MLN – August 2021 monthly update

1
A WORD FROM THE MANAGER
Marlin’s gross performance return for July was up 1.2%,
while the adjusted NAV was 0.9%. This compared with our
global benchmark, S&P Large Mid Cap/S&P Small Cap
Index (50% hedged to NZD), which was up 0.7%.
The global economic recovery continued as the vaccine
rollout progressed and lockdowns eased in some regions.
However, there are growing concerns that the highly
contagious delta variant of COVID could threaten this
economic recovery, with cyclical and COVID sensitive
sectors like travel underperforming for the month.
The US led global markets up 2.4%, followed by Europe
up 1.8%. We are now halfway through earnings season,
with over 83% of US companies and 70% of European
companies beating sales expectations. More encouragingly,
corporate guidance has also been strong, with 58% of
companies raising guidance for next quarter. Of those
companies that have also updated full-year guidance, 78%
have increased expectations.
Emerging markets fell 6.7%, driven by weakness in Chinese
stocks following increased regulatory scrutiny on several
key industries, as policymakers look to reduce inequality
and increase competition. Proposed reforms to the private
education sector effectively barring for-profit tutoring sent
shockwaves through the industry and soured sentiment
towards all Chinese stocks. The China Dragon Index (an
index of Chinese stocks listed in the US) was down 22% for
the month.
Portfolio Developments
Floor and Décor (+15.4%) performed strongly during
the month. Traditionally, the specialty retailer has focused
on serving retail and trade’s people hard flooring from
their Bunning’s sized warehouses. In June the company
announced it was moving into the US$13 billion commercial
sector through the acquisition of Spartan. Floor & Décor will
be able to leverage its supply chain and direct purchasing
to grow Spartan’s business serving large architecture and
design shops on projects such as hotels and hospitals.
In addition, existing home sales data, which is closely
correlated to Floor and Décor’s performance improved after
a couple of negative months. We continue to view Floor
and Décor positively given the store growth runway.
Icon (+17.7%) delivered another excellent quarterly
result, with revenue and bookings both growing above
expectations. Icon is a contract research organisation
(CRO), which helps pharmaceutical companies design and
run clinical drug trials. It continues to benefit from growing
spend on drug research and the increased outsourcing
of clinical research to trusted service providers like Icon.
Earlier this year, Icon announced a merger with competitor
PRA Health Sciences to create the third largest CRO. While
the market was initially sceptical of the merger, positive
commentary from management and strong quarterly results
have eased concerns and helped drive performance during
the month.
Alphabet (+10.4%) also reported another stellar quarter as
the company benefits from the ongoing shift of advertising
dollars online. Search was the largest outperformer, with
revenue up 68% versus last year. In addition to a recovery
in spend from COVID-impacted industries like travel, the
pandemic has created urgency amongst businesses to
accelerate the pace of digital transformation, including
moving advertising spend online. This tailwind also drove
84% growth in YouTube revenues, as advertisers have
started moving brand advertising dollars away from linear
television. We believe there is still plenty of runway left in this
shift and see portfolio companies like Alphabet, Facebook
and Amazon as key beneficiaries.
Our two Chinese stocks Alibaba (-13.9%) and Tencent
(-18.0%) were both caught up in the China tech sell-off.
Having benefited from years of light-touch regulation, the
Chinese tech industry is now seeing a period of increasing
regulatory focus. We believe this is a natural progression
as the industry and economy matures, and that the more
alarming reforms such as that in the private education
sectors are largely contained to those industries and are
1
Share Price Premium to NAV (including warrant price on a pro-rated basis and using NAV to four decimal places).
MONTHLY UPDATE
August 2021
MLN NAV
$
1. 3 0
$
1. 5 5
Share Price
Warrant PricePREMIUM
1
$
0.28 24.9
%

