sands capital funds plc · 2018-05-17 · the directors submit this report together with the annual...

Sands Capital Funds plc

Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 October 2017

Registration Number: 484381


TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

DIRECTORY 2

DIRECTORS’ REPORT 3

DEPOSITARY’S REPORT 6

INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REPORT

- Sands Capital Global Growth Fund 7

- Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund 12

- Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund 16

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT 20

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS




STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION 30

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 32

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS ATTRIBUTABLE TO HOLDERS 34

OF REDEEMABLE PARTICIPATING SHARES

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 36

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 38

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN SWITZERLAND

(UNAUDITED) 68

SCHEDULE OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE PORTFOLIO (UNAUDITED)




UCITS V REMUNERATION DISCLOSURE (UNAUDITED) 73

1


DIRECTORY

Directors of the Company Registered Office

Gavin Caldwell* (Chairman) (Ireland) Styne House

Jonathan Goodman (United States) Upper Hatch Street

Mike Kirby (Ireland) Dublin 2

Dana McNamara (United States) Ireland

Investment Manager, Distributor and Promoter Secretary

Sands Capital Management, LLC Wilton Secretarial Limited

1000 Wilson Boulevard 6th

Floor

Suite 3000 2 Grand Canal Square

Arlington, VA 22209 Dublin 2

United States Ireland

Administrator, Registrar and Transfer Agent Depositary

SEI Investments - Global Fund Services Limited Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services

Styne House (Ireland) Limited

Upper Hatch Street 30 Herbert Street

Dublin 2 Dublin 2

Ireland Ireland

Independent Auditors Legal Advisers to the Company PricewaterhouseCoopers William Fry

One Spencer Dock 2 Grand Canal Square

North Wall Quay Dublin 2

Dublin 1 Ireland

Ireland

Swiss Representative and Swiss Paying

Agent**

BNP Paribas Securities Services, Paris

Succursale de Zurich

Selnaustrasse 16

8002 Zürich

Switzerland

* Independent Non-Executive Director. ** Place where the relevant documents may be obtained for Swiss Investors: The Prospectus, the Key

Investor Information Documents (KIIDs), the Articles of Association as well as the annual and half yearly

reports of the Company may be obtained free of charge from the Representative. Significant portfolio

changes are listed on pages 70-72. A complete listing of purchases and sales during the period is available

upon request from the Representative free of charge.

2


DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2017 The Directors submit this report together with the annual report and audited financial statements of Sands

Capital Funds plc (the “Company”), in each case for the financial year ended 31 October 2017. Statement of Directors' responsibilities for the financial statements

The Directors are responsible for preparing this Directors’ report and the financial statements of the

Company in accordance with applicable Irish law. Irish law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements of the Company for each financial year that

give a true and fair view of the Company’s assets, liabilities and financial position as at the end of the

financial year and of the profit or loss of the Company for the financial year. Under the Irish law, the Directors have elected to prepare the financial statements of the Company in

accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, as adopted by the European Union. Under the

Irish law, the Directors will not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a

true and fair view of the Company’s assets, liabilities and financial position as at the end of the financial

year and the profit or loss of the Company for the financial year. In preparing the financial statements of the Company, the Directors are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

- state whether the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting

standards, identify the standards in question, and disclose and explain in the notes to the financial

statements any material departures from those standards; and

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that

the Company will continue in business.

The Directors confirm that they have complied with the above requirements in preparing the financial

statements

The Directors are responsible for keeping proper and adequate accounting records that are sufficient to: - correctly record and explain the transactions of the Company;

- enable, at any time, the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company to be

determined with reasonable accuracy; and

- enable the Directors to ensure that (i) the financial statements are prepared in accordance with

International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, (ii) comply with the

Irish statue comprising the Companies Act 2014 (as amended) (the “Act”) and the European

Communities (Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2011

(S.I. No 352 of 2011), as amended (the “UCITS Regulations”) and the Central Bank (Supervision and

Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1)) (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable

Securities) Regulations 2015, as amended (the “Central Bank UCITS Regulations”) and (iii) the

financial statements may be audited. The Directors are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking

reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The responsibility for

safeguarding the assets of the Company has been delegated to the Depositary. The Directors, with the support of the Investment Manager, are also responsible for the maintenance and

integrity of these financial statements as electronically published on the Investment Manager's website,

www.sandscapital.com. Business review and principal activities

The Company is an open-ended investment company with variable capital structured as an umbrella fund

with segregated liability between sub-funds incorporated with limited liability in Ireland under registration

number 484381. The Company is authorised in Ireland by the Central Bank of Ireland pursuant to the

Central Bank UCITS Regulations. The Company currently has three active sub-funds, Sands Capital Global

Growth Fund (the “Global Growth Fund”), Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund (the “US Select Growth

Fund”) and Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund (the “Emerging Markets Growth Fund”). The

business of the Company and of the sub-funds is reviewed in detail in the Investment Manager's Report on

pages 7 to 19.

3


DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2017 (continued) Review of development of the business and future developments

The change in the net asset value of the sub-funds over the financial year is a key indicator of the

performance of the Company. A detailed review of the Company’s business and future developments is

included in the Investment Manager’s Report on pages 7 to 19. Risk management objectives and policies

The principal risks and uncertainties which the Company face relate to the use of financial instruments and

are listed in Note 9 "Risks associated with financial instruments". The investment objective of the

Company is disclosed in Note 1 “Organisation”. Results

The results of operations are set out in the Statement of Comprehensive Income on page 32. Significant events

Significant events during the year are disclosed in Note 23 “Significant Events”. Subsequent events

Significant events since the end of the year are disclosed in Note 24 “Subsequent Events”. Dividends

No dividend was paid or proposed during the year. Directors

The Directors that served during the year are listed on page 2. Directors’ and Secretary’s interests

The Directors and Secretary of the Company who held office at 31 October 2017 had no direct or beneficial

interest in the shares, share options, deferred shares or debentures of the Company or any other group

company at the beginning or end of the financial year, with the exception of Sands Capital Funds Plc’s

Directors Jonathan Goodman and Dana McNamara, who have a de minimis beneficial interest in the shares

of the Company that are held in seed accounts of Sands Capital Management LLC which is 100%

employee owned. Transactions Involving Directors

Mike Kirby is the managing principal of KB Associates which provide consultancy services to the

Company. Details of the transactions entered into with KB Associates are contained in Note 11. Jonathan

Goodman and Dana McNamara have indirect interest in the Company as per the investment management

agreement with Sands Capital Management LLC. There were no other contracts or arrangements of any

significance in relation to the business of the Company in which the Directors had any interest as defined in

the Act at any time during the year ended 31 October 2017. Statement of Corporate Governance

The Irish Funds Association (“IF”) published a corporate governance code (“IF Code”) in December 2011

that may be adopted on a voluntary basis by Irish authorised collective investment schemes. The IF Code

has been adopted by the Company with an effective date of 1 January 2013. Accounting Records

The Directors have ensured that the adequate accounting records requirements under Section 281 to 285,

the Act have been complied with by outsourcing this function to a specialist provider of such services. The

accounting records are held by SEI Investment – Global Fund Services Limited at the Company’s

registered office which is Styne House, Upper Hatch Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Connected Parties The Directors are satisfied that (i) there are arrangements (as evidenced by written procedures documented

by the Investment Manager) in place to ensure that the obligations described in Note 12 are applied to all

transactions with connected parties; and (ii) transactions with connected parties entered into during the year

complied with these obligations, as attested by the Investment Manager through regular updates to the

Directors.

4


INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2017 Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Dear Shareholder: We are pleased to provide you with the Annual Report for the Sands Capital Global Growth Fund (the “Fund”)

for the 12-month period ending 31 October 2017. During the past year, the Fund’s Institutional Class and

Investor Class compared to the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) returned: Class Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class H GBP Class H EUR Class Z USD Class A EUR

Launch date 30-Jun-10 10-May-12 20-Jun-12 21-Dec-12 31-Jan-13 07-Nov-13 25-Mar-15

Return* 28.55% 28.29% 18.01% 17.62% 20.70% 27.65% 21.22%

ACWI Return* 23.23% 23.23% 12.74% 12.74% 15.61% 23.23% 15.61% * Where a class has been in operation for more than one year, the return of the class and benchmark are presented for the one year period

from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2017. Performance Review The top five contributors to relative investment results during the reporting period were Alibaba, ASML

Holding, Facebook, Charles Schwab, and Priceline. Ono Pharmaceutical, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Under

Armour, Incyte, and Cerner were the five largest relative detractors. During the period, the Fund initiated

investments in Genmab, Starbucks, Netflix, Shopify, Galapagos, Incyte, PeptiDream, and Zalando. The Fund

exited positions in Cerner, Kansas City Southern, Monsanto, Biogen, Ono Pharmaceutical, UCB, Whole Foods

Market, and Under Armour. From a sector perspective, information technology (IT) and consumer staples were the largest contributors to

relative investment results during the period. Health care and financials were the top relative sector detractors.

On a regional basis, Emerging Asia and the U.S./Canada contributed most to relative investment results, while

Developed Asia was the sole detractor.

Healthy IT spending and semiconductor demand—supported by strong macro data in the U.S. and China—

benefited many of our IT holdings. This spending environment, combined with the secular trend of increased

mobile and internet usage for commerce, content, and communication, will likely accommodate continued

strong growth rates from our IT businesses. Our China and India holdings were standout contributors. In China, consumer-facing businesses continued to

benefit from powerful secular forces, including ecommerce adoption, social networking, and rising consumer

wealth. We believe ongoing reform in India—including demonetization and GST—has the potential to fuel

economic growth by increasing domestic consumption and removing barriers to doing business. The health care sector’s detraction from relative results was largely caused by companies that were sold during

the period. Allocation effect caused the detraction from financials and Developed Asia. Our fund maintains an

underweight to these areas due to a lack of growth businesses that meet our fundamental investment criteria. We do not attempt to predict the leading or lagging sectors and countries on a quarterly basis. Rather, we

continue to believe that investing in leading franchises capable of generating above-average earnings growth

across economic cycles is the most prudent way to add value over time. Instead of investing with cyclical

factors, we try to identify the durable secular trends that can underpin the growth of leading businesses. We

remain steadfast in our approach, and our belief that selectively owning the right businesses will be the primary

driver of long-term value. Commentary: Picking Winners in the Rapidly Evolving Retail Industry Brave New Digital World The reports of retail’s death by ecommerce are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the overall retail industry looks

healthy by several metrics, despite recent high-profile bankruptcies. Net store openings in the U.S. are expected

to exceed 4,000 this year, with 5,500 openings projected for 2018.i Retail sales grew by over $120 billion

through July, and hiring is healthy, at over four percent growth.ii Although the “Amazon Effect” is real, it is not

creating the broad retail apocalypse suggested by many headlines. While we do expect Amazon—which we

own—to continue to take share and deliver strong business results, we do not view the retail environment as

winner-take-all.

7


INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2017 (continued)

Retail is not dying, but rather undergoing a massive transformation. New technology is enabling companies to

sell products more conveniently and to engage customers in a deeper, more meaningful way than previously

possible.

Transformation is not new to the retail industry. From the ancient Greek marketplaces, the Sears catalog, the

rise of the chain store, the “mall-ification” of America, and now to the pervasive presence of Amazon, the retail

industry has been evolving for thousands of years.iii

Each transformation is different. Today’s is marked by the

blurring of discrete channels, as customers seek seamless experiences. These include the integration of in-store

experiences, online shopping, social media engagement, and more.

Many point to the rise of ecommerce as the primary force of change in retail, but technology’s impact on the

industry goes far beyond the sale of goods over the internet. Additionally, the idea that ecommerce is

overtaking traditional retail is an overstatement: ecommerce’s estimated share of total global retail sales is 10

percent today (and even lower for pure-play online retailers), and is expected to increase by only six percentage

points by 2021. While this increase represents 60 percent growth, ecommerce will still account for less than a

fifth of global retail sales for the foreseeable future.iv

The retail industry has reached a tipping point, from which we expect to see increasingly seamless integration

between online and offline storefronts. While ecommerce is disrupting some traditional retail business models,

other changes—such as real-time RFID (radio-frequency identification) inventory tracking, in-store beacons,

and other technologies that blend the online and offline experience—will also have a profound effect on how

people shop. They will also provide opportunities for retailers to engage more deeply with consumers.

Future success (or failure) hinges on a retailer’s ability to incorporate technology across all business functions,

seamlessly integrate online and offline operations, and—perhaps most importantly—engage with consumers

digitally. We see this playing out as brick-and-mortar retailers increasingly move online and embrace new

systems and software to optimize their operations. At the same time, native online businesses are expanding

their physical presence, as demonstrated by Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods Market and Alibaba’s

investment in local supermarket chains. We believe that Amazon and Alibaba’s transactions indicate that a

seamless link between online and offline retailing is the future. Put simply, the physical store is not dead, but it

must evolve in order to remain relevant in an increasingly digitized world.

At Sands Capital, we believe that growth investing is about identifying change and its beneficiaries. The retail

industry is one area where the headlines are disconnected from the realities we observe—a story of disruption

and transformation, not destruction. Change creates opportunity, and we believe we have identified several

consumer businesses that will continue to thrive and gain share in this new environment.

The Next Generation Leaders

Purchasing habits are changing around the world, and we believe the companies that will transition well benefit

from specific competitive advantages:

Technology investment: The best retailers have been investing in technology to improve their core

competitive advantages. This means the well-positioned retailers are those who prioritized technology

investment over the last few years—not companies only beginning to invest today. The best example of

technology investment coming to fruition is omnichannel capabilities, which enable retailers to integrate online

and offline operations and track a customer’s entire shopping journey, from discovery, to trial, purchase,

procurement, and return.v

Brand strength and proprietary product: The importance of brand is increasing as consumers have more

ways to shop. We believe that retailers with brand strength and a distinctive product will remain traffic drivers

online, just as they were offline. In contrast, brands that have relied passively on pedestrian mall traffic will be

challenged to survive in an increasingly digital world.

8



Value-for-money: Value is always in style. Retailers—both online and offline—that are able to offer

consumers compelling prices on quality merchandise are likely to retain a structural and defensible advantage,

even as more sales gravitate online over time. This advantage is particularly relevant in a world where online

shopping increases price transparency, creating a more informed and discerning consumer.

Convenience: Convenience is one of the most important factors for many consumers, according to our

proprietary surveys. Instant gratification can both benefit ecommerce companies (faster shipping) and insulate

brick-and-mortar stores from ecommerce’s creep (for low cost, “need-it-now” items).

Unique experiences: Retail concepts that offer an element of curation, discovery, and/or bespoke services

appear well placed to thrive in an increasingly omnichannel world. Especially in categories like apparel, luxury

goods, and home furnishings, the ability to “experience” a product or service before buying remains difficult to

replicate with an online-only model.

Retailers with an effective omnichannel strategy, in combination with one or more of these other competitive

advantages, will probably have a defensible moat. This should facilitate share gains from sluggish and less

dynamic competitors in this changing retail environment.

Nike: Just Do It…Better

Nike is one of the best-positioned businesses in retail because of the combination of its brand power, its

growing direct-to-consumer (DTC) segment, its tiered proprietary product portfolio, and its innovation in

production technology. Nike’s digital efforts support these competitive advantages.

One of our consumer team’s investing concepts is “brands over boxes.” Brands that produce specialty products

possess a critical competitive advantage over traditional retailers, in our view. For example, when consumers

shop for running shoes, they are more likely to have a brand preference than a retailer preference (holding all

other factors constant, such as convenience and price). This indicates to us that the power resides with the

brands, not the traditional big-box retailers that sell an array of brands. The brands-over-boxes concept directly

applies to our investment in Nike, one of the most recognized and powerful worldwide brands.

