and audit requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.
In addition, to support its fiscal policies, the Brazilian government regularly enacts reforms to tax and other assessment regimes that may affect our funds (including offshore funds) and the investors in such funds. Such reforms include changes in the rate of assessments and, occasionally, enactment of temporary taxes, the proceeds of which are earmarked for designated governmental purposes. The effects of these changes and any other changes that result from enactment of additional tax reforms have not been, and cannot be, quantified. There can be no assurance that any such reforms will not, once implemented, increase the overall tax burden on, and have an adverse effect upon, the operations and business of our private equity funds and their portfolio companies. Furthermore, such changes have in the past produced uncertainty in the financial system and may increase the cost of borrowing. The Brazilian tax authorities’ interpretations with respect to tax events and tax rates, as well as the computation of certain taxes, may change from time to time, including in ways that could materially adversely affect our funds, investors, and our financial condition and results of operations.
Transfer pricing may result in increased tax costs.
The jurisdictions in which we operate have rules on transfer pricing that require intra-group transactions to be conducted on transfer pricing from external tax advisors. Transactions conducted between and among us and our subsidiaries, including, but not limited to, provision of investment advisory and investor relations services and business support services, and management services are made on a commercial basis by application of international guidelines and national regulations. As a consequence of globalization and growing world trade, tax authorities worldwide have increased their focus on transfer pricing with respect to cross border intra group transactions, as part of protecting their respective country’s tax base. In the event the tax authorities in the jurisdictions where we operate consider the pricing not to be on
arm’s-length
terms. We regularly obtain advice regarding, inter alia,
arm’s-length
terms and were to succeed with such claims, this could result in an increased tax cost, including tax surcharges and interest. The costs and effects of pending and future litigation, investigations or similar matters, or adverse facts and developments related thereto, could materially affect our business, financial position and results of operations.
We are, and may be in the future, party to legal, arbitration and administrative investigations, inspections and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business or from extraordinary corporate, tax or regulatory events, involving our clients, suppliers, customers, as well as competition, government agencies, tax and environmental authorities, particularly with respect to civil, tax and labor claims, including, but not limited to, aspects of our business, corporate structure, executive compensation and dividend policies in our operational subsidiaries. Indemnity rights that we seek to negotiate in certain transactions may not cover all claims that may be asserted against us, and any claims asserted against us, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, may harm our reputation. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in defending ourselves in pending or future litigation or similar matters under various laws. Should the ultimate judgments or settlements in any pending or future litigation or investigation significantly exceed any amounts we are able to recover under any indemnity arrangements, such judgments or settlements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and the price of our Class A common shares. Further, even if we adequately address issues raised by an inspection conducted by an agency or successfully defend our case in an administrative proceeding or court action, we may have to set aside significant financial and management resources to settle issues raised by such proceedings or to those lawsuits or claims, which could adversely affect our business. See “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated statements and other financial information—Legal Proceedings”
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We may not be able to successfully manage our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.
We rely on a combination of contractual rights, trademarks and trade secrets to establish and protect our proprietary technology. Third parties may challenge, file actions to nullify, invalidate, circumvent, infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property, including at the administrative or judicial level, or such intellectual property may not be sufficient to permit us to take advantage of current market trends or otherwise to provide competitive advantages, which could result in costly redesign efforts, the discontinuance of certain service offerings or other competitive harm. If the ownership of any of our trademarks or domain names is legally challenged and such challenges result in adverse judicial decisions rendered against us, we may be prohibited from further using our trademarks and domain names. In addition, others, including our competitors, may independently develop similar technology, duplicate our services or design around our intellectual property, and in such cases, we could not assert our intellectual property rights against such parties. Further, our contractual arrangements may not effectively prevent disclosure of our confidential information or provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of our confidential information. We may have to litigate to enforce or determine the scope and enforceability of our intellectual property rights, trade secrets and , or the INPI/BPTO). In addition, if we lose rights over registered trademarks, we would not be entitled to use such trademarks on an exclusive basis and, therefore, third parties would be able to use similar or identical trademarks to identify their products or services, which could adversely affect our business.
know-how,
which is expensive, could cause a diversion of resources and may not prove successful. Also, because of the rapid pace of technological change in our industry, aspects of our business and our services rely on technologies developed or licensed by third parties, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these third parties on reasonable terms or at all. The loss of intellectual property protection, the inability to obtain third-party intellectual property or delay or refusal by relevant regulatory authorities to approve pending intellectual property registration applications could harm our business and ability to compete. With respect to trademarks, loss of rights may result from term expirations, owner abandonment and forfeiture or cancellation proceedings before the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial
We may also be subject to costly litigation in the event our services and technology infringe upon or otherwise violate a third party’s proprietary rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that could be infringed by our services or technology. Any of these third parties could make a claim of infringement against us with respect to our services or technology. We may also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, license usage or other intellectual property rights. Any claim from third parties may result in a limitation on our ability to use the intellectual property subject to these claims or could prevent us from registering our brands as trademarks. Additionally, in recent years, individuals and groups have been purchasing intellectual property assets for the sole purpose of making infringement claims and attempting to extract settlements. Even if we became party to intellectual property related claims that we believe to be without merit, defending against such claims is time-consuming and expensive and could result in the diversion of the time and attention of our management and employees. Claims of intellectual property infringement also might require us to redesign affected services, enter into costly settlement or license agreements, pay costly damage awards, adjust our business practices or operations, change our brands, or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or selling certain services or using certain brands. Even if we have an agreement for indemnification against such costs, the party providing such indemnification may be unwilling or unable to comply with its indemnification obligations. If we cannot or do not license the infringed technology on reasonable terms or substitute similar technology from another source, our revenues and earnings could be adversely impacted.