as at 31 July 2021

2
SECTOR SPLIT
as at 31 July 2021
KEY DETAILS
as at 31 July 2021
FUND TYPE
Listed Investment Company
INVESTS IN
Growing international companies
LISTING DATE
1 October 2007
FINANCIAL YEAR END
30 June
TYPICAL PORTFOLIO
SIZE
20-35 stocks
INVESTMENT CRITERIA
Long-term growth
PERFORMANCE
OBJECTIVE
Long-term growth of capital and
dividends
TAX STATUS
Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE)
MANAGER
Fisher Funds Management Limited
MANAGEMENT
FEE RATE
1.25% of gross asset value
(reduced by 0.10% for every
1% of underperformance
relative to the change in the
NZ 90 Day Bank Bill Index
with a floor of 0.75%)
PERFORMANCE
FEE HURDLE
Changes in the NZ 90 Day Bank
Bill Index + 5%
PERFORMANCE FEE
10% of returns in excess of
benchmark and high water mark
HIGH WATER MARK
$0.92
PERFORMANCE FEE CAP
1.25%
SHARES ON ISSUE
190m
MARKET CAPITALISATION
$295m
GEARING
None (maximum permitted 20% of
gross asset value)
36
%
CONSUMER
DISCRETIONARY
8
%
HEALTH CARE
16
%

FINANCIALS
23
%
COMMUNICATION
SERVICES
GEOGRAPHICAL
SPLIT
as at 31 July 2021
9
%
ASIA
73
%
NORTH AMERICA
3
%
INDUSTRIALS
2
%

SOUTH AMERICA
The Marlin portfolio also holds cash.
12
%
15
%
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
focussed on reducing inequality. Alibaba and Tencent are
more aligned with policymaker’s goals as they play an
important role in the digitalisation of commerce and industry
in China, improving the livelihoods of both consumers
and businesses and we are still positive on the long-term
prospects for both companies. We have taken advantage
of what we think is irrational selling to increase our weight in
these names.
Ashley Gardyne
Senior Portfolio Manager
Fisher Funds Management Limited

WEST
EUROPE

3
JULY’S SIGNIFICANT RETURNS IMPACTING
THE PORTFOLIO during the month
Typically the Marlin portfolio will be invested 90% or more in equities.
ICON
+18
%
FLOOR AND DÉCOR
+15
%
HEXCEL CORP
-13
%
TENCENT
-14
%
5 LARGEST PORTFOLIO POSITIONS as at 31 July 2021
FACEBOOK
10
%
ALIBABA
8
%
ALPHABET
7
%
TENCENT
7
%
SIGNATURE BANK
5
%
The remaining portfolio is made up of another 17 stocks and cash.
Nov
2007
Nov
2008
Nov
2009
Nov
2010
Nov
2011
Nov
2012
Nov
2014
Nov
2013
Share Price/Total Shareholder Return
Share PriceTotal Shareholder Return
Nov
2015
$
1.00
$
0.00
Nov
2016
Nov
2017
$
3.00
$
4.00
$
5.00
$
2.00
Nov
2018
Nov
2019
Nov
2020
TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN to 31 July 2021
PERFORMANCE to 31 July 2021
1 Month3 Months1 Year3 Years
(annualised)
5 Years
(annualised)
Company Performance
Total Shareholder Return(2.7%)+12.0%+65.3%+35.3%+27.8%
Adjusted NAV Return+0.9%+5.4%+36.5%+20.5%+19.4%
Portfolio Performance
Gross Performance Return +1.2%+5.6%+42.2%+24.7%+23.6%
Benchmark Index^(0.1%)+3.9%+34.3%+11.4%+13.5%
^Benchmark index: World Small Cap Gross Index until 30 September 2015 & S&P Large Mid Cap/S&P Small Cap Index (50% hedged to NZD) from 1 October 2015
Non-GAAP Financial Information
Marlin uses non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net asset value, adjusted NAV return, gross performance return and total shareholder return. The rationale for using such non-GAAP measures is as follows:
»adjusted net asset value – the underlying value of the investment portfolio adjusted for capital allocation decisions after expenses, fees and tax,
»adjusted NAV return – the net return to an investor after expenses, fees and tax,
»gross performance return – the Manager’s portfolio performance in terms of stock selection and currency hedging before expenses, fees and tax, and
»total shareholder return – the return combines the share price performance, the warrant price performance, the net value of converting any warrants into shares, and the dividends paid to shareholders. It
assumes all dividends are reinvested in the company’s dividend reinvestment plan, and that shareholders exercise their warrants, (if they were in the money) at warrant expiry date.
All references to adjusted net asset value, adjusted NAV return, gross performance return and total shareholder return in this monthly update are to such non-GAAP measures. The calculations applied to non-GAAP
measures are described in the Marlin Non-GAAP Financial Information Policy. A copy of the policy is available at http://marlin.co.nz/about-marlin/marlin-policies/
ALIBABA
-18
%