Through digital, Nike is leveraging its brand power by connecting and selling directly to consumers. The

company is investing heavily in its online store and offline brand houses, while scaling back its higher-end

product sales from traditional retailers. Nike benefits from selling its top products exclusively through its DTC

segment, creating a headwind for third-party sellers. Sales through the DTC segment generate nearly double the

revenue and carry significantly higher margins. Over the last two years, Nike has grown its DTC sales by 55

percent. Those sales now make up nearly 30 percent of its total sales. We expect the company’s initiatives to

grow its DTC segment will be a key factor in Nike’s future retailing success.

Nike also successfully tiered its merchandise by offering the highest quality products exclusively through its

online and physical stores, as well as its mobile app store. Nike’s other products, which are categorized as

“good” and “better,” are offered through its retailing partners. This tiered proprietary product portfolio allows

Nike to direct more customer traffic to its DTC segment. Nike’s ability to segment its product is transforming it

from a product company into one of the more powerful businesses in the retail space.

Lastly, to better serve customers’ changing and increasing expectations, Nike is developing technology to

advance its production techniques. Manufacturing innovations and partnerships with leading edge production

companies like Flex will enable automation of Nike’s more innovative lines, such as Flywire and Flyknit shoes,

at a smaller, more localized scale. This will eventually shorten lead times on products, cut shipping costs,

reduce waste, and allow Nike to deliver customized products to more customers.

9



Starbucks: No lines. No waiting. Leading digital.

Digital strategies, combined with a large global footprint and operating scale, make Starbucks one of the

retailers best positioned to capitalize on the secular shift to mobile shopping and the new on-demand economy.

Businesses selling low-ticket and convenience-based items, such as food and certain personal items, can often

sidestep the threat of ecommerce. The captive, need-it-now nature of the customer’s purchase makes

ecommerce—no matter how fast the shipping speed—less of a threat. The best leverage mobile technology to

strengthen this advantage.

Within the restaurant industry, digital strategies, such as mobile ordering and loyalty programs, are becoming

increasingly important. Digital initiatives can drive foot traffic, higher transaction values, comparable sales

growth, and margin expansion. For a company such as Starbucks, which pioneered the integration of mobile

ordering in the food and beverage industry, digital initiatives present a massive and sustainable opportunity

worldwide.

Starbucks’s Mobile Order and Pay (MOP) program has achieved strong early traction, even though this feature

debuted less than two years ago. MOP is one of the reasons why, despite slowing retail traffic, Starbucks

achieved strong growth this year. We expect MOP will continue to drive U.S. same-store sales. Sales through

MOP currently make up nearly 10 percent of the company’s sales in the U.S., up from five percent just one year

ago.

The traction of Starbucks’s MOP program was so rapid that the company experienced disruptions in some of its

store operations. The baristas were unable to keep up with the flow of both mobile and in-store orders. As a

result, Starbucks is taking several steps to keep up with the pace of MOP adoption. These efforts include

adjusting employee roles during peak hours, implementing a new Digital Order Manager system in the busiest

restaurants, and adjusting store formats—for example, creating a separate section for MOP customers—to

improve efficiency.

Furthermore, Starbucks added over one million new customers to its digital loyalty program over the past year,

which we expect will translate to increased adoption of MOP. Loyalty program members typically have higher-

ticket transactions than non-loyalty members, and customers that order through MOP have the highest-ticket

transactions.

Starbucks’s success in the restaurant industry will persist, in our view, as it continues to test and create new

digital capabilities that expand its mobile ecosystem. For example, the company is testing a new location-based

feature that will alert customers of special offers. Research indicates that approximately two-thirds of

consumers allow mobile application notifications, and that app-based purchasing increases by more than 100

percent for restaurants when push notifications are used. We expect this demand-generation strategy to drive

sales particularly during slower days or seasonally weak periods.

CP All: Next-Level Convenience

CP All is an example of an emerging markets business that built its dominant position through the formalization

and consolidation of retail, and can propel future growth by integrating technology into its large physical

footprint.

Most emerging market consumer businesses are behind their developed market peers in using technology as a

growth driver; however, we believe that its importance will eventually increase. In countries like India and

Thailand, leading consumer businesses are benefiting from secular trends, such as industry consolidation and

formalization, urbanization, and growing consumption. Eventually these trends will become less meaningful,

and new retailing strategies will play an important role in sustaining market share and above-average earnings

growth—just as we’re seeing today in more developed markets.

10



Thus far, the secular shift from mom-and-pop stores to branded chains has underpinned CP All’s expansion.

The company currently captures over 60 percent of the Thai convenience store market through its 7-Eleven

stores.vi It expects to open 700 stores annually over the next five years. CP All’s stores—which feature modern

comforts such as air conditioning, electricity, and product consistency and quality—provide its customers with

both convenience and a superior shopping experience. While the number of existing convenience stores in

Thailand probably has room to double, we believe that store expansion will eventually become a less dominant

growth driver for CP All.

Longer term, the company’s growth likely will rely more on adopting technology to leverage its massive

physical scale. Thailand already has the highest 7-Eleven foot traffic globally, so management is focusing on

increasing items sold per purchase and the proportion of higher-margin items. Additionally, CP All is beginning

to incorporate technology to better serve its customer base, which is largely millennial and internet savvy.

Online retailing, or retail, is one initiative. The Thai retail market expanded threefold since 2009, but online

sales still account for less than two percent of the country’s total retail sales. Within this nascent and

fragmented space, CP All has the second-highest etail market share, at approximately 11 percent.vii

CP All

launched 24 Shopping Company in 2014 to lead its non-store retailing opportunities, and customers have the

option of picking up orders 24/7 at 7-Eleven stores across the country.

Thailand’s high use of smartphones—which account for 90 percent of the country’s internet traffic—support

CP All’s digital payment initiative.viii

The company’s M-Stamp campaign enables customers to collect digital

stamps on the 7-Eleven mobile application, with the aim of increasing mobile and digital money adoption.

Similarly, Chinese tourists can now use Alibaba’s AliPay at any Thai 7-Eleven. In addition to better serving its

mobile-savvy customers, digital money and other forms of electronic payments tend to result in larger average

basket sizes compared with conventional cash payments.

Change Creates Growth Opportunities

Headlines are distorting the retail reality. Instead of dying, the ever-evolving retail industry is undergoing its

latest transformation. Our job is to interpret the implications of these changes, and to apply our deep

understanding of business models to determine the companies best positioned to succeed. We believe certain

competitive advantages—including technology-enabled omnichannel capabilities, brand strength, value,

convenience, and experiential offerings—will allow a select group of innovative businesses to emerge as the

winners.

We thank you for your ongoing support of Sands Capital and invite any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

The Sands Capital Investment Team

6 November 2017

iIHL: Debunking the Retail Apocalypse iiIHL, St. Louis Federal Reserve iiiSears, Roebuck & Company is not a Global Growth holding. ivhttps://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-eMarketers-Estimates-20162021/2002090 vhttps://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/4683364/On+Solid+Ground.pdf/f96d82ce-e40c-450d-97bb-884b017f4cd7 viDeutsche Bank: Best of Both Worlds viiCredit Suisse: Thailand E-commerce Sector viiihttp://my-thai.org/digital-southeast-asia-thailand-2017-overview/

11

https://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-eMarketers-Estimates-20162021/2002090

https://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/4683364/On+Solid+Ground.pdf/f96d82ce-e40c-450d-97bb-884b017f4cd7


INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2017 (continued) Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund Dear Shareholder: We are pleased to provide you with the Annual Report for the Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund (the

“Fund”) for the period ending 31 October 2017. During the past year, the Fund’s Classes compared to the

Russell 1000 Growth Index (R1000G) returned:

Class Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class A EUR Class Z USD

Launch date 11-Dec-12 13-Feb-13 14-May-13 04-Jun-13 11-Sep-13

Return* 25.94% 25.96% 15.94% 16.85% 25.40%

R1000G Return* 29.64% 29.64% 18.78% 21.76% 29.64% * Where a class has been in operation for more than one year, the return of the class and benchmark are presented for the one year period

from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2017.

Performance Review The top five contributors to relative investment results during the reporting period were Alibaba, Visa, Adobe,

Netflix, and Salesforce. The largest five detractors were Under Armour, Snap, Cerner, Palo Alto Networks, and

Chipotle Mexican Grill. During the period, the Select Growth strategy initiated investments Monster, Snap,

Starbucks, CoStar Group, and Activision Blizzard and exited positions in Monsanto, Cerner, Mobileye,

Schlumberger, Athenahealth, and Under Armour. From a sector perspective, consumers and financials were the

largest contributors to relative investment results during the period. Technology and healthcare were the largest

detractors to relative results. We witnessed two extreme environments for U.S. growth equities over the past 12 months. Year-to-date, share

prices of faster-growing U.S. companies have outperformed stocks of slower growing companies, while the last

eight weeks of 2016 was fueled by the reflation theme or “Trump Trade”—which greatly benefited mostly

stocks of slower growing or cyclical companies. We believe the stark reversal in performance was a result of

investors shifting their attention from potential short-term catalysts back to fundamentals. Strong underlying

fundamentals and consensus-beating earnings have supported this year’s steady climb of shares of faster-

growing companies. Commentary: Picking Winners in the Rapidly Evolving Retail Industry Brave New Digital World The reports of retail’s death by ecommerce are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the overall retail industry looks


to exceed 4,000 this year, with 5,500 openings projected for 2018.i Retail sales grew by over $120 billion


creating the broad retail apocalypse suggested by many headlines. While we do expect Amazon—which we

own—to continue to take share and deliver strong business results, we do not view the retail environment as

winner-take-all.iii



possible. Transformation is not new to the retail industry. From the ancient Greek marketplaces, the Sears catalog, the


industry has been evolving for thousands of years.iv




12








fifth of global retail sales for the foreseeable future.v











investment in local supermarket chains.vi We believe that Amazon and Alibaba’s transactions indicate that a















procurement, and return.vii














13








Starbucks: No lines. No waiting. Leading digital.

Digital strategies, combined with a large global footprint and operating scale, make Starbucks one of the

retailers best positioned to capitalize on the secular shift to mobile shopping and the new on-demand

economy.viii

Businesses selling low-ticket and convenience-based items, such as food and certain personal items, can often

sidestep the threat of ecommerce. The captive, need-it-now nature of the customer’s purchase makes

ecommerce—no matter how fast the shipping speed—less of a threat. The best leverage mobile technology to

strengthen this advantage.

Within the restaurant industry, digital strategies, such as mobile ordering and loyalty programs, are becoming

increasingly important. Digital initiatives can drive foot traffic, higher transaction values, comparable sales

growth, and margin expansion. For a company such as Starbucks, which pioneered the integration of mobile

ordering in the food and beverage industry, digital initiatives present a massive and sustainable opportunity

worldwide.

Starbucks’s Mobile Order and Pay (MOP) program has achieved strong early traction, even though this feature

debuted less than two years ago. MOP is one of the reasons why, despite slowing retail traffic, Starbucks

achieved strong growth this year. We expect MOP will continue to drive U.S. same-store sales. Sales through

MOP currently make up nearly 10 percent of the company’s sales in the U.S., up from five percent just one year

ago.

The traction of Starbucks’s MOP program was so rapid that the company experienced disruptions in some of its

store operations. The baristas were unable to keep up with the flow of both mobile and in-store orders. As a

result, Starbucks is taking several steps to keep up with the pace of MOP adoption. These efforts include

adjusting employee roles during peak hours, implementing a new Digital Order Manager system in the busiest

restaurants, and adjusting store formats—for example, creating a separate section for MOP customers—to

improve efficiency.

Furthermore, Starbucks added over one million new customers to its digital loyalty program over the past year,

which we expect will translate to increased adoption of MOP. Loyalty program members typically have higher-

ticket transactions than non-loyalty members, and customers that order through MOP have the highest-ticket

transactions.

Starbucks’s success in the restaurant industry will persist, in our view, as it continues to test and create new

digital capabilities that expand its mobile ecosystem. For example, the company is testing a new location-based

feature that will alert customers of special offers. Research indicates that approximately two-thirds of

consumers allow mobile application notifications, and that app-based purchasing increases by more than 100

percent for restaurants when push notifications are used. We expect this demand-generation strategy to drive

sales particularly during slower days or seasonally weak periods.







winners.

14




Sincerely,


6 November 2017

i IHL: Debunking the Retail Apocalypse ii IHL: St. Louis Federal Reserve iii As of 9/30/17, Amazon was held in the Select Growth Strategy (5.6%). iv Sears, Roebuck & Company is not a holding in the Select Growth Strategy v https://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-eMarketers-Estimates-20162021/2002090 vi As of 9/30/17, Alibaba was held in the Select Growth Strategy (7.0%) vii https://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/4683364/On+Solid+Ground.pdf/f96d82ce-e40c-450d-97bb-884b017f4cd7 viii As of 9/30/17, Starbucks was held in the Select Growth Strategy (1.6%).

15





Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund

Dear Shareholder:

We are pleased to provide you with the Annual Report for the Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund

(the “Fund”) for the 12-month period ending 31 October 2017. Since inception, the Fund’s classes, compared to

the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MSCI EM) returned:

Class Class A USD Class A GBP

Launch date 31-Oct-13 24-May-16

Return* 24.55% 14.29%

MSCI EM Return* 26.67% 15.89% * Where a class has been in operation for more than one year, the return of the class and benchmark are presented for the one year period from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2017.

Performance Review

The top five contributors to relative investment results were Alibaba, MercadoLibre, Adani Ports, Jubilant

Foodworks, and Mail.ru. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Lupin, Apollo Hospitals, Hikma

Pharmaceuticals, and Magnit were the largest relative detractors. During the period, the Fund initiated

investments in IndusInd Bank, Yandex, HDFC Bank, Netshoes, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, Avenue

Supermarts, Sunny Optical, and Sea Limited. The Fund exited positions in Kalbe Farma, LG Household &

Health Care, Bharat Forge, BIM Birlesik Magazalar, Shriram Transport Finance, Shandong Weigao Group

Medical, Universal Robina, Cielo, and Almarai.

From a sector perspective, industrials and information technology (IT) were the largest contributors to relative

investment results during the period. Health care and consumer staples were the top relative sector detractors.

On a regional basis, Mid-East & Africa and Latin America contributed most to relative investment results,

while Emerging Asia was the largest relative detractor.

Emerging market equities posted strong returns for the 12-month period ending 31 October 2017. In addition to

strong macroeconomic data and earnings growth, we believe that emerging markets were broadly supported

over the past year by persistent U.S. Dollar weakness, a 20 percent recovery in oil prices, and continued

accommodative global monetary policies.

Our industrials businesses benefitted as Indian equity markets hit all-time highs, fueled by pro-growth reforms.

We maintain our optimistic view of India’s long-term prospects, which is reflected in our 30 percent weighting

to Indian businesses, compared to the country’s nine percent share of the MSCI EM. We believe that real

reforms are underway that have the potential to fuel economic growth by increasing domestic consumption and

removing barriers to doing business.

Chinese IT companies were particularly strong, and just four companies—Tencent, Alibaba, Taiwan

Semiconductor, and Baidu—were responsible for over 50 percent of the sector’s overall contribution to the

index return. As the Chinese IT sector derives the majority of its revenue from within the country, these

businesses are poised to benefit from the secular trends of increased mobile and internet usage for commerce,

content, and communication.