Any acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures that we make or enter into could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition.
We evaluate, and expect in the future to evaluate, potential strategic acquisitions of, and partnerships or joint ventures with, complementary businesses, services or technologies. We may not be successful in identifying acquisition, partnership and joint venture targets. In addition, we may not be able to successfully finance or integrate any businesses, services or technologies that we acquire or with which we form a partnership or joint venture, and we may lose clients as a result of any acquisition, partnership or joint venture. In addition, we may be unable to realize the expected benefits, synergies or developments that we may initially anticipate. Furthermore, the integration of any acquisition, partnership or joint venture may divert management’s time and resources from our core business and disrupt our operations.
Certain acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures we make may prevent us from competing for certain clients or in certain lines of business and may lead to a loss of clients. In addition, we may spend time and money on projects that do not increase our revenue or profitability. To the extent we finance any acquisition or investment in cash, it would reduce our cash reserves, and to the extent the purchase price is paid with our common shares, it
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could be dilutive to our shareholders. To the extent we finance any acquisition or investment with the proceeds from the incurrence of debt, this would increase our level of indebtedness and could negatively affect our liquidity, credit rating and restrict our operations. Our competitors may be willing to pay more than us for acquisitions or investments, which may cause us to lose certain opportunities that we would otherwise desire to complete. Moreover, we may face contingent liabilities in connection with our acquisitions and joint ventures, including, among others, (1) judicial and/or administrative proceeding or contingencies relating to the company, asset or business acquired, including civil, regulatory, tax, labor, social security, environmental and intellectual property proceedings or contingencies; and (2) financial, reputational and technical issues, including with respect to accounting practices, financial statement disclosures and internal controls, as well as other regulatory or compliance matters, all of which we may not have identified as part of our due diligence process and that may not be sufficiently indemnifiable under the relevant acquisition or joint venture agreement. We cannot assure you that any acquisition, partnership, investment or joint venture we make will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective in mitigating our risk exposure in all market environments or against all types of risks, which could expose us to losses and liability and otherwise harm our business.
We operate in a dynamic industry, and we have experienced significant change in recent years, and the emergence of new risks within the industries in which we operate or may operate in the future. Accordingly, our risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective in identifying, monitoring and managing our risks. Some of our risk evaluation methods depend upon information provided by others and public information regarding markets, clients or other matters that are otherwise inaccessible by us. In some cases, however, that information may not be accurate, complete or If our policies and procedures are not fully effective or we are not always successful in capturing all risks to which we and our funds are or may be exposed, we and our funds may suffer harm to our reputation or be subject to litigation or regulatory actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
up-to-date.
When our products and services are used in connection with illegitimate transactions we may be exposed to governmental and regulatory sanctions, including outside of Brazil (for example, U.S. anti-money laundering and economic sanctions violations). Our risk management policies, procedures, techniques, and processes may not be sufficient to identify all of the risks to which we and our funds are exposed, to enable us to mitigate the risks we have identified, or to identify additional risks to which we and our funds may become subject in the future. Furthermore, if our risk management policies and processes contain errors or are otherwise ineffective, we and our funds may suffer large financial losses, may be subject to civil and criminal liability, and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
We may not be able to maintain adequate insurance coverage on acceptable terms, or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
We have insurance coverage for, among other things, damages and crimes against property, business trips, and directors’ and officers’ liability. However, we may experience claims in excess of or not covered by our current insurance policies. For example, given the size of certain of our funds and their investments, the relevant member of Vinci Partners (such as the fund managers or advisors to such funds) could be subject to material legal or regulatory actions, including from dissatisfied fund investors, regulators or other third parties, which may not be covered by our current insurance coverage. Further, damage caused to us could, even if covered by our insurance coverage, result in increased insurance premiums. We may not be able to obtain or maintain liability insurance in the future on acceptable terms, or at all, which could in turn create a need or desire for us to build up an internal contingency reserve to cover risks, thus affecting our financial position, which would adversely affect our business and the trading price of our Class A common shares.