Disclaimer: The information in this update has been prepared as at the date noted on the front page. The information has been prepared as a general summary of the matters covered only, and it is by necessity
brief. The information and opinions are based upon sources which are believed to be reliable, but Marlin Global Limited and its officers and directors make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness.
The update is not intended to constitute professional or investment advice and should not be relied upon in making any investment decisions. Professional financial advice from a financial adviser should be
taken before making an investment. To the extent that the update contains data relating to the historical performance of Marlin Global Limited or its portfolio companies, please note that fund performance can
and will vary and that future results have no correlation with results historically achieved.
Marlin Global Limited
Private Bag 93502, Takapuna, Auckland 0740
Phone: +64 9 484 0365 | Fax: +64 9 489 7139
Email: enquire@marlin.co.nz | www.marlin.co.nz
4
Computershare Investor Services Limited
Private Bag 92119, Auckland 1142
Phone: +64 9 488 8777 | Fax: +64 9 488 8787
Email: enquiry@computershare.co.nz | www.computershare.com/nz
ABOUT
MARLIN GLOBAL
Marlin is an investment company
listed on the New Zealand Stock
Exchange. The company gives
shareholders an opportunity to
invest in a diversified portfolio of
between 20 and 35 quality growing
international companies (excluding
New Zealand and Australia) through
a single, professionally managed
investment. The aim of Marlin
is to offer investors competitive
returns through capital growth and
dividends.
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Regular Dividends
»Quarterly distribution policy introduced in August 2010
»Under this policy, 2% of average NAV is targeted to be
paid to shareholders quarterly
»Dividends paid by Marlin may include dividends received,
interest income, investment gains and/or return of capital
»Shareholders who prefer to have increased capital rather
than a regular income stream have the opportunity to
participate in the company’s dividend reinvestment plan
(DRP)
»Shares issued to DRP participants are at a 3% discount
to market price
»Marlin became a portfolio investment entity on 1 October
2007. As a result, dividends paid to New Zealand tax
resident shareholders have not been subject to further tax
Share Buyback Programme
»Marlin has a buyback programme in place allowing it (if it
elects to do so) to acquire its shares on market
»Shares bought back by the company are held as treasury
stock
»Shares held as treasury stock are available to be re-
issued for the dividend reinvestment plan
Warrants
»On 19 April 2021 a new issue of warrants (MLNWE) was
announced
»The warrants were issued at no cost to eligible
shareholders in the ratio of one warrant for every four
Marlin shares held
»The warrants were allotted to shareholders on 17 May
2021 based on a 14 May 2021 Record Date and were
listed on the NZX Main Board from 18 May 2021.
(Information pertaining to the warrants was mailed/
emailed to shareholders in early May 2021)
»The Exercise Price of each warrant is $1.28, adjusted
down for the aggregate amount per share of any cash
dividends declared on the shares with a record date
during the period commencing on the date of allotment
of the warrants and ending on the last Business Day
before the final Exercise Price is announced by Marlin
»The Exercise Date for the new warrants (MLNWE) is
20 May 2022
»The final Exercise Price will be announced and an
Exercise Form sent to warrant holders in April 2022

MANAGEMENT
The Manager has authority delegated
to it from the Board to invest
according to the Management
Agreement and other written
policies. Marlin’s portfolio is managed
by Fisher Funds Management
Limited. Ashley Gardyne (Senior
Portfolio Manager), Chris Waters
and Harry Smith (Senior Investment
Analysts) have prime responsibility
for managing the Marlin portfolio.
Together they have significant
combined experience and are very
capable of researching and investing
in the quality global companies that
Marlin targets. Fisher Funds is based
in Takapuna, Auckland

BOARD
The Board of Marlin comprises
independent directors Alistair
Ryan (Chair), Carol Campbell,
Andy Coupe and David
McClatchy.