External forces weighed on several of our emerging market health care businesses. For example, U.S. generic

drug industry headwinds weighed on Hikma and Lupin’s business results, while short-term issues including

government price controls and a triennial reset in non-doctor employee compensation impacted Apollo. We

expect these near-term pressures to eventually abate, and our long-term investment cases largely remain intact.

Allocation effect caused the detraction from consumer staples. Our fund maintains an underweight to this area,

due to a lack of growth businesses that meet our fundamental investment criteria.

16



We do not attempt to predict the leading or lagging sectors and countries on a quarterly basis. Rather, we

continue to believe that investing in leading franchises capable of generating above-average earnings growth

across economic cycles is the most prudent way to add value over time. Instead of investing with cyclical

factors, we try to identify the durable secular trends that can underpin the growth of leading businesses. We

remain steadfast in our approach, and our belief that selectively owning the right businesses will be the primary

driver of long-term value.

Commentary: Picking Winners in the Rapidly Evolving Retail Industry

Brave New Digital World

The reports of retail’s death by ecommerce are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the overall retail industry looks


to exceed 4,000 this year, with 5,500 openings projected for 2018. i Retail sales grew by over $120 billion


creating the broad retail apocalypse suggested by many headlines. While we do expect Amazon to continue to

take share and deliver strong business results, we do not view the retail environment as winner-take-all.iii



possible.

Transformation is not new to the retail industry. From the ancient Greek marketplaces, the Sears catalog, the


industry has been evolving for thousands of years. iv









fifth of global retail sales for the foreseeable future.v











investment in local supermarket chains. We believe that Amazon and Alibaba’s transactions indicate that a







17











procurement, and return.vi



















CP All: Next-Level Convenience

CP All is an example of an emerging markets business that built its dominant position through the formalization

and consolidation of retail, and can propel future growth by integrating technology into its large physical

footprint.

Most emerging market consumer businesses are behind their developed market peers in using technology as a

growth driver; however, we believe that its importance will eventually increase. In countries like India and

Thailand, leading consumer businesses are benefiting from secular trends, such as industry consolidation and

formalization, urbanization, and growing consumption. Eventually these trends will become less meaningful,

and new retailing strategies will play an important role in sustaining market share and above-average earnings

growth—just as we’re seeing today in more developed markets.

Thus far, the secular shift from mom-and-pop stores to branded chains has underpinned CP All’s expansion.

The company currently captures over 60 percent of the Thai convenience store market through its 7-Eleven

stores.vii

It expects to open 700 stores annually over the next five years. CP All’s stores—which feature modern

comforts such as air conditioning, electricity, and product consistency and quality—provide its customers with

both convenience and a superior shopping experience. While the number of existing convenience stores in

Thailand probably has room to double, we believe that store expansion will eventually become a less dominant

growth driver for CP All.

18



Longer term, the company’s growth likely will rely more on adopting technology to leverage its massive

physical scale. Thailand already has the highest 7-Eleven foot traffic globally, so management is focusing on

increasing items sold per purchase and the proportion of higher-margin items. Additionally, CP All is beginning

to incorporate technology to better serve its customer base, which is largely millennial and internet savvy.

Online retailing, or etail, is one initiative. The Thai etail market expanded threefold since 2009, but online sales

still account for less than two percent of the country’s total retail sales. Within this nascent and fragmented

space, CP All has the second-highest etail market share, at approximately 11 percent.viii

CP All launched 24

Shopping Company in 2014 to lead its non-store retailing opportunities, and customers have the option of

picking up orders 24/7 at 7-Eleven stores across the country.

Thailand’s high use of smartphones—which account for 90 percent of the country’s internet traffic—support

CP All’s digital payment initiative.ix

The company’s M-Stamp campaign enables customers to collect digital

stamps on the 7-Eleven mobile application, with the aim of increasing mobile and digital money adoption.

Similarly, Chinese tourists can now use Alibaba’s AliPay at any Thai 7-Eleven. In addition to better serving its

mobile-savvy customers, digital money and other forms of electronic payments tend to result in larger average

basket sizes compared with conventional cash payments.







winners.


Sincerely,


6 November 2017

iIHL: Debunking the Retail Apocalypse iiIHL, St. Louis Federal Reserve iiiAmazon is not an Emerging Markets Growth holding. ivSears, Roebuck & Company is not an Emerging Markets Growth holding. vhttps://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-eMarketers-Estimates-20162021/2002090 vihttps://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/4683364/On+Solid+Ground.pdf/f96d82ce-e40c-450d-97bb-884b017f4cd7 viiDeutsche Bank: Best of Both Worlds viiiCredit Suisse: Thailand E-commerce Sector ixhttp://my-thai.org/digital-southeast-asia-thailand-2017-overview/

19



ML PWC

Independent auditors' report to the members of Sands Capital Funds plc

Report on the audit of the financial statements

Opinion

In our opinion, Sands Capital Funds plc's financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the Company's and sub-funds' assets, liabilities and financial position as at 31 October 2017 and of their results and cash flows for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRSs") as adopted by the European Union; and

• have been properly prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2014 and the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2011 (as amended).

We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements, which comprise:

• the Statement of Financial Position as at 31 October 2017;

• the Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year then ended;

• the Statement of Cash Flows for the year then ended;

• the Statement of Changes in Net Assets Attributable to Holders of Redeemable Participating Shares for the year then ended;

• the Schedule of Investments for each of the sub-funds as at 31 October 2017; and

• the notes to the financial statements for the Company and for each of its sub-funds, which include a description of the significant accounting policies.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (Ireland) ("ISAs (Ireland)") and applicable law.

Our responsibilities under ISAs (Ireland) are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence

We remained independent of the Company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in Ireland, which includes IAASA's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which ISAs (Ireland) require us to report to you where:

• the direc$rs' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation *the financial statements is not appropriate; or

• the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the Company's and sub-funds' ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this statement is not a guarantee as to the Company's and sub-funds' ability to continue as going concerns.

IL PWC

Reporting on other information

The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements other than the financial statements and our auditors' report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this report, any form of assurance thereon. In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency or material misstatement, we are required to perform procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement of the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report based on these responsibilities.

With respect to the Directors' Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the Companies Act 2014 have been included.

Based on the responsibilities described above and our work undertaken in the course of the audit, ISAs (Ireland) and the Companies Act 2014 require us to also report certain opinions and matters as described below:

• In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Directors' Report for the year ended 31 October 2017 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements

• Based on our knowledge and understanding of the Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified any material misstatements in the Directors' Report.

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit

Responsibilities of the directors for th efincmcial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' responsibilities for the financial statements set out on page 3, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view.

The directors are also responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the Company's and sub-funds' ability to continue as going concerns, disclosing as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors' report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (Ireland) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the IAASA website at:

https://www.iaasa.ie/getrnedia/b238qo13-1cf6-4,8b-gb8f-ag82o2cicqc3a/Description of auditors responsibilities for a ud it. pdf.

This desription forms part of our auditors' report.

Use of this report

This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the Company's members as a body in accordance with section 391 of the Companies Act 2014 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

IL PWC

Other required reporting

Companies Act 2014 opinions on other matters

• We have obtained all the information and explanations which we consider necessary for the purposes of our audit.

• In our opinion the accounting records of the Company were sufficient to permit the financial statements to be readily and properly audited.

The financial statements are in agreement with the accounting records.

Companies Act 2014 exception reporting

Directors' remttneration and transactions

Under the Companies Act 2014 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion, the disclosures of directors' remuneration and transactions specified by sections 305 to 312 of that Act have not been made. We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.

(Joanne Kelly for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers Chartered Accountants and Statutory Audit Firm Dublin 20 February 2018

https://www.iaasa.ie/getmedia/b2389013-1cf6-458b-9b8f-a98202dc9c3a/Description_of_auditors_responsibilities_for_audit.pdf

https://www.iaasa.ie/getmedia/b2389013-1cf6-458b-9b8f-a98202dc9c3a/Description_of_auditors_responsibilities_for_audit.pdf



As at 31 October 2017

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund

Equities Shares US$ Value % NAV

Belgium

Galapagos 281,000 27,391,880 1.16%

Total Belgium (2016: US$18,942,122; 1.24% ) 27,391,880 1.16%

Canada

Shopify 489,000 48,650,610 2.06%

Total Canada (2016:Nil) 48,650,610 2.06%

China

Alibaba Group Holding 759,000 140,331,510 5.94%

Baidu 381,000 92,941,140 3.93%

Total China (2016: US$106,691,370; 6.99% ) 233,272,650 9.87%

Denmark

Genmab 156,000 31,501,585 1.33%

Total Denmark (2016:Nil) 31,501,585 1.33%

Germany

Zalando 450,000 22,653,531 0.96%

Total Germany (2016:Nil) 22,653,531 0.96%

Great Britain

ASOS 604,000 45,701,300 1.93%

Rolls-Royce Holdings 3,931,000 50,799,716 2.15%

Total Great Britain (2016: US$70,942,739; 4.65% ) 96,501,016 4.08%

India

Asian Paints 1,967,000 35,860,539 1.52%

Eicher Motors 95,682 47,616,129 2.01%

Housing Development Finance 3,390,000 89,361,962 3.78%

Maruti Suzuki 594,000 75,303,202 3.19%

Motherson Sumi Systems 5,796,000 32,679,610 1.38%

Titan Company 4,094,000 40,152,282 1.70%

Total India (2016: US$196,134,191; 12.85% ) 320,973,724 13.58%

Japan

Fast Retailing 85,500 28,280,682 1.20%

PeptiDream 357,000 11,271,536 0.48%

Total Japan (2016: US$56,555,689; 3.71% ) 39,552,218 1.68%

Netherlands

ASML Holding 506,000 91,459,500 3.87%

Total Netherlands (2016: US$51,886,320; 3.40% ) 91,459,500 3.87%

South Africa

Naspers 308,000 75,046,238 3.17%

Total South Africa (2016: US$43,919,297; 2.88% ) 75,046,238 3.17%

Thailand

Airports of Thailand 23,536,000 42,155,087 1.78%

CP All 31,320,000 65,996,388 2.79%

Total Thailand (2016: US$68,449,515; 4.48% ) 108,151,475 4.57%

23



As at 31 October 2017 (continued)

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund (continued)

Equities (continued) Shares US$ Value % NAV

United States

Alphabet - Class A 47,200 48,759,488 2.06%

Alphabet - Class C 32,500 33,040,800 1.40%

Amazon 85,000 93,948,800 3.97%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical 430,000 35,298,700 1.49%

Charles Schwab 1,783,000 79,949,720 3.38%

Chipotle Mexican Grill 127,500 34,667,250 1.47%

Edwards Lifesciences 450,000 46,003,500 1.95%

Facebook 708,000 127,482,480 5.39%

Illumina 271,000 55,606,490 2.35%

Incyte 423,500 47,961,375 2.03%

Las Vegas Sands 723,000 45,823,740 1.94%

Medidata Solutions 492,000 37,013,160 1.57%

Netflix 258,500 50,777,155 2.15%

Nike 1,039,000 57,134,610 2.42%

Priceline Group 53,100 101,525,076 4.30%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 156,500 63,010,030 2.67%

Starbucks 805,000 44,146,201 1.86%

Visa 1,001,000 110,089,980 4.66%

Workday 716,000 79,468,840 3.36%

Total United States (2016: US$849,039,640; 55.63% ) 1,191,707,395 50.42%

Total Equities (2016: US$1,454,036,015; 95.27% )* 2,286,861,822 96.76%

Financial Assets At Fair Value Through Profit Or Loss (2016: US$1,454,036,015; 95.27% ) 2,286,861,822 96.76%

Cash And Bank Balances (2016: US$71,483,715; 4.68%) 80,596,858 3.41%

Other Net Liabilities (2016: US$773,478; 0.05%) (3,927,909) (0.17%)

Net Assets Attributable To Holders Of Redeemable Participating

Shares (2016: US$1,526,293,208; 100% ) 2,363,530,771 100.00%

Portfolio Analysis % Total Assets

Transferable securities admitted to an official stock exchange 96.45%

OTC positions 0.00%

Other assets 3.55%

Total assets 100.00%

*The market values of the positions as of 31 October 2016 above are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which

the dealing NAV is comprised. Please see note 18 for further information.

24




Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund


China


Baidu 42,000 10,245,480 4.46%

Total China (2016: US$23,601,595; 8.23% ) 25,406,460 11.06%

Israel

Total Israel (2016: US$4,252,200; 1.48% ) - - -

United States

Activision Blizzard 70,000 4,584,300 2.00%

Adobe Systems 57,400 10,054,184 4.38%

Alexion Pharmaceuticals 53,500 6,401,810 2.79%

Alphabet - Class A 10,800 11,156,832 4.86%

Alphabet - Class C* - 4 0.00%

Amazon 12,900 14,258,112 6.20%

Biogen Idec 13,500 4,207,410 1.83%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical 55,000 4,514,950 1.97%

Charles Schwab 149,000 6,681,160 2.91%

Chipotle Mexican Grill 12,900 3,507,510 1.52%

Costar 16,225 4,798,544 2.09%

Edwards Lifesciences 44,000 4,498,120 1.96%

Facebook 85,200 15,341,112 6.68%

Illumina 31,500 6,463,485 2.81%

Incyte 49,803 5,640,190 2.46%

LendingClub 256,000 1,456,640 0.63%

Monster Beverage Corporation 118,000 6,835,740 2.98%

Netflix 56,200 11,039,366 4.81%

Palo Alto Networks 45,900 6,756,480 2.94%

Priceline Group 4,850 9,273,006 4.04%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 15,600 6,280,872 2.74%

Salesforce 141,100 14,440,174 6.29%

ServiceNow 92,000 11,626,040 5.06%

Snap 151,000 2,316,340 1.01%

Splunk 72,600 4,885,980 2.13%

Starbucks 68,100 3,734,604 1.63%

Under Amour - Class A 39,156 490,233 0.21%

Under Amour - Class C 39,229 452,310 0.20%

Visa 155,200 17,068,896 7.43%

Total United States (2016: US$252,430,273; 87.99% ) 198,764,404 86.56%

Total Equities (2016: US$279,066,839; 97.28% )** 224,170,864 97.62%

*The shares of Alphabet Class C have been rounded down to Nil as there was only a fractional outstanding shares

**The market values of the positions as of 31 October 2016 above are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which


25




Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund (continued)

Shares US$ Value % NAV

Financial Assets At Fair Value Through Profit Or Loss (2016: US$279,066,839; 97.28% ) 224,170,864 97.62%