Our due diligence processes for investments may not reveal all relevant facts and potential liabilities, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
We continuously evaluate and carry out due diligence on a broad range of investment opportunities, some of which lead to investment while some do not. When conducting due diligence review of an investment, reliance may be placed on available resources which often include information provided by the target of the investment and, in
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some cases, third-party investigations and due diligence reports. Information provided or obtained from third-party sources may be limited and could, in some cases, be inaccurate or misleading. Thus, we cannot be certain that the due diligence investigations carried out with respect to an investment opportunity will reveal or highlight all relevant facts, opportunities or risks, including any ongoing fraud, which might be necessary or helpful in evaluating such an investment opportunity. Accordingly, there is a risk that the success or future performance of an investment might fall short compared to the financial projections used when evaluating such investment, which may affect our fund’s results.
We may not be able to obtain and maintain requisite regulatory approvals and permits, including licenses for our fund operations.
We are required to maintain regulatory approvals and authorizations. There is a risk that we will not have the ability to obtain and retain requisite approvals and permits from relevant governmental authorities and other organizations, and to comply with applicable laws and regulations, or be able to do so without incurring undue costs and delays, which may result in a financial loss for us. A loss of the requisite approvals and/or permits, or the loss of relevant approvals and/or permits for us to operate or market funds within a certain area or generally, may result in the wind-down or liquidation of existing Vinci Partners funds, and could accordingly have a material adverse effect on the size of our AUM and thus also affect management fees that we receive, as well as the ability to receive performance fees and investment income.
We are subject to risks related to conflicts of interest.
Various conflicts of interest may arise with regard to our operations, our funds, our shareholders and our fund investors. Failure to appropriately deal with conflicts of interest as they arise, or the appearance of conflicts of interest, could harm our brand and reputation or result in potential liability for us, and could have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial position and earnings.
Our funds invest in a broad range of asset classes, including in the equity of portfolio companies, debt securities and corporate loans. In certain cases, certain of our funds may invest in different parts of the same company’s capital structure. In those cases, the interests of the different funds may not always be aligned, which could create actual or potential conflicts of interest or give the appearance of such conflicts. For example, one of our private equity funds could have an interest in pursuing an acquisition, divestiture or other transaction that, in that fund’s judgment, could enhance the value of the private equity investment, even though the proposed transaction could subject a Vinci Partners credit fund’s debt investment to additional or increased risks.
To the extent that any potential investment opportunities have been identified by us, including opportunities to
co-invest
with other investment managers; which fall within the investment mandate of several of our funds, conflicts of interest may arise in relation to the allocation of the investment opportunity and which fund will pursue the potential investment, in particular when such funds are both managed by the same independent fund manager appointed to act as alternative investment fund manager, and their fund management team. Moreover, we may be subject to conflicts of interest arising from co-investment
opportunities where investment advisors to our funds or to investment vehicles with which we co-invest
may have an incentive to provide potential co-investment
opportunities to certain investors in lieu of others and/or in lieu of an allocation to our funds (including, for example, as part of an investor’s overall strategic relationship with us) if such allocations are expected to generate relatively greater fees or performance allocations to us than would arise if such co-investment
opportunities were allocated otherwise. We have in the past invested alongside our investors, and while we have not targeted any specific investments as of the date of this annual report, we expect to make investments alongside our investors in the future. While we follow certain internal guidelines and CVM rules in respect of making such investments, these investments could lead to potential conflicts of interest with our clients. When we invest alongside our investors, we make such investments under the same conditions and according to the same fee structures, paying the same management and performance fees. In respect of public offerings, CVM rules prohibit investments by related persons if there is excess demand greater than one third of the amount of securities being offered, and we must adhere to these rules in connection with public offerings of any of our funds. For open-ended funds distributed by us or by third parties, any investor, including us, can invest or divest at any time, though such investor (including us) must comply with the provisions of the respective funds’ bylaws. In the case of our listed funds, any trade made by us can only be executed after first obtaining written
pre-clearance
from our compliance department. While we believe these conditions, measures, and internal protocols adequately address potential conflicts of interests that may arise from investing alongside our clients, there can be no assurance that we will adequately address all potential conflicts of interest, which could have an adverse effect on our customer relationships, thereby adversely affecting our reputation and our business. 41
Our funds may acquire investments from, or sell investments to, other Vinci Partners funds, and members of the board of the general partner or the fund manager of our funds may be officers or directors of entities which are not part of Vinci Partners and which provide advice or services to, or engage in other transactions with, a Vinci Partners fund or to one or more portfolio companies of a Vinci Partners fund. Such conflicts of interest may not always be properly disclosed. According to our internal policies, our officers, directors, members, managers, and employees are prohibited from holding an interest in a portfolio company of our private funds, unless otherwise authorized by the compliance department and in certain cases where required by law to maintain plurality of partners. However, if our officers, directors, members, managers, employees, or other legal entities or entities of Vinci Partners hold or acquire a direct or indirect interest in a portfolio company of a Vinci Partners fund, this may create a conflict of interest. Such conflicts may result in litigation arising from investor dissatisfaction and may cause fund investors to explore withdrawing or cancelling their commitments to a Vinci Partners fund, or not to invest in new Vinci Partners funds, which could affect the size of the AUM being managed in existing Vinci Partners funds.
Certain policies and procedures implemented to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and address certain regulatory requirements may reduce the synergies across our various businesses.
Because we act in portfolio management, in distribution of our funds, and in advisory services, we may be subject to a number of actual and potential conflicts of interest and subject to greater regulatory oversight and more legal and contractual restrictions than that to which we would otherwise be subject if we had just one line of business. To mitigate these conflicts and address regulatory, legal and contractual requirements across our various businesses, we have implemented certain policies and procedures (for example, information walls) that may reduce the positive synergies that we cultivate across these businesses for purposes of identifying and managing attractive investments. For example, we may come into possession of material
non-public
information with respect to issuers in which we may be considering making an investment or issuers in which our affiliates may hold an interest. As a consequence of such policies and procedures, we may be precluded from providing such information or other ideas to our other businesses that might be of benefit to them. Changes to applicable accounting standards, or changes to the interpretations thereof, could have a material adverse effect on Vinci Partners.
Vinci Partners applies IFRS in the preparation of its financial statements. In preparing our financial statements, we make judgments and accounting estimates that affect the application of our accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income, including the recognition of performance fees, and expenses. Valuation methodologies for certain assets in our funds can be subject to significant subjectivity and the fair value of assets established pursuant to such methodologies may never be realized, and valuation methodologies for historical Vinci Partners funds may differ to the valuation methodologies used for current or future Vinci Partners fundsAmendments to, and changes to interpretations of, existing accounting standards could have a significant effect on Vinci Partners’ financial condition, and also result in extensive adoption costs.
.
The ability to comply with applicable accounting standards depends in some instances on determinations of fact and interpretations of complex provisions for which no clear precedent or authority may be available, or where only limited guidance may be available. If we are unable to accurately apply the relevant accounting standards, our financial reporting could be incorrect, and could require a restatement of our financial statements and result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, our business, our financial condition and results of operations, thereby adversely affecting the market price of our Class A common shares.
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Certain Risks Relating to Brazil
The Brazilian federal government has exercised, and continues to exercise, significant influence over the Brazilian economy. This involvement as well as Brazil’s political and economic conditions could harm us and the price of our Class A common shares.
The Brazilian federal government frequently exercises significant influence over the Brazilian economy and occasionally makes significant changes in policy and regulations. The Brazilian government’s actions to control inflation and other policies and regulations have often involved, among other measures, increases or decreases in interest rates, changes in fiscal policies, wage and price controls, foreign exchange rate controls, blocking access to bank accounts, currency devaluations, capital controls and import and export restrictions. We have no control over and cannot predict what measures or policies the Brazilian government may take in the future. We and the market price of our Class A common shares may be harmed by changes in Brazilian government policies, as well as general economic factors, including, without limitation:
| • | growth or downturn of the Brazilian economy; |
| • | interest rates and monetary policies; |
| • | exchange rates and currency fluctuations; |
| • | inflation; |
| • | liquidity of the domestic capital and lending markets; |
| • | import and export controls; |
| • | exchange controls and restrictions on remittances abroad and payments of dividends; |
| • | modifications to laws and regulations according to political, social and economic interests; |
| • | fiscal policy, monetary policy and changes in tax laws; |
| • | economic, political and social instability, including general strikes and mass demonstrations; |
| • | labor and social security regulations; |
| • | public health crises, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; |
| • | energy and water shortages and rationing; |
| • | commodity prices; and |
| • | other political, diplomatic, social and economic developments in or affecting Brazil. |
Uncertainty over whether the Brazilian federal government will implement reforms or changes in policy or regulation affecting these or other factors in the future may affect economic performance and contribute to economic uncertainty in Brazil, which may have an adverse effect on our activities and consequently our results of operations, and may also adversely affect the trading price of our Class A common shares. Recent economic and political instability has led to a negative perception of the Brazilian economy and higher volatility in the Brazilian securities markets, which also may adversely affect us and our Class A common shares. See “—Economic uncertainty and political instability in Brazil may harm us and the price of our Class A common shares” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Significant Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Brazilian Macroeconomic Environment.”
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Economic uncertainty and political instability in Brazil may harm us and the price of our Class A common shares.
Brazil’s political environment has historically influenced, and continues to influence, the performance of the country’s economy. Political crises have affected and continue to affect the confidence of investors and the general public, which have historically resulted in economic deceleration and heightened volatility in the securities offered by companies with significant operations in Brazil.
The recent economic instability in Brazil has contributed to a decline in market confidence in the Brazilian economy as well as to a deteriorating political environment. In addition, various past and ongoing investigations into allegations of money laundering and corruption being conducted by the Office of the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor, including the largest such investigation, known as “,” have negatively impacted the Brazilian economy and political environment. The potential outcome of these investigations is uncertain, but they have already had an adverse impact on the image and reputation of the implicated companies, and on the general market perception of the Brazilian economy. In addition, the Brazilian Supreme Court is currently investigating Brazil’s current President across multiple fronts, including as a result of allegations made by the former Minister of Justice, the leaking of sealed information on a probe into cyberattacks against Brazilian electoral courts during the 2020 municipal elections, the dissemination of fake news, and comments connecting
Operação Lava Jato
COVID-19
vaccines with the risk of contracting acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We cannot predict whether the ongoing investigations will result in further political and economic instability, or if new allegations against government officials and/or executives of private companies will arise in the future or will result in additional investigations. In addition, 2022 is a presidential election year in Brazil. Historically, in election years, especially presidential elections, foreign investments in Brazil tend to decrease and political uncertainty may generate greater instability and volatility in the domestic markets, which may negatively affect the trading price of our Class A common shares.