Cash And Bank Balances (2016: US$16,367,000; 5.71%) 3,002,373 1.31%

Other Net Assets (2016: (US$8,578,822); (2.99%)) 2,452,348 1.07%


Shares (2016: US$286,855,017; 100% ) 229,625,585 100.00%



OTC positions 0.00%

Other assets 2.57%


26






Argentina

MercadoLibre 13,300 3,196,123 2.62%

Total Argentina (2016: US$3,047,900; 3.62% ) 3,196,123 2.62%

Brazil

Netshoes 57,100 592,698 0.49%

Raia Drogasil 119,925 2,885,855 2.36%

Total Brazil (2016: US$4,483,221; 5.32% ) 3,478,553 2.85%

Cambodia

NagaCorp 2,228,000 1,799,216 1.47%

Total Cambodia (2016: US$1,215,549; 1.44% ) 1,799,216 1.47%

China


Anta Sports 753,000 3,368,588 2.75%

Baidu 28,347 6,914,967 5.67%

Ctrip 81,700 3,912,613 3.21%

Sands China 595,600 2,805,689 2.30%

Sunny Optical 73,000 1,068,603 0.88%

Tencent Holdings 122,200 5,479,217 4.49%

Total China (2016: US$19,984,593; 23.73% ) 33,088,707 27.12%

Great Britain

Hikma Pharmaceuticals 120,800 1,867,520 1.53%

Total Great Britain (2016: US$1,892,232; 2.25% ) 1,867,520 1.53%

India

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone 761,300 5,058,193 4.14%

Apollo Hospitals 106,300 1,704,427 1.40%

Asian Paints 84,100 1,533,234 1.26%

Avenue Supermarts Limited 50,645 891,841 0.73%

Britannia 19,400 1,389,603 1.14%

Eicher Motors 5,205 2,590,267 2.12%

HDFC Bank 99,000 2,768,034 2.27%

Housing Development Finance 191,800 5,055,936 4.14%

Indusind Bank 95,141 2,390,083 1.96%

ITC 319,900 1,312,271 1.08%

Jubilant Foodworks 126,575 3,190,500 2.61%

Larsen & Toubro 117,400 2,215,459 1.82%

Lupin 69,200 1,098,343 0.90%

Makemytrip 91,200 2,489,760 2.04%

Zee Entertainment Enterprise 339,300 2,838,708 2.33%

Total India (2016: US$25,356,329; 30.09% ) 36,526,659 29.94%

Indonesia

Bank Rakyat Indonesia 1,992,200 2,291,489 1.88%

Siloam International Hospitals 1,732,705 1,245,631 1.02%

Total Indonesia (2016: US$3,716,139; 4.41% ) 3,537,120 2.90%

27




Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund (continued)

Equities (continued) Shares US$ Value % NAV

Korea

Amorepacific 8,150 2,284,197 1.87%

Medy Tox 7,131 2,695,567 2.21%

Total Korea (2016: US$3,729,784; 4.43% ) 4,979,764 4.08%

Malaysia

IHH Healthcare 887,300 1,182,089 0.97%

Total Malaysia (2016: US$1,189,960; 1.41% ) 1,182,089 0.97%

Mexico

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste 7,542 1,348,434 1.10%

Total Mexico (2016: Nil) 1,348,434 1.10%

Peru

Credicorp 12,342 2,584,908 2.12%

Total Peru (2016: US$1,600,562; 1.90% ) 2,584,908 2.12%

Philippines

International Container 813,600 1,666,330 1.37%

SM Prime Holdings 2,362,300 1,694,748 1.39%

Total Philippines (2016: US$3,588,423; 4.26% ) 3,361,078 2.76%

Russia

Magnit 51,100 1,446,129 1.18%

Mail.ru Group 72,800 2,366,000 1.94%

Yandex 144,350 4,883,361 4.00%

Total Russia (2016: US$2,880,620; 3.42% ) 8,695,490 7.12%

Singapore

Sea Ltd 106,500 1,606,020 1.32%

Total Singapore (2016: Nil) 1,606,020 1.32%

South Africa

Naspers 23,450 5,713,747 4.67%

Total South Africa (2016: US$4,106,957; 4.86% ) 5,713,747 4.67%

Taiwan

Taiwan Semicunductor 77,040 3,261,103 2.67%

Total Taiwan (2016: US$1,653,580; 1.96% ) 3,261,103 2.67%

Thailand

CP All 1,360,950 2,867,745 2.34%

Total Thailand (2016: US$2,096,043; 2.49% ) 2,867,745 2.34%

Turkey

Total Turkey (2016: US$1,184,737; 1.41% ) - - -

Total Equities (2016: US$81,393,388; 96.60% )* 119,094,276 97.58%

28




Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund (continued)

Participatory Notes Shares US$ Value % NAV

Saudi Arabia

Total Saudi Arabia (2016: US$1,741,638; 2.07% ) - - -

Financial Assets At Fair Value Through Profit Or Loss (2016: US$83,135,026; 98.67% ) 119,094,276 97.58%

Cash And Bank Balances (2016: US$941,047; 1.12%) 2,935,605 2.41%

Other Net Assets (2016: (US$180,003); 0.21%) 7,428 0.01%


Shares (2016: US$84,256,076; 100% ) 122,037,309 100.00%



OTC positions 0.00%

Other assets 2.62%


*The market values of the positions as at 31 October 2016 above are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which


29


STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION (continued)


Global US Select Emerging Markets

Note Growth Fund Growth Fund Growth Fund Total

Assets US$ US$ US$ US$

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 2, 9, 17, 18 1,454,036,015 279,066,839 83,135,026 1,816,237,880

Cash and bank balances 15 71,483,715 16,367,000 941,047 88,791,762

Securities sold receivable - - 365,171 365,171

Subscriptions receivable 1,815,100 - 77,542 1,892,642

Dividends receivable 481,265 - 15,473 496,738

Prepaid Expenses 805 805 805 2,415

Total assets 1,527,816,900 295,434,644 84,535,064 1,907,786,608

Liabilities

Payables for securities purchased - 2,236,942 124,683 2,361,625

Redemptions payable 84,555 5,999,006 - 6,083,561

Audit fee payable 17,267 18,848 18,822 54,937

Legal fee payable 17,067 8,404 18,316 43,787

Directors fee payable 7,053 7,053 7,053 21,159

Administration and Transfer Agency fee payable 6 106,434 20,123 6,126 132,683

Investment management fee payable 6 1,041,647 231,440 66,689 1,339,776

Trustee and Custodian fees payable 6 231,469 47,654 36,694 315,817

Other accrued expenses 18,200 10,157 6,257 34,614

Total liabilities 1,523,692 8,579,627 284,640 10,387,959

Investment management fee waiver and reimbursements 6 - - (5,652) (5,652)

Total net liabilities 1,523,692 8,579,627 278,988 10,382,307

Net assets attributable to holders of redeemable participating shares 1,526,293,208 286,855,017 84,256,076 1,897,404,301


The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

31


STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME




US$ US$ US$ US$

Income

Net gains on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 2,3 543,877,062 53,360,499 26,608,096 623,845,657

Dividend income 2 11,551,766 318,142 1,123,784 12,993,692

Other income 294,335 12,980 9,133 316,448

Total income 555,723,163 53,691,621 27,741,013 637,155,797

Expenses

Investment Management fee 6 17,209,963 2,290,587 1,072,661 20,573,211

Administration and Transfer Agency fee 6 821,327 96,405 46,078 963,810

Depositary and Trustee fee 6 721,609 70,537 103,190 895,336

Legal fee 59,553 65,212 55,301 180,066

Audit fee 6 20,887 19,266 19,331 59,484

Directors fee 8 25,529 23,909 24,903 74,341

Other expenses 7 140,816 104,533 123,289 368,638

Total expenses 18,999,684 2,670,449 1,444,753 23,114,886


Total net expenses 18,999,684 2,670,449 1,284,196 22,954,329

Profit before tax 536,723,479 51,021,172 26,456,817 614,201,468

Capital gains tax 4 - - (45,277) (45,277)

Withholding tax 4 (2,032,933) (75,942) (87,775) (2,196,650)

Increase in net assets attributable to holders of

redeemable participating shares 534,690,546 50,945,230 26,323,765 611,959,541



32


STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (continued)




US$ US$ US$ US$

Income

Net gains on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 2,3 50,017,905 (23,468,531) 2,782,213 29,331,587

Dividend income 2 10,645,593 787,964 693,056 12,126,613

Other income 46,862 5,645 2,229 54,736

Total income 60,710,360 (22,674,922) 3,477,498 41,512,936

Expenses

Investment Management fee 6 13,391,055 3,969,997 709,167 18,070,219

Administration and Transfer Agency fee 6 662,452 171,375 29,970 863,797

Trustee and Custodian fee 6 490,787 100,757 77,288 668,832

Legal fee 103,593 96,304 101,946 301,843

Audit fee 6 17,714 19,296 19,278 56,288

Directors fee 8 13,497 13,888 13,504 40,889

Organisational expenses - (25,950) - (25,950)

Other expenses 7 103,669 80,925 77,895 262,489

Total expenses 14,782,767 4,426,592 1,029,048 20,238,407


Total net expenses 14,782,767 4,426,592 906,571 20,115,930

Profit/(loss) before tax 45,927,593 (27,101,514) 2,570,927 21,397,006

Capital gains tax 4 (28,577) - - (28,577)

Withholding tax 4 (2,019,608) (177,172) (41,953) (2,238,733)

Increase/(decrease) in net assets attributable to holders of

redeemable participating shares 43,879,408 (27,278,686) 2,528,974 19,129,696



33


STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS ATTRIBUTABLE TO HOLDERS OF REDEEMABLE PARTICIPATING SHARES



Growth Fund Growth Fund Growth Fund Total

US$ US$ US$ US$

Net assets attributable to holders of redeemable participating

shares at the beginning of the year 1,526,293,208 286,855,017 84,256,076 1,897,404,301

Capital Transactions

Proceeds from redeemable participating shares issued 570,905,580 75,963,708 36,292,735 683,162,023

Cost of redeemable participating shares redeemed (268,358,563) (184,138,370) (24,835,267) (477,332,200)

Increase in net assets attributable to holders of redeemable

participating shares 534,690,546 50,945,230 26,323,765 611,959,541


shares at the end of the year 2,363,530,771 229,625,585 122,037,309 2,715,193,665



34


STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS ATTRIBUTABLE TO HOLDERS OF REDEEMABLE PARTICIPATING SHARES (continued)




US$ US$ US$ US$


shares at the beginning of the year 1,788,240,602 505,459,492 72,472,545 2,366,172,639

Capital Transactions

Proceeds from redeemable participating shares issued 186,360,543 14,320,727 40,422,392 241,103,662

Cost of redeemable participating shares redeemed (492,187,345) (205,646,516) (31,167,835) (729,001,696)

Increase/(decrease) in net assets attributable to holders of redeemable

participating shares 43,879,408 (27,278,686) 2,528,974 19,129,696


shares at the end of the year 1,526,293,208 286,855,017 84,256,076 1,897,404,301



35


STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS




US$ US$ US$ US$

Cash flows from operating activities :

Increase in net assets resulting from operations before adjustments 534,690,546 50,945,230 26,323,765 611,959,541

Adjustment for:

Net (increase)/decrease in financial assets at fair value through profit or loss (832,825,807) 54,895,975 (35,959,250) (813,889,082)

Net increase/(decrease) in fees payable and accrued expenses 481,865 (2,294,939) (5,840) (1,818,914)

Net decrease/(increase)in receivables and prepaid fees 46,696 (2,897,467) 212,413 (2,638,358)

Cash (used in)/provided by operations (832,297,246) 49,703,569 (35,752,677) (818,346,354)

Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities (297,606,700) 100,648,799 (9,428,912) (206,386,813)

Cash flows from/(used by) financing activities

Cash held in investor money collection account (871,386) (1,115) (5) (872,506)

Proceeds from issue of redeemable participating shares 570,566,752 75,963,708 36,258,742 682,789,202

Redemptions of redeemable participating shares (262,975,523) (189,976,019) (24,835,267) (477,786,809)

Net cash from/(used by) financing activities 306,719,843 (114,013,426) 11,423,470 204,129,887

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 9,113,143 (13,364,627) 1,994,558 (2,256,926)

Cash and bank balances at start of the year 71,483,715 16,367,000 941,047 88,791,762

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 80,596,858 3,002,373 2,935,605 86,534,836

Supplementary Information

Dividends received 9,566,298 242,200 1,031,958 10,840,456

Interest received 294,335 12,980 9,133 316,448



36


STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (continued)




US$ US$ US$ US$

Cash flows from operating activities:

Increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations before adjustments 43,879,408 (27,278,686) 2,528,974 19,129,696

Adjustment for:

Net decrease/(increase) in financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 283,869,303 223,121,967 (14,475,419) 492,515,851

Net (decrease)/increase in fees payable and accrued expenses (14,953) 2,065,779 10,114 2,060,940

Net decrease/(increase) in receivables and prepaid fees 1,146,348 (805) (345,597) 799,946

Cash used in operations 285,000,698 225,186,941 (14,810,902) 495,376,737

Net provided/(cash used) in operating activities 328,880,106 197,908,255 (12,281,928) 514,506,433

Cash flows from financing activities

Proceeds from issue of redeemable participating shares 185,652,864 14,320,727 40,344,850 240,318,441

Redemptions of redeemable participating shares (493,301,369) (199,647,510) (31,205,602) (724,154,481)

Net cash (used by)/ from financing activities (307,648,505) (185,326,783) 9,139,248 (483,836,040)

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 21,231,601 12,581,472 (3,142,680) 30,670,393

Cash and bank balances at start of the year 50,252,114 3,785,528 4,083,727 58,121,369

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 71,483,715 16,367,000 941,047 88,791,762

Supplementary Information

Dividends received 8,890,818 610,792 669,165 10,170,775

Interest received 46,862 5,645 2,229 54,736



37


NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


1. Organisation

Sands Capital Funds plc (the “Company”) was incorporated on 13 May 2010 and is an investment company

established as an open-ended umbrella fund with variable capital under the laws of Ireland as a public limited

company pursuant to the Companies Act 2014 (as amended) (the “Act”) and the European Communities (Undertaking

for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No 352 of 2011), as amended (the

“UCITS Regulations”) and the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1)) (Undertakings

for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2015, as amended (the “Central Bank UCITS

Regulations”) and has been authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a UCITS. Notwithstanding the segregation of

assets and liabilities between the sub-funds, the Company is a single legal entity and no sub-fund constitutes a legal

entity separate from the Company itself. The Company’s registration number is 484381.

The Company currently has three active sub-funds, Sands Capital Global Growth Fund (the “Global Growth Fund”),

Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund (the “US Select Growth Fund”) and Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth

Fund (the “Emerging Markets Growth Fund”) (each a “Sub-Fund”, collectively the “Sub-Funds”). The Global Growth

Fund launched on 30 June 2010, the US Select Growth Fund launched on 11 December 2012 and the Emerging

Markets Growth Fund launched on 31 October 2013.

Additional sub-funds may be added to the Company by the Directors from time to time with the prior approval of the

Central Bank of Ireland, each with a separate investment objective and policies. The Company may issue shares of

more than one class in each sub-fund.

The Company has appointed Sands Capital Management, LLC as the Investment Manager. The investment objective and policy of each Sub-Fund is as follows: Sands Capital Global Growth Fund The investment objective of the Sub-Fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.

The Sub-Fund will seek to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities and equity

related securities quoted or traded on regulated markets on a global basis, including equity securities issued by

companies located in developed and emerging markets.

Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund The investment objective of the Sub-Fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.


related securities quoted or traded on regulated markets in the United States. Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund The investment objective of the Sub-Fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.


related securities issued by companies that are domiciled, listed, or that derive over half their revenues or profits from

countries classified as emerging and frontier market countries by MSCI.

2. Accounting Policies

Statement of compliance

The Company's financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting

Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted by the European Union and in accordance with Irish statute comprising the Act, the

UCITS Regulations and the Central Bank UCITS Regulations.

38




2. Accounting Policies – (continued)

The significant accounting policies adopted by the Company are set out below. These policies have been consistently

applied to all years presented, unless otherwise stated.

(a) Basis of Accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified by the revaluation of

financial assets and financial liabilities held at fair value through profit or loss.

(b) Basis of Preparation

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting

estimates. It also requires management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Company’s accounting

policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity or areas where assumptions and estimates

are significant to the financial statements are disclosed in Notes 2(e), 2(g) and 2(k). Management believes that the

estimates utilised in preparing its financial statements are reasonable and prudent.

The financial statements are prepared in US Dollars (“US$”), the functional currency of the Company.

(c) Standards and Amendments to existing standards effective 1 November 2016

There are no standards or amendments to existing standards that have a significant impact on the Company.

Disclosure Initiative (Amendments to IAS 1, ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’) is effective for annual financial

periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016. The amendment provides clarification surrounding numerous aspects of

disclosure and presentation including: materiality, disaggregation and sub-totals of certain balances and line items,

notes to the financial statements, and classification of other comprehensive income. The amendment does not have a

significant impact on the Company’s financial position or performance as this relates purely to additional disclosures

surrounding the Company’s activities during the reporting period.

(d) New Standards, Amendments and Interpretations issued but not effective for the financial year beginning 1

November 2016 and not early adopted

IFRS 9, ‘Financial instruments’, effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018, specifies how an

entity should classify and measure financial assets and liabilities, including some hybrid contracts. The standard

improves and simplifies the approach for classification and measurement of financial assets compared with the

requirements of IAS 39. Most of the requirements in IAS 39 for classification and measurement of financial liabilities

were carried forward unchanged. The standard applies a consistent approach to classifying financial assets and

replaces the numerous categories of financial assets in IAS 39, each of which had its own classification criteria. The

standard is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s financial position or performance, as it is

expected that the Company will continue to classify its financial assets and financial liabilities (both long and short) as

being at fair value through profit or loss.

Disclosure Initiative (Amendments to IAS 7, ‘Statement of Cash Flows’), effective for annual periods beginning on or

after 1 January 2017, specifies that an entity shall provide disclosures that enable users of financial statements to

evaluate changes in liabilities arising from financing activities, including both changes arising from cash flows and

non-cash changes. This amendment responds to the needs of users of financial statements by providing investors with

the required information necessary to perform a net debt reconciliation through utilising the definition of financing

activities as provided within IAS 7. The amendment is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s

financial position or performance as this relates purely to additional disclosures surrounding the Company’s activities

during the reporting period.

There are no other standards, interpretations or amendments to existing standards that are not yet effective that would

be expected to have a significant impact on the Company.

39



For the year ended 31 October 2017 2. Accounting Policies – (continued)

(e) Classification

All financial assets and liabilities categorised as financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss are

held for trading. Financial assets or liabilities held for trading are acquired or incurred principally for the purpose of

selling or repurchasing in the short term. (f) Recognition/derecognition

Regular-way purchases and sales of investments are recognised on trade date - the date on which the Fund commits to

purchase or sell the asset. Investments are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the investments

have expired or the Company has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership. (g) Measurement

Investments are initially recognised at fair value. Transaction costs for all financial assets and financial liabilities

carried at fair value through profit or loss are expensed in the Statement of Comprehensive Income as part of net

gains/losses on financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss as incurred. After initial measurement, the Company measures financial instruments which are classified as at fair value through

profit or loss, at their fair values. The fair value of financial instruments is based on their quoted market prices on a

recognised exchange or sourced from a reputable broker/counterparty, in the case of non-exchange traded instruments,

at the statement of financial position date without any deduction for estimated future selling costs. Financial assets

and liabilities are priced at the last traded market price where the last traded price falls within the bid-ask spread. In

circumstances where the last traded price is not within the bid-ask spread, management will determine the point

within the bid-ask spread that is most representative of fair value. In the case of any investment which is quoted, listed or traded on or under the rules of more than one market, the

Directors shall in their absolute discretion, select the market, which in their opinion, constitutes the main market for

such investment for the foregoing purposes. The fair value of any investment which is not quoted, listed or normally dealt in on a regulated market shall be its

probable realisable value estimated with care and in good faith by a competent person (which may be the Investment

Manager) appointed by the Directors (and approved for the purpose by the Depositary). The Company did not hold

unlisted investments in the form of Participatory Notes as at 31 October 2017 (The Company held unlisted investments

in the form of Participatory Notes as at 31 October 2016 with Credit Suisse AG as the issuer and the counterparty of the

Participatory Notes). As at 31 October 2016, these positions were deposited with the Company’s Depositary. The

estimate of the realisable value of these notes as at 31 October 2016 were supported by pricing vendors who quote a daily

reference price provided by the issuer of the notes. (h) Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash comprises cash on hand and demand deposits. Cash equivalents are short term, highly liquid investments with

original maturities of three months or less and bank overdrafts. (i) Income Recognition

Investment income is reported gross of withholding tax. Dividends are recognised as income on the dates the

securities are first quoted “ex dividend” to the extent that information thereon is reasonably available to the Company.

Fixed interest, bank deposit interest and other income are accounted for on an effective interest basis. (j) Finance Costs

Distributions to holders of redeemable shares are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income as finance

costs in the year in which the dividend is declared. (k) Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the

reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial

statements and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the year. Actual results could differ from those

estimates.

40



For the year ended 31 October 2017 2. Accounting Policies – (continued) (l) Realised and Unrealised Gains and Losses on Investments

Realised gains and losses on sales of investments are calculated based on a first-in, first-out basis. The associated

foreign exchange movement between the date of purchase and the date of sale on the sale of investments is included in

Net Gains on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. Movement in unrealised gains and losses on investments arising during the year are also included in Net Gains on

financial assets at fair value through profit and loss in the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

(m) Foreign Currency

The Company’s functional currency for all operations is the US Dollar. Non-monetary foreign assets and liabilities are

translated at historical rates and monetary foreign assets and liabilities are translated at exchange rates in effect at the

end of the year. Transactions during the year, including purchases and sales of securities, income and expenses, are translated at the

rate of exchange prevailing on the date of the transaction. The Company does not isolate that portion of the results of operations resulting from the changes in foreign exchange

rates on investments from the fluctuations arising from changes in market prices of investments held. Such

fluctuations are included with the net realised gains and losses from investments.

(n) Redeemable Participating Shares

All redeemable shares issued by the Company provide the investors with the right to require redemption for cash at

the value proportionate to the investor’s share in the Company’s net assets at the redemption date. The participating

shares which comprise the capital of the Company are in substance a liability of each Sub-Fund to shareholders under

IAS 32. In accordance with the Prospectus the Company is contractually obliged to redeem shares at the net asset value per

share. (o) Expenses

All expenses, including management fees are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income on an accruals

basis. (p) Subscriptions Receivable and Redemptions Payable

Subscriptions receivable and redemptions payable are reported on the Statement of Financial Position and relate to

unsettled subscriptions and unsettled redemptions. Subscription payments must be received within three Business

Days of the relevant Dealing Day, however by no later than 4pm (Irish time) on the third Business Day. Redemption

proceeds in respect of Shares will normally be paid within three Business Days of (and in no event will be paid any

later than ten Business Days after) the relevant Dealing Day on which the redemption is effected provided that all the

required documentation has been furnished to the Company. (q) Securities Sold Receivable and Payables for Securities Purchased

Securities sold receivable and payables for securities purchased are reported on the Statement of Financial Position

and relate to unsettled sale and purchase trades. (r) Cash held in Investor Money Collection Account

Cash held in investor money collection account represents cash balances maintained in an independent cash account in

the name of the Fund, which relate to pending issuance of shares or payments of redemptions. These cash balances are

regarded assets of the Fund and is therefore recognised on the Statement of Financial Position. These cash balances

are held with Northern Trust.

41




2. Accounting Policies – (continued) (s) Transaction Costs

Transaction costs are incremental costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition, issue or disposal of a financial

asset or financial liability. An incremental cost is one that would not have been incurred if the entity had not acquired,

issued or disposed of the financial instrument. Transaction costs are recognised directly in the Statement of

Comprehensive Income. Total costs incurred by each Sub-Fund during the year are disclosed in Note 6. (t) Offsetting financial instruments

Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount presented in the Statement of Financial Position when and

only when, the Company has a legally enforceable right to offset the recognised amounts and there is an intention to

settle on a net basis, or realise the assets and settle the liability simultaneously.

3. Net Gains/(Losses) on Financial Assets at Fair Value through Profit or Loss

Global Growth Fund 1 November 2016 1 November 2015

- 31 October 2017 - 31 October 2016

US$ US$

Net realised gains on financial assets at fair value

through profit or loss* 32,683,087 72,355,926

Net movement in unrealised gains/(losses) on financial

assets at fair value through profit or loss* 511,193,975 (22,338,021)

543,877,062 50,017,905

US Select Growth Fund 1 November 2016 1 November 2015


US$ US$

Net realised gains on financial assets at fair value

through profit or loss* 33,225,085 10,912,397


assets at fair value through profit or loss* 20,135,414 (34,380,928)

53,360,499 (23,468,531)

Emerging Markets Growth Fund 1 November 2016 1 November 2015


US$ US$

Net realised gains/(losses) on financial assets at fair value

through profit or loss* 6,515,325 (6,402,964)


assets at fair value through profit or loss* 20,092,771 9,185,177

26,608,096 2,782,213

*Transaction fees as disclosed within Note 6 are included within these amounts.

42




4. Taxation

Under current law and practice the Company qualifies as an investment undertaking as defined in Section 739B of the

Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, as amended. On that basis, it is not chargeable to Irish tax on its income or gains.

However, Irish tax may arise on the happening of a "chargeable event". A chargeable event includes any distribution

payments to shareholders, any encashment, redemption, cancellation or transfer of shares and the holding of shares at

the end of each eight year period beginning with the acquisition of such shares.

No Irish tax will arise on the Company in respect of chargeable events in respect of:

(a) a shareholder who is neither Irish resident nor ordinarily resident in Ireland for tax purposes, at the time of the

chargeable event, provided appropriate valid declarations in accordance with the provisions of the Taxes

Consolidation Act, 1997, as amended, are held by the Company or the Company has been authorised by the Irish

Revenue to make gross payments in the absence of appropriate declarations; and

(b) certain exempted Irish tax resident shareholders who have provided the Company with the necessary signed

statutory declarations.

The Finance Act 2010 provides that the Revenue Commissioners may grant approval for investment funds marketed

outside of Ireland to make payments to non-resident investors without deduction of Irish tax where no relevant

declaration is in place, subject to meeting the “equivalent measures”. A fund wishing to receive approval must apply

in writing to the Revenue Commissioners, confirming compliance with the relevant conditions.

Dividends, interest and capital gains (if any) received on investments made by the Company may be subject to taxes

imposed by the country from which the investment income/gains are received and such taxes may not be recoverable

by the Company or its shareholders.

A new reporting fund regime was introduced by the United Kingdom HM Revenue and Customs with effect from 1

December 2009, which applies in the case of the Company. In accordance with the reporting fund regime, each share

class is viewed as a separate “offshore fund” for UK tax purposes. The reporting regime permits an offshore fund to

seek advance approval from HM Revenue and Customs to be treated as a reporting fund. Once an offshore fund has

been granted “reporting fund” status it maintains that status for so long as it continues to satisfy the conditions to be a

“reporting fund” without a requirement to apply for further certification by HM Revenue and Customs.

Applications for relevant share classes of the Company to be treated as “reporting funds” have been approved by HM

Revenue and Customs and the relevant share classes will be treated as reporting funds for the year ended 31 October

2017.

5. Share Capital

Authorised

The authorised share capital of the Company is two Subscriber Shares of US$1.00 each and 5,000,000,000,000

participating shares of no par value. Subscriber shares

The two Subscriber Shares are held by nominees on behalf of Sands Capital Management, LLC. The subscriber shares

do not form part of the net asset value of the Company and are thus disclosed in the financial statements by way of

this note only. In the opinion of the Directors, this disclosure reflects the nature of the Company’s business as an

investment company.

43




5. Share Capital (continued)

Redeemable Participating shares

The issued redeemable participating share capital is at all times equal to the net asset value of the Company. Redeemable participating shares are redeemable at the

shareholder’s option and are classified as financial liabilities. Each of the redeemable participating shares entitles the shareholder to participate equally on a pro rata

basis in the dividends and net assets of the Company, save in the case of dividends declared prior to becoming a shareholder. Each of the redeemable participating shares

entitles the holder to attend and vote at meetings of the Company. No class of redeemable participating shares confers on the holder thereof any preferential or pre-

emptive rights or any rights to participate in the profits and dividends of any other class of redeemable participating shares or any voting rights in relation to matters

relating solely to any other class of redeemable participating shares.

The movement in the number of redeemable participating shares for the years ended 31 October 2017 and 31 October 2016 are as follows:

Global Growth Fund

1 November 2016 - 31 October 2017 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class H GBP Class H EUR Class Z USD Class A EUR

Opening Balance 41,349,781 10,251,412 19,624,447 26,315 279,011 344,417 1,395,257

Redeemable partcipating shares issued 22,451,672 113,506 673,658 - 1,150 273,504 3,509,055

Redeemable partcipating shares redeemed (4,435,455) (7,012,650) (1,108,151) (23,016) (272,477) (172,196) -

Closing Balance 59,365,998 3,352,268 19,189,954 3,299 7,684 445,725 4,904,312

1 November 2015 - 31 October 2016 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class H GBP Class H EUR Class Z USD Class A EUR

Opening Balance 56,639,707 10,676,728 19,630,682 23,315 437,313 309,725 2,512,457

Redeemable partcipating shares issued 7,076,867 541,429 1,386,570 10,000 3,075 126,582 -

Redeemable partcipating shares redeemed (22,366,793) (966,745) (1,392,805) (7,000) (161,377) (91,890) (1,117,200)

Closing Balance 41,349,781 10,251,412 19,624,447 26,315 279,011 344,417 1,395,257

US Select Growth Fund

1 November 2016 - 31 October 2017 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class A EUR Class Z USD Class H EUR

Opening Balance 2,132,012 15,401,737 1,543,955 191,756 111,814 42,500

Redeemable partcipating shares issued 1,837,179 1,775,396 778,150 - 70,438 -

Redeemable partcipating shares redeemed (62,831) (10,619,215) (973,845) (85,789) (48,998) (42,500)

Closing Balance 3,906,360 6,557,918 1,348,260 105,967 133,254 -

1 November 2015 - 31 October 2016 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class A EUR Class Z USD Class H EUR

Opening Balance 8,176,425 21,331,015 2,124,861 526,066 560,136 66,150

Redeemable partcipating shares issued 516,368 54,016 31,937 1,275 105,795 -

Redeemable partcipating shares redeemed (6,560,781) (5,983,294) (612,843) (335,585) (554,117) (23,650)

Closing Balance 2,132,012 15,401,737 1,543,955 191,756 111,814 42,500

44




5. Share Capital (continued)

Emerging Markets Growth Fund

1 November 2016 - 31 October 2017 Class A USD Class A GBP

Opening Balance 7,539,845 420,185

Redeemable partcipating shares issued 3,453,777 403

Redeemable partcipating shares redeemed (2,157,264) -

Closing Balance 8,836,358 420,588

1 November 2015 - 31 October 2016 Class A USD Class A GBP

Opening Balance 7,581,629 -

Redeemable partcipating shares issued 3,547,373 420,185

Redeemable partcipating shares redeemed (3,589,157) -

Closing Balance 7,539,845 420,185

The relevant movements in share capital are shown in the Statements of Changes in Net Assets Attributable to Holders of Redeemable Participating Shares. The

Company invests the proceeds from the issue of shares in investments while maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet redemptions when necessary.