A failure by the Brazilian government to implement necessary reforms may result in diminished confidence in the Brazilian government’s budgetary condition and fiscal stance, which could result in downgrades of Brazil’s sovereign foreign credit rating by credit rating agencies, negatively impact Brazil’s economy, lead to further depreciation of the real and an increase in inflation and interest rates, adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Any of the above factors may create additional political uncertainty, which could harm the Brazilian economy and, consequently, our business and the value of our investments, and could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our Class A common shares.
Inflation and certain measures by the Brazilian government to curb inflation have historically harmed the Brazilian economy and Brazilian capital markets, and high levels of inflation in the future would harm our business and the price of our Class A common shares.
In the past, Brazil has experienced extremely high rates of inflation. Inflation and some of the measures taken by the Brazilian government in an attempt to curb inflation have had significant negative effects on the Brazilian economy generally. Inflation, policies adopted to curb inflationary pressures and uncertainties regarding possible future governmental intervention have contributed to economic uncertainty and heightened volatility in the Brazilian capital markets.
According to the IPCA, Brazilian inflation rates were 10.1%, 4.5%, 4.3%, and 3.8% as of December 31, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Brazil may continue to experience high levels of inflation in the future and inflationary pressures may lead to the Brazilian government intervening in the economy and introducing policies that could harm our business and the trading price of our Class A common shares. In the past, the Brazilian government’s interventions included the maintenance of a restrictive monetary policy with high interest rates that restricted credit availability and reduced economic growth, causing volatility in interest rates. For example, the official interest rate in Brazil decreased from 14.25% as of December 31, 2015, to 6.50% as of March 28, 2018 and maintained at that level until December 31, 2018. The COPOM reconfirmed the SELIC rate of 6.50% in the first half of 2019, but reduced the SELIC rate to 6.00% on August 1, 2019, and further reduced the rate to 4.50% on December 12, 2019. On February 5, 2020, the COPOM
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reduced the SELIC rate to 4.25% and further reduced the rate to 3.75% on March 18, 2020, to 3.00% on June 5, 2020, to 2.25% on June 17, 2020, to 2.00% on August 5, 2020. Then, after the rates were kept stable for four rounds of meetings, the COPOM repeatedly raised the SELIC rate to 9.25% as of December 31, 2021. As of the date of this annual report, the SELIC rate was set at 11.75%. Conversely, more lenient government and Central Bank policies and interest rate decreases have triggered and may continue to trigger increases in inflation, and, consequently, growth volatility and the need for sudden and significant interest rate increases, which could negatively affect us and increase our indebtedness.
Exchange rate instability may have adverse effects on the Brazilian economy, us and the price of our Class A common shares.
The Brazilian currency has been historically volatile and has been devalued frequently over the past three decades. Throughout this period, the Brazilian government has implemented various economic plans and used various exchange rate policies, including sudden devaluations, periodic mini-devaluations (during which the frequency of adjustments has ranged from daily to monthly), exchange controls, dual exchange rate markets and a floating exchange rate system. Although long-term depreciation of the Brazilian is generally linked to the rate of inflation in Brazil, depreciation of the real occurring over shorter periods of time has resulted in significant variations in the exchange rate between the , the U.S. dollar and other currencies. The depreciated against the U.S. dollar by 32.0% at /U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$3.9048 per U.S. dollar on December 31, 2015, and R$3.2591 per U.S. dollar on December 31, 2016, which reflected a 16.5% appreciation in the real against the U.S. dollar during 2016. The /U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$3.308 per U.S. dollar on December 31, 2017, which reflected a 1.5% depreciation in the real against the U.S. dollar during 2017. The /U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$3.8742 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2018, which reflected a 17.1% depreciation in the real against the U.S. dollar during 2018. The /U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$4.0307 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2019, which reflected a 4.0% depreciation in the real against the U.S. dollar during 2019. The /U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$5.1967 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2020, which reflected a 28.9% depreciation in the real against the U.S. dollar during the year. The /U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$5.5805 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2021, which reflected a 7.4% depreciation in the real against the U.S. dollar during the year. As of March 31, 2022, the exchange rate for the purchase of U.S. dollars as reported by the Central Bank was R$4.7378 per US$1.00. There can be no assurance that the will not appreciate or depreciate against the U.S. dollar or other currencies in the future.