45




6. Fees and Expenses

Investment Management Fee The Investment Manager is entitled to receive out of the net assets of each Sub-Fund an annual fee calculated as a

percentage of the Net Asset Value of each Sub-Fund, accrued and calculated on each dealing day and payable

monthly in arrears as follows:

Global Growth Fund US Select Growth Fund Emerging Markets Growth Fund

A Classes up to 0.85% p/a per Class up to 1.00% p/a per Class Up to 1.00% p/a per Class

H Classes up to 1.00% p/a per Class up to 1.00% p/a per Class Up to 1.00% p/a per Class

Z Classes up to 1.50% p/a per Class up to 1.50% p/a per Class N/a

During the year, the Investment Manager has committed to waive its investment management fee and/or reimburse

each Sub-Fund expenses to the extent necessary to keep the net total operating fees and expenses from exceeding

specified total expense ratios per annum of the Net Asset Value of each Sub-Fund as follows:

Global Growth Fund US Select Growth Fund Emerging Markets Growth Fund

A Classes 1.25% p/a per Class 1.25% p/a per Class Up to 1.20% p/a per Class

H Classes 1.40% p/a per Class 1.25% p/a per Class Up to 1.20% p/a per Class

Z Classes N/a N/a N/a

Global Growth Fund

The amount of fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Investment Manager during the year was US$nil

(2016: US$nil) of which US$nil remained receivable by the Sub-Fund at 31 October 2017 (31 October 2016: US$nil).

During the year, the Investment Manager earned fees of US$17,209,963 (2016: US$13,391,055) and at 31 October

2017 US$1,706,038 (31 October 2016: US$1,041,647) remained payable to the Investment Manager. The Investment

Manager has committed to waive these fees to the extent noted above.


The amount of fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Investment Manager during the year was US$nil

(2016: US$nil) of which US$nil remained receivable by the Sub-Fund at 31 October 2017 (31 October 2016: US$nil).

During the year, the Investment Manager earned fees of US$2,290,587 (2016: US$3,969,997) and at 31 October 2017

US$196,525 (31 October 2016: US$231,440) remained payable to the Investment Manager. The Investment Manager

has committed to waive these fees to the extent noted above.

Emerging Market Growth Fund

The amount of fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Investment Manager during the year was US$160,557

(2016: US$122,477) of which US$20,408 remained receivable by the Sub-Fund at 31 October 2017 (31 October

2016: US$5,652).

During the year, the Investment Manager earned fees of US$1,072,661 (2016: US$709,167) and at 31 October 2017

US$103,493 (31 October 2016: US$66,689) remained payable to the Investment Manager. The Investment Manager

has committed to waive these fees to the extent noted above.

Administration and Transfer Agency fee

SEI Investments Global Fund Services Limited, the Administrator and Transfer Agent, is entitled to receive out of the

net assets of each Sub-Fund a monthly fee in an aggregate amount equal to the greater of an assets based fee for such

month or a monthly minimum fee.

The asset based fee will be calculated daily based on that day’s opening net asset value, as adjusted for any capital

activity, and the basis points up to a maximum of 5 basis points per annum. The asset based fee is allocated daily at

each day’s valuation point to each Sub-Fund pro rata based on the opening net asset values of each Sub-Fund, as

adjusted for any capital activity. The cumulative monthly asset based fee will be, if applicable, assessed monthly in

arrears.

46



For the year ended 31 October 2017 6. Fees and Expenses (continued) Administration and Transfer Agency fee (continued)

The monthly minimum fee of US$25,000 will be assessed monthly in arrears and, if applicable, will be allocated to

each Sub-Fund pro-rata based on the assets of each Sub-Fund as of the end of the applicable month. The Transfer Agent is also entitled to an annual transfer agency fee of US$100 for each shareholder account, accrued

and calculated on each dealing day for each Sub-Fund and payable monthly in arrears. Global Growth Fund

During the year, the Administrator earned administration and transfer agency fees of US$821,327 (2016:

US$662,452) and at 31 October 2017 US$79,289 (31 October 2016: US$106,434) remained payable to the

Administrator.


During the year, the Administrator earned administration and transfer agency fees of US$96,405 (2016: US$171,375)

and at 31 October 2017 US$7,869 (31 October 2016: US$20,123) remained payable to the Administrator. Emerging Markets Growth Fund

During the year, the Administrator earned administration and transfer agency fees of US$46,078 (2016: US$29,970)

and at 31 October 2017 US$4,234 (31 October 2016: US$6,126) remained payable to the Administrator. Depositary and Trustee fee

Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited, the Depositary, is entitled to receive out of the net

assets of each Sub-Fund an annual trustee fee up to a maximum of 0.02% of the Net Asset Value of the Sub-Funds,

accrued and calculated on each dealing day and payable monthly in arrears. The Depositary is also entitled to

depositary fees for the safekeeping of the Company’s assets based on the value of securities held by the Sub-Funds,

accrued and calculated on each dealing day and payable monthly in arrears. The Depositary is also entitled to an

additional fee relating to increased oversight duties and obligations to be fulfilled by the Depositary pursuant to the

European Union (Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) (Amendments) Regulations 2016

of 0.005% of the Net Asset Value of the Sub-Funds, accrued and payable on the same terms as the Trustee Fee

(the“UCITS V Fee”). A minimum charge of $1,000 per month per Fund will apply in respect of the aggregate of the UCITS V Fee and the

Trustee Fee payable to the Depositary. Global Growth Fund

During the year, the Depositary earned fees of US$721,609 (2016: US$490,787) and at 31 October 2017 US$48,437

(31 October 2016: US$231,469) remained payable to the Depositary.


During the year, the Depositary earned fees of US$70,537 (2016: US$100,757) and at 31 October 2017 US$5,949 (31

October 2016: US$47,654) remained payable to the Depositary. Emerging Markets Growth Fund

During the year, the Depositary earned fees of US$103,190 (2016: US$77,288) and at 31 October 2017 US$5,341 (31

October 2016: US$36,694) remained payable to the Depositary. Transaction fees

The Company incurred transaction fees throughout the year. Transaction costs include all incremental costs that are

directly attributable to the acquisition, issue or disposal of a financial asset or financial liability. All transaction costs

are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income and are included in Net Gains and Losses on Financial

Assets at Fair Value.

Global Growth Fund

During the year, the Sub-Fund incurred transaction fees of US$730,162 (2016: US$595,502).


During the year, the Sub-Fund incurred transaction fees of US$111,645(2016: US$88,548). Emerging Markets Growth Fund

During the year, the Sub-Fund incurred transaction fees of US$143,732(2016: US$130,373).

47




6. Fees and Expenses (continued)

Auditors’ remuneration

1 November 2016 1 November 2015


US$ US$

Fees in respect of audit of Company financial

statements 47,996 45,763

Fees in respect of other assurance services - -

Fees in respect of tax advisory services 52,835 30,610

Fees in respect of non-audit services - -

The amounts in the above table are exclusive of VAT and the amounts reflected in the Statement of Comprehensive

Income are inclusive of VAT.

7. Other Expenses

Global Growth Fund 1 November 2016 1 November 2015


US$ US$

KBA Consultancy fees 20,573 20,291

PricewaterhouseCoopers Ireland tax services fee 23,460 16,011

Miscellaneous expense 54,029 28,828

Corporate Secretary 11,876 10,363

Central Bank fee 758 918

Out of Pocket fees 7,752 7,520

KIID 18,228 19,738

Global Registration fees 4,140 -

140,816 103,669

US Select Growth Fund 1 November 2016 1 November 2015


US$ US$







KIID 16,756 17,320


104,533 80,925

48




7. Other Expenses (continued)

Emerging Markets Growth Fund 1 November 2016 1 November 2015


US$ US$







KIID 12,491 13,509

Bank charges 217 -


123,289 77,895

8. Directors’ Remuneration

For the year ended 31 October 2017 the total Directors’ remuneration was US$74,341 (2016: US$40,889). Gavin

Caldwell received compensation of US$28,462 (2016: US$22,017) and Mike Kirby received compensation of

US$45,879 (2016: US$18,872) from the Company. Mike Kirby’s compensation includes reimbursement for

underpayment of fees based on prior years’ invoices from the calendar year 2013 to calendar year 2015. The total

amount of underpayment was US$9,381. Jonathan Goodman and Dana McNamara are affiliated with the Investment

Manager and waived their right to receive compensation from the Company.

9. Risks associated with financial instruments

There can be no assurance that a Sub-Fund will achieve its investment objectives. An investment in a Sub-Fund involves

investment risks, including possible loss of the amount invested. The main risks arising from a Sub-Fund’s financial

instruments are market risk (comprised of price risk, interest rate risk and currency risk), liquidity risk, custody risk and

credit risk.

The Company has no Risk Management Policy document in place as it does not trade in derivative instruments. As a

result, the UCITS Regulations requirement to disclose the calculation methodology for global exposure is not applicable.

(a) Market Risk

Market risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in

market variables such as interest rates, foreign exchange rates and investment prices. The likelihood of these types of

adverse changes and the extent to which they affect the business of the Sub-Fund cannot always be accurately

predicted.

(i) Price Risk

Price risk is the risk that the value of an investment may fluctuate as a result of changes in market prices, whether

caused by factors specific to an individual investment or all factors affecting all instruments traded in the market.

49



For the year ended 31 October 2017 9. Risks associated with financial instruments (continued) (a) Market Risk (continued) (i) Price Risk (continued) The following tables detail the Sub-Funds’ price risk exposure:

Global Growth Fund US$ % NAV US$ % NAV

Belgium 27,391,880 1.16% 18,942,122 1.24%

Canada 48,650,610 2.06% - -

China 233,272,650 9.87% 106,691,370 6.99%

Denmark 31,501,585 1.33% - -

Germany 22,653,531 0.96% - -

Great Britain 96,501,016 4.08% 70,942,739 4.65%

India 320,973,724 13.58% 196,134,191 12.85%

Japan 39,552,218 1.68% 56,555,689 3.71%

Netherlands 91,459,500 3.87% 51,886,320 3.40%

South Africa 75,046,238 3.18% 43,919,297 2.88%

Thailand 108,151,475 4.57% 68,449,515 4.48%

United States 1,191,707,395 50.42% 849,039,640 55.63%

2,286,861,822 96.76% 1,462,560,883 95.83%

US Select Growth Fund US$ % NAV US$ % NAV

China 25,406,460 11.06% 23,601,595 8.23%

Israel - - 4,252,200 1.48%

United States 198,764,404 86.56% 252,430,273 87.99%

224,170,864 97.62% 280,284,068 97.70%

31 October 2017 31 October 2016*


Emerging Markets Growth Fund US$ % NAV US$ % NAV

Argentina 3,196,123 2.62% 3,047,900 3.62%

Brazil 3,478,553 2.85% 4,483,221 5.32%

Cambodia 1,799,216 1.47% 1,215,549 1.44%

China 33,088,707 27.12% 19,984,593 23.73%

Great Britain 1,867,520 1.53% 1,892,232 2.25%

India 36,526,659 29.94% 25,356,329 30.09%

Indonesia 3,537,120 2.90% 3,716,139 4.41%

Korea 4,979,764 4.08% 3,729,784 4.43%

Malaysia 1,182,089 0.97% 1,189,960 1.41%

Mexico 1,348,434 1.10% - -

Peru 2,584,908 2.12% 1,600,562 1.90%

Philippines 3,361,078 2.76% 3,588,423 4.26%

Russia 8,695,490 7.12% 2,880,620 3.42%

Singapore 1,606,020 1.32% - -

Saudi Arabia - - 1,741,638 2.07%

South Africa 5,713,747 4.67% 4,106,957 4.86%

Taiwan 3,261,103 2.67% 1,653,580 1.96%

Thailand 2,867,745 2.34% 2,096,043 2.49%

Turkey - - 1,184,737 1.41%

119,094,276 97.58% 83,468,267 99.07%


*The market values used in these tables are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which the dealing NAV is

comprised. Please see note 18 for further information.

50



For the year ended 31 October 2017 9. Risks associated with financial instruments (continued) (a) Market Risk (continued) (i) Price Risk (continued) Sensitivity analysis

If the price of the investments increased or decreased by 5%, this would have resulted in a movement in net assets and

Index of:

Index Index

31 October 2017 31 October 2017 31 October 2016 31 October 2016

US$ US$ US$ US$

Global Growth Fund 114,343,091 70,582,155 72,701,801 56,798,282

US Select Growth Fund 11,208,543 8,491,321 13,953,342 10,038,375

Emerging Markets Growth Fund 5,954,714 4,580,549 4,156,751 4,948,513

A decrease would have resulted in an equal but opposite movement. 5% is deemed a reasonable estimate in price

movements of the portfolio. Limitations of sensitivity analysis

1. The methodology is based on historical data and cannot take account of the fact that future market price

movements, correlations between markets and levels of market liquidity in conditions of market stress may

bear no relation to historical patterns;

2. The market price risk information is a relative estimate of risk rather than a precise and accurate number;

3. The market price information represents a hypothetical outcome and is not intended to be predictive; and

4. Future market conditions could vary significantly from those experienced in the past. The Investment Manager attempts to mitigate this risk by maintaining a diversified portfolio.


Global Growth Fund

Number of Positions Held 38 38

% Net Assets Held in Five Largest Holdings 24.26% 22.71%



% Net Assets Held in Five Largest Holdings 33.21% 37.81%



% Net Assets Held in Five Largest Holdings 26.80% 26.57% *The market values used in these tables are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which the dealing NAV is

comprised. Please see note 18 for further information. (ii) Currency Risk

Currency risk is the risk that the value of a financial instrument will fluctuate due to changes in foreign exchange rates.

The Sub-Funds invest in securities and other investments that are denominated in currencies other than the functional

currency of the Sub-Funds. Accordingly, the value of the Sub-Funds’ assets may be affected favourably or unfavourably

by fluctuations in currency rates and therefore the Sub-Funds will be subject to foreign exchange risks. For the purpose of IFRS 7, currency risk does not arise from financial instruments that are non-monetary items or from

financial instruments denominated in the functional currency. IFRS 7 considers the foreign exchange exposure relating to

non-monetary assets and liabilities to be a component of market price risk and not foreign currency risk. The Sub-Funds

have no exposure to derivative instruments, and the foreign cash balances held, while subject to currency risk, are a

small fraction of the total assets of the Sub-Funds.

51



For the year ended 31 October 2017 9. Risks associated with financial instruments (continued) (a) Market Risk (continued)

(iii) Interest Rate Risk

The Sub-Funds have little exposure to interest rate risk. The Sub-Funds have no exposure to interest rate sensitive

instruments such as fixed income securities, and the cash balances held, while subject to interest rate risk, are a small

fraction of the total assets of the Sub-Funds. (b) Liquidity Risk

This is the risk that a lack of a market in certain portfolio securities could prevent the Sub-Funds from liquidating

unfavourable positions or prevent the Sub-Funds from funding redemption requests from existing shareholders. At year

end, the Sub-Funds’ investments are all readily realisable (within one month). The following tables illustrate the potential liquidity of financial assets at fair value through profit or loss:

Global Growth Fund Less than 7 days to Total

31 October 2017 7 days 1 month

US$ US$ US$

Financial assets at fair value

through profit or loss 2,037,164,994 249,696,828 2,286,861,822

Global Growth Fund* Less than 7 days to Total


US$ US$ US$


through profit or loss 1,434,588,472 19,447,543 1,454,036,015

US Select Growth Fund Less than 7 days to Total


US$ US$ US$


through profit or loss 224,170,864 - 224,170,864

US Select Growth Fund* Less than 7 days to Total


US$ US$ US$


through profit or loss 279,066,839 - 279,066,839

Emerging Markets Growth Fund Less than 7 days to Total


US$ US$ US$


through profit or loss 117,848,645 1,245,631 119,094,276

Emerging Markets Growth Fund* Less than 7 days to Total


US$ US$ US$


through profit or loss 83,135,026 - 83,135,026 *The market values used in these tables are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which the dealing NAV is comprised. Please see note 18 for further information.