real
real
real
year-end
2015 as compared to year-end
2014, and by 11.8% at year-end
2014 as compared to year-end
2013. The real
real
real
real
real
real
real
Further devaluation of the relative to the U.S. dollar could create inflationary pressures in Brazil and cause the Brazilian government to, among other measures, further increase interest rates. Any depreciation of the may generally restrict access to the international capital markets. It would also reduce the U.S. dollar value of our results of operations. Restrictive macroeconomic policies could reduce the stability of the Brazilian economy and harm our results of operations and profitability. In addition, domestic and international reactions to restrictive economic policies could have a negative impact on the Brazilian economy. These policies and any reactions to them may harm us by curtailing access to foreign financial markets and prompting further government intervention. A devaluation of the real relative to the U.S. dollar may also, as in the context of the current economic slowdown, decrease consumer spending, increase deflationary pressures and reduce economic growth.
real
real
On the other hand, an appreciation of the relative to the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies may worsen the Brazilian current accounts. We and certain of our suppliers purchase services from countries outside Brazil, and thus changes in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to other currencies may affect the costs of services that we purchase. Depending on the circumstances, either devaluation or appreciation of the real relative to the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies could restrict the growth of the Brazilian economy, as well as our business, results of operations and profitability.
real
Infrastructure and workforce deficiency in Brazil may impact economic growth and have a material adverse effect on us.
Our performance depends on the overall health and growth of the Brazilian economy. Brazilian GDP growth has fluctuated over the past few years, with growth of 3.0% in 2013 but decreasing to 0.5% in 2014, a contraction of 3.5% in 2015, a contraction of 3.3% in 2016, a growth of 1.3% in 2017, a growth of 1.8% in 2018, a growth of 1.4%
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in 2019, a contraction of 4.1% in 2020, while, in 2021, the Brazilian GDP grew 4.6%. Growth is limited by inadequate infrastructure, including potential energy shortages and deficient transportation, logistics and telecommunication sectors, general strikes, the lack of a qualified labor force, and the lack of private and public investments in these areas, which limit productivity and efficiency. Additionally, despite the business continuity, widespread vaccination in Brazil and crisis management policies currently in place, travel restrictions or potential impacts on personnel due to the
COVID-19
pandemic may disrupt our business and the expansion of our client base. Any of these factors could lead to labor market volatility and generally impact income, purchasing power and consumption levels, which could limit growth and ultimately have a material adverse effect on us. Developments and the perceptions of risks in other countries, including other emerging markets, the United States and Europe, may harm the Brazilian economy and the price of our Class A common shares.
The market for securities offered by companies with significant operations in Brazil is influenced by economic and market conditions in Brazil and, to varying degrees, market conditions in other Latin American and emerging markets, as well as the United States, Europe and other countries. To the extent the conditions of the global markets or economy deteriorate, the business of companies with significant operations in Brazil may be harmed. The weakness in the global economy has been marked by, among other adverse factors, lower levels of consumer and corporate confidence, decreased business investment and consumer spending, increased unemployment, reduced income and asset values in many areas, reduction of China’s growth rate, currency volatility and limited availability of credit and access to capital. Developments or economic conditions in other emerging market countries have at times significantly affected the availability of credit to companies with significant operations in Brazil and resulted in considerable outflows of funds from Brazil, decreasing the amount of foreign investments in Brazil.
Crises and political instability in other emerging market countries, the United States, Europe or other countries, including increased international trade tensions and protectionist policies, could decrease investor demand for securities offered by companies with significant operations in Brazil, such as our Class A common shares. In June 2016, the United Kingdom had a referendum in which the majority voted to leave the European Union
(so-called
“Brexit”). The announcement of Brexit caused significant volatility in global stock markets and currency exchange rate fluctuations. The United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020. On December 24, 2020, the United Kingdom and the European Commission reached an agreement on the terms of its future cooperation with the European Union. On December 31, 2020, the European Union (Future Relationship) Act was enacted in the United Kingdom and the agreement reached with the European Commission came into full force on May 1, 2021, after relevant E.U. institutions ratified the agreement. We have no control over and cannot predict the effect of United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union nor over whether and to which effect any other member state will decide to exit the European Union in the future. These developments, as well as potential crises and forms of political instability arising therefrom or any other as of yet unforeseen development, may harm our business and the price of our Class A common shares. In addition, it is unclear the degree to which current political divisions in the United States will continue to influence policy action. Fighting inflation, orientation towards fiscal policy, energy and geopolitical strategies are divisive issues that may lead to sudden policy changes. We are also unable to predict the policies that will be adopted by eventual new presidential administrations and the effects of any such policies, if implemented. These political divisions and policies may materially adversely affect the United States and global economies and capital markets, including the Brazilian economy and capital markets, which may, in turn, materially adversely affect the trading price of our Class A common shares.
An escalation of the war in Ukraine may increase global risk aversion and adversely affect us and the price of our Class A common shares.