52




9. Risks associated with financial instruments (continued)

(b) Liquidity Risk (continued)

There is also a concentration risk relating to significant shareholders with investments greater than 10% of net asset value

of Sub-Fund. The decision to redeem their investment could materially impact the Sub-Fund. The details are provided in

Note 11. Every Shareholder will have the right to require the Company to redeem his Shares in a sub-Fund on any Dealing Day on

furnishing to the Administrator a properly completed redemption request. Redemption requests in respect of a sub-Fund

must be received before the Cut-Off Time (4.00pm Irish time) on the relevant Dealing Day. Shares will be redeemed at

the Redemption Price calculated at that Valuation Point. If the Redemption request is received after the relevant Cut-Off

Time it shall be treated as a request for redemption on the Dealing Day following such receipt and Shares will be

redeemed at the Redemption Price for that day. The following tables detail the Sub-Funds’ remaining contractual maturity for its financial liabilities.

Global Growth Fund Less than 1 month to 3 months to Total

31 October 2017 1 month 3 months 12 months

US$ US$ US$ US$

Liabilities

Redemptions payable 5,467,595 - - 5,467,595

Audit fee payable - 20,053 - 20,053

Legal fee payable - 24,189 - 24,189

Directors fee payable - 7,623 - 7,623

Administration and Transfer Agency fee payable - 79,289 - 79,289

Investment management fee payable - 1,706,038 - 1,706,038

Trustee and custodian fee payable - 48,437 - 48,437

Other accrued expenses - 35,373 - 35,373

Redeemable participating shares

(based on dealing NAV) 2,363,530,771 - - 2,363,530,771

Total Liabilities 2,368,998,366 1,921,002 - 2,370,919,368

Global Growth Fund Less than 1 month to 3 months to Total


US$ US$ US$ US$

Liabilities

Redemptions payable 84,555 - - 84,555





Investment management fee payable - 1,041,647 - 1,041,647




(based on dealing NAV) 1,526,293,208 - - 1,526,293,208

Total Liabilities 1,526,377,763 1,439,137 - 1,527,816,900

53






US Select Growth Fund Less than 1 month to 3 months to Total


US$ US$ US$ US$

Liabilities

Redemptions payable 161,357 - - 161,357





Investment management fee payable - 196,525 - 196,525




(based on dealing NAV) 229,625,585 - - 229,625,585

Total Liabilities 229,786,942 285,682 - 230,072,624

US Select Growth Fund Less than 1 month to 3 months to Total


US$ US$ US$ US$

Liabilities

Payables for securities purchased 2,236,942 - - 2,236,942

Redemptions payable 5,999,006 - - 5,999,006











Emerging Markets Growth Fund Less than 1 month to 3 months to Total


US$ US$ US$ US$

Liabilities

Payables for securities purchased 95,135 - - 95,135

Redemptions payable - - - -











54






Emerging Markets Growth Fund Less than 1 month to 3 months to Total


US$ US$ US$ US$

Liabilities


Redemptions payable - - - -











(c) Credit Risk

The Sub-Funds currently hold financial assets with the Depositary, Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland)

Limited. As at 31 October 2017 and 31 October 2016, the Depositary held the following assets for each Sub-Fund:

31 October 2017 31 October 2016

US$ US$

Global Growth Fund* 2,286,861,822 1,454,036,015

US Select Growth Fund* 224,170,864 279,066,839

Emerging Markets Growth Fund* 119,094,276 83,135,026 *The balances include investments only.

The Depositary is currently rated by Fitch Ratings with a Long Term Debt rating of A+ (31 October 2016: A+) and a

Short Term Debt rating of F1 (31 October 2016: F1). Insolvency or bankruptcy of the Depositary may cause the Sub-

Funds’ rights with respect to its assets held by the Depositary to be delayed or limited. There has been no change in the

rating of the Depositary since 31 October 2017.

The Company has authorised the Depositary to invest any excess cash balances in unrestricted overnight deposit

instruments. Balances held in overnight sweep accounts are disclosed in Note 15 - Cash balances. The counterparties to

overnight sweep accounts have the following Fitch ratings:


Brown Brothers Harriman, Cayman Islands A+ A+

BBVA, Madrid - A-

Bank of Montreal, London AA- AA-

JPM Chase, New York A+ -

Citibank, New York A -

Banco Santander, Frankfurt A- -

55



For the year ended 31 October 2017 9. Risks associated with financial instruments (continued) (c) Credit Risk (continued)

Cash balances held in investor money collection are held with Northern Trust. The Fitch rating at 31 December 2017 is

AA-

At 31 October 2016, The counterparty to the Participatory Notes held by the Emerging Markets Fund is Credit Suisse AG,

which was rated by Moody’s with Long Term Rating of Baa2 All Participatory Notes were deposited with the

Company’s Depositary. As at 31 October 2017, the Emerging Markets Fund held US$nil (31 October 2016:

US$1,741,638), The Global Growth Fund held US$nil (31 October 2016: US$nil) and the US Select Growth Fund held

US$nil (31 October 2016: US$nil) in Participatory Notes.

The Investment Manager monitors counterparty positions on a regular basis. 10. Soft Commission Arrangements

Soft dollar benefits received by Sands Capital Management, LLC (“Sands Capital”) include proprietary research and

brokerage services made available by brokers executing client transactions and also include third-party research

obtained through commission sharing arrangements (“CSAs”) with selected brokers. Sands Capital participates in

CSAs that are consistent with the requirements of Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Under these

arrangements, Sands Capital allocates a portion of total commissions paid to a pool of “credits” that can also be used

to obtain soft dollar benefits made available by research providers. Please see commission amounts below:

Date Sub-Fund Research Execution Total Commission

1 Nov 2016 - 31 Oct 2017 Global Growth Fund 373,315 313,388 686,703

1 Nov 2016 - 31 Oct 2017 US Select Growth Fund 59,332 52,229 111,561

1 Nov 2016 - 31 Oct 2017 Emerging Markets Growth Fund 69,960 69,150 139,110

Date Sub-Fund Research Execution Total Commission

1 Nov 2015 - 31 Oct 2016 Global Growth Fund 276,223 310,829 587,052

1 Nov 2015 - 31 Oct 2016 US Select Growth Fund 37,986 50,646 88,632

1 Nov 2015 - 31 Oct 2016 Emerging Markets Growth Fund 62,843 67,100 129,943

The allocation between the research and the execution figures reported above is approximate and subject to change

upon final reconciliation. 11. Related Party Transactions

On 1 November 2013, the Investment Manager provided seed capital in the amount of US$2,000,000 by subscribing

for 200,000 shares in the Emerging Markets Growth Fund. As at 31 October 2017 the Investment Manager holds

200,000 shares (31 October 2016: 200,000 shares) in the Class A USD share class of the Global Growth Fund and

200,000 shares in the Class A USD share class of the Emerging Markets Growth Fund. The Investment Manager has

earned management fees, the specific details of which are contained in Note 6.

Mr Mike Kirby is Managing Principal of KB Associates, a firm which provides consultancy services to the Company.

Fees earned by KB Associates during the year ended 31 October 2017 were US$61,734 (2016: US$59,734) of which

US$4,688 were payable at year ended (31 October 2016: US$3,826). These costs are included in other expenses in the

Statement of Comprehensive Income. SEI Investments – Global Fund Services Limited acts as Administrator and Transfer Agent to the Company. Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited acts as Depositary to the Company. Details of the fees earned by the Administrator, Depositary to the Company are contained in Note 6.

56



For the year ended 31 October 2017 11. Related Party Transactions (continued)

Significant shareholders: As at 31 October 2017, FIL Life Insurance Limited held a 12.47% stake and RBC Investor Services Australia

Nominees held an 11.93% stake in the Sands Capital Global Growth Fund. As at 31 October 2016, FIL Life Insurance

Limited held a 12.10% stake and RBC Investor Services Australia Nominees held no stake in the Sands Capital

Global Growth Fund.

As at 31 October 2017, Fundsettle EOC Nominees Limited held a 50.14% stake and Chase Nominees Limited held a

13.17% stake in the US Select Growth Fund. As at 31 October 2016, Fundsettle EOC Nominees Limited held a

74.85% stake and Chase Nominees Limited held no stake in the US Select Growth Fund. As at 31 October 2017, Government Pension Fund held a 19.79% stake, Prime Nominees (Ireland) Limited held a

13.12% stake and Chase Nominees Limited held a 10.21% and a 23.08% stake in the Emerging Markets Growth

Fund. As at 31 October 2016, Government Pension Fund held an 11.72% stake, Prime Nominees (Ireland) Limited

held a 10.45% stake and Chase Nominees Limited held an 11.15% and a 26.41% stake in the Emerging Markets

Growth Fund.

12. Connected Persons The Directors are satisfied that there are adequate arrangements in place to ensure that all transactions with connected

persons, namely the Investment Manager, Depositary and the delegates or sub-delegates of the Investment Manager or

Depositary (excluding any non-group company Sub-Depositarys appointed by the Depositary); and any associated or

group companies of these, are carried out as if negotiated at arm’s length and in the best interests of the shareholders

as required by the requirements of the Central Bank UCITS Regulations. The Directors are satisfied that transactions

with connected persons entered into during the year were carried out on this basis.

In addition to those transactions, there are also transactions carried out by connected persons on behalf of the

Company to which the Directors have no direct access and in respect of which the Directors must rely upon

assurances from its delegates that the connected persons carrying out those transactions carry them out on a similar

basis.

Shareholders should have regard to the roles and responsibilities of the Company’s respective delegates, the

Administrator (SEI Investments – Global Fund Services Limited), the Depositary (Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee

Services (Ireland) Limited) and the Investment Manager/Distributor (Sands Capital Management, LLC), subject to the

overall supervision of the Board.

Further, shareholders should refer to the Prospectus which identifies many of the connected persons transactions and

the general nature of the contractual arrangements with the principal connected persons but it is not exhaustive of all

connected persons transactions.

Shareholders should also refer to the provisions of the Prospectus dealing with conflicts of interest. Note 10 details

related party transactions in the period as required by IAS 24. However, Shareholders should understand that not all

“connected persons” are related parties as such latter expression is defined by IAS 24. Details of fees paid to related

parties and certain connected parties are set out in Notes 6, 8 and 10.

13. Distributions The Directors did not declare any dividends for the year ended 31 October 2017 (31 October 2016: US$nil).

57




14. Write-off of Organisational Expenses According to the Prospectus, the expenses incurred in connection with the establishment of the Company

(“organisation expenses”) will be amortised over the period of 5 years. The Dealing NAV of each Sub-Fund is

calculated each month on this assumption. According to IFRS, organisation expenses cannot be amortised and must be expensed as incurred. Therefore there is a

difference between the dealing NAV as of 31 October 2017 and the NAV as per these financial statements, which are

prepared in accordance with IFRS. As at 31 October 2017, the difference between the two approaches described above resulted in a decrease in the NAV

of the Sub-Funds:


US$ US$

Global Growth Fund - -

US Select Growth Fund 139 1,380

Emerging Markets Growth Fund 4,303 8,015 The movement in the adjustment is recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income:

1 November 2016 1 November 2015


US$ US$

Global Growth Fund - (6,468)

US Select Growth Fund (1,240) 1,380

Emerging Markets Growth Fund (3,711) (3,718)

15. Cash Balances All cash at bank balances at the year- end are held with Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited

or with third party institutions on overnight deposit.


Global Growth Fund US$ US$

Brown Brothers Harriman, Cayman Islands* 1,688 32,916

Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited 40,071 -

Banco Santander, Frankfurt* 80,555,099 11,836,457

BBVA, Madrid* - 59,614,342

80,596,858 71,483,715


US Select Growth Fund US$ US$

Brown Brothers Harriman, Cayman Islands* - 3

Citibank, New York 3,002,373 -

Bank of Montreal, London* - 16,366,997

3,002,373 16,367,000 *Balances held in overnight sweep accounts.

58




15. Cash Balances (continued)


Emerging Markets Growth Fund US$ US$

JPM Chase, New York* 442,338 -

Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited 237,832

Citibank, New York* 2,255,435 -

BBVA, Madrid* - 941,047

2,935,605 941,047 *Balances held in overnight sweep accounts.

59




16. Net Asset Values

Global Growth Fund

31 October 2017 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class H GBP Class H EUR Class Z USD Class A EUR Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 1,622,269,199 64,480,345 451,302,813 72,917 152,755 6,607,558 60,525,794

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 1,622,269,199 64,480,345 599,395,446 96,845 177,937 6,607,558 70,503,441 2,363,530,771

Redeemable Participating Shares in Issue 59,365,998 3,352,268 19,189,954 3,299 7,684 445,725 4,904,312

Net Asset Value per Share 27.33 19.23 23.52 22.10 19.88 14.82 12.34

31 October 2016* Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class H GBP Class H EUR Class Z USD Class A EUR Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 879,025,145 153,665,240 391,169,052 494,509 4,596,371 3,998,251 14,206,403

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 879,025,145 153,665,240 476,872,595 602,854 5,048,905 3,998,251 15,605,087 1,534,818,076



31 October 2015 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class H GBP Class H EUR Class Z USD Class A EUR Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 1,144,177,578 152,307,740 294,176,498 329,939 6,874,611 3,438,841 24,329,944

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 1,144,177,578 152,307,740 453,500,181 508,631 7,559,668 3,438,841 26,754,431 1,788,247,070




31 October 2017 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class A EUR Class Z USD Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 73,026,096 117,978,347 25,824,833 1,999,639 1,992,887

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 73,026,096 117,978,347 34,299,115 2,329,279 1,992,887 229,625,724

Redeemable Participating Shares in Issue 3,906,360 6,557,918 1,348,260 105,967 133,254

Net Asset Value per Share 18.69 17.99 19.15 18.87 14.96

31 October 2016* Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class A EUR Class Z USD Class H EUR Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 31,650,578 219,969,316 25,500,990 3,096,715 1,334,596 572,971

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 31,650,578 219,969,316 31,088,153 3,401,600 1,334,596 629,383 288,073,626

Redeemable Participating Shares in Issue 2,132,012 15,401,737 1,543,955 191,756 111,814 42,500

Net Asset Value per Share 14.84 14.28 16.52 16.15 11.93 13.48 *The market values used in these tables are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which the dealing NAV is comprised. Please see note 18 for further

information.

60




16. Net Asset Values (continued)

31 October 2015 Class A USD Class H USD Class A GBP Class A EUR Class Z USD Class H EUR Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 126,323,369 316,982,148 28,801,021 8,862,112 6,990,575 926,428

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 126,323,369 316,982,148 44,399,428 9,745,224 6,990,575 1,018,747 505,459,492

Redeemable Participating Shares in Issue 8,176,425 21,331,015 2,124,861 526,066 560,136 66,150

Net Asset Value per Share 15.45 14.86 13.55 16.85 12.48 14.00


31 October 2017 Class A USD Class A GBP Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 113,482,238 6,444,609

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 113,482,238 8,559,373 122,041,611

Redeemable Participating Shares in Issue 8,836,358 420,588

Net Asset Value per Share 12.84 15.32

31 October 2016* Class A USD Class A GBP Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 77,730,902 5,632,395

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 77,730,902 6,866,430 84,597,332

Redeemable Participating Shares in Issue 7,539,845 420,185

Net Asset Value per Share 10.31 13.40

31 October 2015 Class A USD Total US$

Net Asset Value (Local) 72,484,278

Net Asset Value (Base US$) 72,484,278 72,484,278

Redeemable Participating Shares in Issue 7,581,629

Net Asset Value per Share 9.56

*The market values used in these tables are based off prices obtained on 28 October 2016, and on which the dealing NAV is comprised. Please see note 18 for further

information.