As a result of the current geopolitical tensions and conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the recent recognition by Russia of the independence of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the governments of the United States, the European Union, Japan and other jurisdictions have recently announced the imposition of sanctions on certain industry sectors and parties in Russia and the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as enhanced export controls on certain products and industries. Geopolitical instability adversely arising from such conflict (including additional conflicts that could arise from such conflict), the imposition of sanctions, taxes and/or tariffs against Russia and Russia’s response to such sanctions (including retaliatory acts, such as cyberattacks and sanctions against other countries) could adversely affect the global economy or specific international, regional and domestic markets, including the Brazilian market, which could have a material adverse effect on our or our portfolio companies’ business, results of operations or financial condition.
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Any further downgrading of Brazil’s credit rating could reduce the trading price of our Class A common shares.
We may be harmed by investors’ perceptions of risks related to Brazil’s sovereign debt credit rating. Rating agencies regularly evaluate Brazil and its sovereign credit ratings, which are based on a number of factors including macroeconomic trends, fiscal and budgetary conditions, indebtedness metrics and the perspective of changes in any of these factors.
The rating agencies began to review Brazil’s sovereign credit rating in September 2015. Subsequently, the three major rating agencies downgraded Brazil’s investment-grade status:
| • | In 2015, Standard & Poor’s initially downgraded Brazil’s credit rating from BBB-negative to BB-positive and subsequently downgraded it again from BB-positive to BB, maintaining its negative outlook, citing a worse credit situation since the first downgrade. On January 11, 2018, Standard & Poor’s further downgraded Brazil’s credit rating from BB to BB-negative, and on December 11, 2019, the agency affirmed the rating at BB- and revised the outlook on Brazil to positive. On April 7, 2020, the rating was reaffirmed as BB- with stable outlook, reflecting uncertainties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, along with how extraordinary government spending will adversely affect the fiscal performance in 2020. On November 30, 2021, Standard & Poor’s further reaffirmed Brazil’s rating at BB- with stable outlook. |
| • | In December 2015, Moody’s placed Brazil’s Baa3’s issue and bond ratings under review for downgrade and subsequently downgraded the issue and bond ratings to below investment grade, at Ba2 with a negative outlook, citing the prospect of a further deterioration in Brazil’s debt indicators, taking into account the low growth environment and the challenging political scenario. On April 9, 2018, Moody’s revised the outlook to stable, reaffirming the Ba2 rating. In September 2020, Moody’s maintained Brazil’s credit rating at Ba2 and with a stable outlook. In May 2020, Moody’s confirmed Brazil’s long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating at Ba2 maintaining the stable outlook. On May 25, 2021, Moody’s further reaffirmed Brazil’s rating at Ba2 with stable outlook. |
| • | Fitch downgraded Brazil’s sovereign credit rating to BB-positive with a negative outlook, citing the rapid expansion of the country’s budget deficit and the worse-than-expected recession. In February 2018, Fitch downgraded Brazil’s sovereign credit rating again to BB-negative, citing, among other reasons, fiscal deficits, the increasing burden of public debt and an inability to implement reforms that would structurally improve Brazil’s public finances. In November 2020, Fitch Ratings affirmed Brazil’s long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating at BB- with a negative outlook. On December 14, 2021, Fitch further reaffirmed Brazil’s credit rating at BB-negative with a negative outlook. |
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Brazil’s sovereign credit rating is currently rated below investment grade by the three main credit rating agencies. Consequently, the prices of securities offered by companies with significant operations in Brazil have been negatively affected. A prolongation or worsening of the current Brazilian recession and continued political uncertainty, among other factors, could lead to further ratings downgrades. Any further downgrade of Brazil’s sovereign credit ratings could heighten investors’ perception of risk and, as a result, cause the trading price of our Class A common shares to decline.
Certain Risks Relating to Our Class A Common Shares
Gilberto Sayão da Silva owns 100% of our outstanding Class B common shares, which represent approximately 77.6% of the voting power of our issued share capital, and controls all matters requiring shareholder approval. This concentration of ownership and voting power limits your ability to influence corporate matters.
Gilberto Sayão da Silva controls our company and does not hold any of our Class A common shares, though he beneficially owns 25.8% of our issued share capital through his beneficial ownership of all of our outstanding Class B common shares, and consequently, 77.6% of the combined voting power of our issued share capital. Our Class B common shares are entitled to 10 votes per share and our Class A common shares are entitled to one vote per share. Our Class B common shares are convertible into an equivalent number of Class A common shares and generally convert into Class A common shares upon transfer, subject to limited exceptions. As a result, Mr. Sayão da Silva controls the outcome of all decisions at our shareholders’ meetings, and is able to elect a majority of the members of our board of directors. He is also able to direct our actions in areas such as business strategy, financing, distributions, acquisitions and dispositions of assets or businesses. For example, Mr. Sayão da Silva may cause us to make acquisitions that increase the amount of our indebtedness or outstanding Class A common shares, sell revenue-generating assets or inhibit change of control transactions that may benefit other shareholders. The decisions of Mr. Sayão da Silva on these matters may be contrary to your expectations or preferences, and they may take actions that could be contrary to your interests. He is able to prevent any other shareholders from blocking these actions. For further information regarding shareholdings in our company, see “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions.” In addition, for so long as Mr. Sayão da Silva beneficially owns more than of our issued share capital, he will also have the ability to unilaterally amend our Articles of Association, which may be amended only by special resolution of shareholders (requiring a majority vote of those shareholders attending and voting at a quorate meeting).
two-thirds
two-thirds
So long as Mr. Sayão da Silva beneficially owns a sufficient number of Class B common shares, even if he beneficially owns significantly less than 50% of our outstanding share capital, he will be able to effectively control our decisions. However, if our Class B common shares at any time represent less than 10% of the total aggregate number of common shares in the capital of the company outstanding, each Class B common share then outstanding will automatically convert into one Class A common share. For a description of the dual class structure, see “Item 10. Additional Information—B. Memorandum and Articles of Association—Share Capital”
We have granted holders of our Class B common shares preemptive rights to acquire shares that we may sell in the future, which may impair our ability to raise funds.
Under our Articles of Association, each holder of our Class B common shares is entitled to preemptive rights to purchase additional common shares in the event that additional Class A common shares are issued, upon the same economic terms and at the same price, in order to maintain their proportional ownership interests, which represent approximately 25.8% of our outstanding shares. The exercise by holders of our Class B common shares of preemptive rights may impair our ability to raise funds, or adversely affect the terms on which we are able to raise funds, as we may not be able to offer to new investors the quantity of our shares that they may desire to purchase.
Our Articles of Association contain anti-takeover provisions that may discourage a third-party from acquiring us and adversely affect the rights of holders of our Class A common shares.
Our Articles of Association contain certain provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire our control, including a provision that grants authority to our board of directors to establish and issue from time to time one or more series of preferred shares without action by our shareholders and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over the prevailing market price by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain our control in a tender offer or similar transactions.
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If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, the price of our Class A common shares and our trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our Class A common shares depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our Class A common shares or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our Class A common shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our Class A common shares could decrease, which might cause the price of our Class A common shares and trading volume to decline.
Our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders is restricted by applicable laws and regulations and by the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us.
We cannot guarantee that we will be able to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common shares. Holders of our Class A common shares are only entitled to receive cash dividends to the extent our board of directors out of funds legally available for such payments. The declaration, payment and amount of any future dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other things, the results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, operating and capital requirements, and other factors as our board of directors considers relevant. In addition, our holding company structure makes us dependent on the operations of our subsidiaries. See “—Certain Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—Our holding company structure makes us dependent on the operations of our subsidiaries.” There is no assurance that future dividends will be paid, and if dividends are paid, there is no assurance with respect to the amount of any such dividend. See “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Dividends and Dividend Policy.”
Our dual class capital structure means our shares will not be included in certain indices. We cannot predict the impact this may have on the trading price of our Class A common shares.
In 2017, FTSE Russell, S&P Dow Jones and MSCI announced changes to their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares of common stock from being added to such indices. FTSE Russell announced plans to require new constituents of its indices to have at least five percent of their voting rights in the hands of public stockholders, whereas S&P Dow Jones announced that companies with multiple share classes, such as ours, will not be eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600, which together make up the S&P Composite 1500. MSCI also opened public consultations on their treatment of
no-vote
and multi-class structures and temporarily barred new multi-class listings from its ACWI Investable Market Index and U.S. Investable Market 2500 Index; however, in October 2018, MSCI announced its decision to include equity securities “with unequal voting structures” in its indices and to launch a new index that specifically includes voting rights in its eligibility criteria. We cannot assure you that other stock indices will not take a similar approach to FTSE Russell, S&P Dow Jones and MSCI in the future. Under the announced policies, our dual class capital structure would make us ineligible for inclusion in any of these indices and, as a result, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment vehicles that attempt to passively track these indices will not invest in our stock. It continues to be somewhat unclear what effect, if any, these policies will have on the valuations of publicly traded companies excluded from the indices, but in certain situations they may depress these valuations compared to those of other similar companies that are included. Exclusion from indices could make our Class A common shares less attractive to investors and, as a result, the market price of our Class A common shares could be adversely affected. The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with Gilberto Sayão da Silva as the beneficial owner of the entirety of our Class B common shares; this will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters.
Each Class A common share entitles its holder to one vote per share and each Class B common share entitles its holder to ten votes per share, so long as the total number of the issued and outstanding Class B common shares is at least 10% of the total number of shares outstanding. The beneficial owner of all of our Class B common shares is Gilberto Sayão da Silva. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Major Shareholders.” Due to the voting ratio between our Class B and Class A common shares, Mr. Sayão da Silva controls a majority of the combined voting power of our common shares and therefore be able to control all matters submitted to our shareholders so long as the total number of the issued and outstanding Class B common shares is at least 10% of the total number of shares outstanding and the total number of the issued.
ten-to-one
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In addition, our Articles of Association provide that at any time when there are Class A common shares in issue, additional Class B common shares may only be issued pursuant to (1) a share split, subdivision of shares or similar transaction or where a dividend or other distribution is paid by the issue of shares or rights to acquire shares or following capitalization of profits;