All net asset values per share are shown in the local currency of the Share Class.

61



For the year ended 31 October 2017 17. Fair Value Estimation For fair value measurements recognised in the statement of financial position, IFRS 13 requires certain fair value

disclosures for each class of financial instruments. For this purpose, IFRS 13 requires an entity to classify fair value

measurements into a fair value hierarchy, with the following levels, by reference to the observability and significance

of the inputs used in the making the measurement. For a fair value measurement of a financial instrument to be classified in Level 1 of the hierarchy, it should be

observable directly in an active market for the same instrument. Fair value measurement in Levels 2 and 3 of the hierarchy are determined using valuation techniques. The level in the

hierarchy into which a financial instrument’s fair value measurement is classified in its entirety and is determined by

reference to the observability and significance of the inputs used in the valuation model. Valuation techniques often

incorporate both observable inputs and unobservable inputs. Fair value measurements determined using valuation techniques are classified in their entirety in either Level 2 or 3

based on the lowest level input that is significant to the measurement. That is, if the model uses both observable and

unobservable inputs, the fair value measurement is classified in Level 3 if the unobservable inputs are significant to

their fair value measurement in its entirety. This assessment is made independently of the number or the quality of the

Level 2 inputs used in the model. Differentiating between Level 2 and Level 3 fair value measurements, i.e., assessing whether inputs are observable

and whether the unobservable inputs are significant, may require judgement and a careful analysis of the inputs used

to measure fair value, including consideration of factors specific to the asset or liability. Transfers between levels are deemed to have occurred at the start of the reporting period. There were no transfers

between the fair value hierarchy levels for the years ended 31 October 2017 and 31 October 2016. Policies regarding Fair Value measurement, including the valuation of Participatory Notes, are included in Note 2 to the Financial Statements. The following tables provide an analysis within the fair value hierarchy of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities, measured at fair value and assets and liabilities, not measured at fair value at 31 October 2017 and 31 October 2016:

Global Growth Fund Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total

31 October 2017 Quoted Prices Significant Other Significant Other

In Active Observable Unobservable

Markets Inputs Inputs

US$ US$ US$ US$

Financial Assets at Fair Value

Through Profit or Loss

Equities 2,286,861,822 - - 2,286,861,822

Assets not measured at fair value

Cash and bank balances 80,596,858 - - 80,596,858

Cash held in investor money collection account 870,760 - - 870,760

Securities sold receivable - - - -

Subscriptions receivable - 2,154,554 - 2,154,554

Dividends receivable - 433,800 - 433,800

Other Assets - 1,574 - 1,574

Total assets 2,368,329,440 2,589,928 - 2,370,919,368

Liabilities not measured at fair value

Redemptions payable - 5,467,595 - 5,467,595

Accrued expenses and other payables - 1,921,002 - 1,921,002

Total net liabilities - 7,388,597 - 7,388,597 62




17. Fair Value Estimation (continued)

Global Growth Fund Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total




US$ US$ US$ US$



Equities 1,454,036,015 - - 1,454,036,015




Subscriptions receivable - 1,815,100 - 1,815,100


Other Assets - 805 - 805

Total assets 1,525,519,730 2,297,170 - 1,527,816,900


Redemptions payable - 84,555 - 84,555

Accrued expenses and other payables - 1,439,137 - 1,439,137

Total net liabilities - 1,523,692 - 1,523,692

US Select Growth Fund Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total




US$ US$ US$ US$



Equities 224,170,864 - - 224,170,864



Cash held in investor money collection account 1,115 - - 1,115

Securities sold receivable - 2,896,698 - 2,896,698

Other Assets - 1,574 - 1,574

Total assets 227,174,352 2,898,272 - 230,072,624


Payables for securities purchased - - - -

Redemptions payable - 161,357 - 161,357

Accrued expenses and other payables - 285,682 - 285,682

Total net liabilities - 447,039 - 447,039

63





US Select Growth Fund Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total




US$ US$ US$ US$



Equities 279,066,839 - - 279,066,839





Total assets 295,433,839 805 - 295,434,644


Payables for securities purchased 2,236,942 - - 2,236,942

Redemptions payable - 5,999,006 - 5,999,006


Total net liabilities 2,236,942 6,342,685 - 8,579,627

Emerging Markets Growth Fund Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total




US$ US$ US$ US$



Equities 119,094,276 - - 119,094,276

Participatory Notes - - - -



Cash held in investor money collection account 5 - - 5

Securities sold receivable - 133,182 - 133,182

Subscriptions receivable - 111,535 - 111,535


Other Assets - 1,574 - 1,574

Total assets 122,029,886 265,815 - 122,295,701




Total net liabilities 95,135 163,257 - 258,392

64





Emerging Markets Growth Fund Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total




US$ US$ US$ US$



Equities 81,393,388 - - 81,393,388

Participatory Notes - 1,741,638 - 1,741,638


Cash and bank balances 941,047 - - 941,047

Securities sold receivable - 365,171 - 365,171

Subscriptions receivable - 77,542 - 77,542



Total assets 82,334,435 2,200,629 - 84,535,064




Total net liabilities 124,683 154,305 - 278,988

18. Adjustment due to use of 31 October 2016 prices

As the 31 October 2016 was an Irish bank holiday, this was not a dealing day for the fund and consequently, in

accordance with the fund’s prospectus, 28 October 2016 was the last dealing day of the financial year for the

Company. A number of the Sub-Funds’ equity positions are traded on exchanges which were open on 31 October

2016. Consequently, these positions were traded on this date and experienced changes to their price which are not

incorporated into the dealing NAV. According to IFRS, the fair value of investments must be at valued at the year

end, 31 October 2016. Therefore there is a difference between the 28 October 2016 dealing NAV and the NAV per

these financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with IFRS.

As at 31 October 2016, the difference between the two valuation dates above resulted in a decrease of the NAV of the

Sub-Funds:

31 October 2016 % of NAV

US$

Global Growth Fund 8,524,868 0.56%

US Select Growth Fund 1,217,229 0.42%

Emerging Markets Growth Fund 333,241 0.40%

65




18. Adjustment due to use of 31 October 2016 prices (continued)

The table below reconciles the dealing NAV as at 28 October 2016 with the NAV as per these financial statements:



US$ US$ US$ US$

NAV as at 31 October 2016 1,526,293,208 286,855,017 84,256,076 1,897,404,301

Adjustment to write back prepaid

organisational costs - 1,380 8,015 9,395

Adjustment due to use of 31 October

2016 prices 8,524,868 1,217,229 333,241 10,075,338

Dealing NAV as at 28 October 2016 1,534,818,076 288,073,626 84,597,332 1,907,489,034

19. Offsetting assets and liabilities

As of 31 October 2017, the Company holds no financial instruments or derivative instruments that are eligible for

offset in the statement of financial position or are subject to a master netting agreement.

20. Exchange Rates

The financial statements are presented in US Dollar (US$) the functional currency of the Company. The following

exchange rates at 31 October 2017 and 31 October 2016 have been used to translate assets and liabilities in other

currencies to US$:


US$ US$

Brazilian Real 0.3057 0.3125

Euro 1.1648 1.0985

Dainish Krone 0.1565 -

Great British Pound 1.3281 1.2191

Hong Kong Dollar 0.1282 0.1290

Indian Rupee 0.0154 0.0150

Indonesian Rupiah 0.0001 0.0001

Japanese Yen 0.0088 0.0096

Malaysian Ringgit 0.2362 0.2381

Philippine Peso 0.0194 0.0207

South African Rand 0.0707 0.0724

South Korean Won 0.0009 0.0009

Thai Bhat 0.0301 0.0285

Turkish Lira* - 0.3220 *No exposure to this currency at year end. Prior year rate provided for comparative purposes only.

21. Efficient portfolio management

During the year ended 31 October 2017, the Company was not involved in repurchase agreements or securities

lending and did not purchase and sell financial derivative instruments.

22. Portfolio

Significant portfolio changes are listed on pages 70-72. A complete listing of purchases and sales during the year is

available upon request from the Administrator free of charge.

66




23. Significant Events

An updated prospectus was issued on 29 September 2017. There were no material changes during the year ended 31

October 2017 which would require disclosure.

24. Subsequent Events On 19 December 2017, Central Bank of Ireland approved an additional Sub-Fund namely Sands Capital Global

Leaders Fund. The Sands Capital Global Leaders Fund commenced operation on 29 December 2017.

There were subscriptions of US$68,633,682 and redemptions of US$65,105,147 between 1 November 2017 and date

of approval, 20 February 2018 for Sands Capital Global Growth Fund.

There were subscriptions of US$896,427 and redemptions of US$31,899,323 between 1 November 2017 and date of

approval, 20 February 2018 for Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund

There were subscriptions of US$132,488,989 and redemptions of US$6,161,759 between 1 November 2017 and date

of approval, 20 February 2018 for Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund.

As at the date of approval of the audited financial statements there have been no other subsequent events which would

require additional disclosure. 25. Approval of Financial Statements

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Directors on 20 February 2018.

67


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN SWITZERLAND (UNAUDITED)


Total Expense Ratio (“TER”)1

The Total Expense Ratio (“TER”) was calculated according to currently valid guidelines of the Swiss Funds

Association.

The key figures as at 31 October 2017 were as follows:

Sub-Fund Share Class TER1

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Class A USD 0.94%

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Class H USD 1.09%

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Class Z USD 1.59%

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Class A GBP 0.94%

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Class H GBP 1.09%

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Class A EUR 0.94%

Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Class H EUR 1.10%


Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund Class A USD 1.17%

Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund Class H USD 1.17%

Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund Class Z USD 1.67%

Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund Class A GBP 1.17%

Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund Class A EUR 1.17%


Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund Class A USD 1.20%

Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund Class A GBP 1.20%

1The Total Expense Ratio (“TER”) is calculated according to the following formula:

(Total expenses / AF)* 100

AF = average fund assets;

68


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN SWITZERLAND (UNAUDITED)


Performance

The performance figures as at 31 October 2017 were as follows:

Sub-Fund Share Class Annual Performance








Sub-Fund Share Class









Sub-Fund Share Class Since Inception Performance %

















Historical performance is no indicator for current or future performance. The performance data does not take account

of any commissions and costs charged when subscribing or redeeming units.

69




Sands Capital Global Growth Fund

Purchases US$

Incyte 58,171,618

Starbucks 48,775,370

Netflix 39,565,038

Shopify 32,317,754

Baidu 30,827,160

Genmab 30,591,363

Chipotle Mexican Grill 28,281,845

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 25,751,944

Galapagos 25,694,083

Nike 25,511,565

Zalando 23,661,018

Facebook 20,231,984

Visa 18,476,761

Priceline Group 18,360,933

Alibaba Group Holding 17,180,060

Amazon 15,772,442

Charles Schwab 15,447,732

Housing Development Finance 15,203,151

ASML Holding 13,950,839

Workday 12,371,755

Sales US$

Whole Foods 67,060,515

Monsanto Company 49,738,520

Biogen Idec 37,186,873

Ono Pharmaceutical 31,628,898

Kansas City Southern 30,187,880

UCB 23,745,102

Cerner 18,392,253

ASOS 15,044,674

ASML Holding 13,799,049

Facebook 11,065,821

Visa 10,442,415


Amazon 5,738,921



Under Amour - Class A 4,780,875

Baidu 4,695,649


Workday 4,420,803

Maruti Suzuki 4,307,396

The above represents sales of investments by value greater than 1% of the total value of sales and purchases of

investments by value greater than 1% of the total value of purchases, or the top 20 purchases and sales of investments

where purchases and sales do not exceed 1% of the total value of purchases and sales.

70




Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund

Purchases US$

Monster Beverage Corporation 10,320,851

Servicenow 10,084,467

Visa 6,348,919

Alexion Pharmaceuticals 5,375,694

Baidu 5,015,696

Facebook 5,001,683

Amazon 4,617,117

Starbucks 4,579,637

Activision Blizzard 4,579,420

Salesforce 4,531,626

Costar 4,247,060

Incyte 3,902,202

Palo Alto Networks 3,757,068

Alphabet - Class A 3,644,520

Snap 3,595,183

Netflix 3,579,110


Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 3,424,074



Sales US$

Facebook 20,679,689

Visa 20,556,342

Amazon 12,560,134

Salesforce 11,134,234


Adobe Systems 10,307,249

Alphabet - Class A 9,093,337

Alphabet - Class C 8,696,792


Alexion Pharmaceuticals 7,983,539

Netflix 7,962,102

Baidu 7,628,475

Mobileye 6,981,223

Schlumberger Ltd 6,489,598

Splunk 6,334,790

Athenahealth 5,826,542



Illumina 5,374,873

Monsanto Company 5,227,996




71





Purchases US$

Yandex 4,056,698

Makemytrip 2,543,517

Ctrip International 2,414,763

HDFC Bank 2,412,745


Baidu 1,922,960

Indusind Bank 1,911,457

Sea Ltd 1,715,478

Medy Tox 1,604,309

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste 1,523,659

Tencent Holdings 1,403,350

Naspers 1,275,696

Anta Sports 1,225,388

Hikma Pharmaceuticals 1,221,976

Sunny Optical 1,217,767

Zee Entertainment Enterprise 1,207,912

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone 1,207,126

MercadoLibre 1,191,214


Taiwan Semicunductor 1,155,549

Sales US$


MercadoLibre 2,660,467

Almarai Company 03/09/2019 (Counterparty Credit Suisse AG) 2,374,630

Cielo 1,817,303


Shandong Weigao Group Medical 1,704,531

Shriram Transport Finance 1,614,964

Naspers 1,540,677

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone 1,357,560

Raia Drogasil 1,264,934

BIM Birlesik Magazalar 1,186,922

Universal Robina 1,149,398

Jubilant Foodworks 1,050,301

ITC Ltd 1,019,385

Asian Paints 1,008,176

Baidu 856,302

Kalbe Farma 844,646

Sands China 816,191

Almarai Company 17/09/2018 (Counterparty Credit Suisse AG) 776,341

Tencent Holdings 731,207




72


UCITS V REMUNERATION DISCLOSURE (UNAUDITED)

The total amount of remuneration paid by the Company for the financial year relates to fixed remuneration only. No

variable remuneration was paid during the period.

Fixed remuneration paid by the Company to identified staff comprises Directors' fees only, paid solely to Mr Gavin

Caldwell and Mr Mike Kirby in their capacity as non-executive Directors not affiliated with the Company's

Investment Manager (Directors who are also employees within the Investment Manager, namely Ms Dana McNamara

and Mr Jonathan Goodman, do not received any remuneration from the Company). Details of the Directors' fees paid

is included in Note 8 of the annual financial statements

The Directors' fees are calculated on the basis of an agreed annual fee at a rate to be determined from time to time

provided that no one Director may be paid in excess of €30,000 in any one financial year without the approval of the

Board. The remuneration policy has been subject to internal review and no changes have been made to the policy.

73