Press Releases

Terms of Use

TERMS OF USE

GENERAL INFORMATION

This material is provided for information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, offer or a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security or product. This material is not intended to substitute a professional advice on investment in financial products and any investment or strategy mentioned herein may not be suitable for every investor. Before entering into any transaction each investor should consider the suitability of a transaction to his own situation and, the need be, obtain independent professional advice as to risks and consequences of any investment. This website may contain advertising.

Any discussion of particular topics is not meant to be complete, accurate, comprehensive or up-to-date and may be subject to change. Factual information has been taken from sources we believe to be reliable, but its accuracy, completeness or interpretation cannot be guaranteed. Information and opinions expressed are those of the author and may not reflect the opinions of other investment teams within William Blair. Information is current as of the date appearing in this material only and subject to change without notice.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, William Blair will accept no liability for any direct or consequential loss, damages, costs or prejudices whatsoever arising from the use of this document or its contents.

These documents are the property of William Blair and are not intended for distribution or dissemination, directly or indirectly, to any other persons than those to which it has been addressed exclusively for their personal use. It is being supplied to you solely for your information and may not be reproduced, modified, forwarded to any other person or published, in whole or in part, for any purpose without the prior written consent of William Blair.

INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION

Both past performance and yield may not be a reliable guide to future performance. The value of investments and income from them may fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Estimates of future returns or indications of past performance on the Site are for information purposes and should not be construed as a guarantee of future performance.

These documents shall constitute a marketing communication only in the countries in which the Fund has been registered for public offering. In any other countries, laws and regulations may restrict the distribution of this document. This document is not to be considered as marketing communication or as the marketing of the shares of the Fund if such communication of documents or would be unlawful.

In any other countries, laws and regulations may restrict the access to the present website. The access to the present website is not to be considered as marketing communication or as the marketing of the shares of the Fund if such access to such information and documentation through a website would be unlawful.

This document is the property of William Blair and is not intended for distribution or dissemination, directly or indirectly, to any other persons than those to which it has been addressed exclusively for their personal use. It is being supplied to you solely for your information and may not be reproduced, modified, forwarded to any other person or published, in whole or in part, for any purpose without the prior written consent of William Blair.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. "William Blair" is a registered trademark of William Blair & Company, L.L.C. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written consent.

FUND INFORMATION

The SICAV has appointed FUNDROCK MANAGEMENT COMPANY S.A., a "société anonyme" incorporated under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and having its registered office at 33, rue de Gasperich, L-5826 Hesperange as its management company (the "Management Company").The Management Company is authorised and regulated by the Luxembourg Supervisory Authority of the Financial Sector (the "CSSF") as the management company of UCITS (defined below) under the EU directive 2009/65/EC, as amended.

The Management Company has been appointed as the management company of WILLIAM BLAIR SICAV, a "société d'investissement á capital variable", incorporated under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg having its registered office at 31, Z.A.I. Bourmicht, Bertrange, registered in the R.C.S. Luxembourg under n° 98806 and approved by the CSSF as an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) in accordance with the EU directive 2009/65/EC, as amended (the "Fund").

The Management Company has appointed WILLIAM BLAIR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC, having its registered office at 150 North Riverside Plaza Chicago, IL 60606-1598, USA ("William Blair Group") as the investment manager for the Fund (the "Investment Manager").

The Articles of Incorporation, the Prospectus, the Key Investor Information Documents (KIID), the Annual and Half-yearly Reports of the Fund and the Subscription Form are available free of charge in English and German from our website SICAV.williamblair.com or at the registered office of the Management Company (33, rue de Gasperich, L-5826 Hesperange, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), at the registered office of the Fund (William Blair SICAV, 31, Z.A. Bourmicht, L-8070 Bertrange, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) or from the Swiss representative, First Independent Fund Services Limited, Klausstrasse 33, CH-8008 Zurich, and in German language at Marcard, Stein & Co., Ballindamm 36, 20095 Hamburg, Germany, and at Bank of Austria Creditanstalt AG, Am Hof 2, 1010 Vienna, Austria.

The investments in the Fund may not be suitable for all recipients. This document does not contain personalized recommendations or advice and is not intended to substitute any professional advice on investment in financial products.

Recipients of this document should make their own investment decisions based upon the Fund Documents listed above (which can be obtained free of charge) and in accordance with their own financial objectives and financial resources and, if in any doubt, should seek advice from independent professional advice as to risks and consequences of any investment

FUND RISKS

Recipients of this document should be aware of the risks detailed in this paragraph.

Please be advised that any return estimates or indications of past performance on this document are for information purposes only. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance and no assurance can be made that the profits will be achieved or that substantial losses will not be incurred. The value of shares and any income from them can increase or decrease. An investor may not get back the amount originally invested.

Where investment is made in currencies other than the investor's base currency, the value of those investments, and any income from them, will be affected by movements in exchange rates. This effect could be unfavourable as well as favourable. Levels and bases for taxation may change.

Further specific risks may arise in relation to specific investments and you should review the risk factors very carefully before investing. Intended risk profile of the Fund may change overtime. The Fund is designed for long-term investors. The most current month-end performance information is available on SICAV.williamblair.com.

FUND AVAILABILITY

William Blair makes no representations that this website or any contents contained on it are appropriate or available for use in any jurisdiction. This information is not intended to be published or made available to any person in any jurisdiction where doing so would result in contravention of any laws or regulations applicable to the user. The SICAV Fund is currently registered for marketing in: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore (Restricted Scheme), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Therefore the SICAV Fund is either not registered to be marketed in your jurisdiction or may only be marketed or offered to professional investors in your jurisdiction.

This website is not intended to be published or made available to any person in any jurisdiction where doing so would result in contravention of any laws or regulations applicable to the recipient. This website shall constitute a marketing communication only in the countries in which the Fund has been registered for public offering. In any other countries, laws and regulations may restrict the access to the present website. The access to the present website is not to be considered as marketing communication or as the marketing of the shares of the Fund if such access to such information and documentation through a website would be unlawful. People from countries where these investments are prohibited are invited to exit the website.

More particularly, this site is NOT intended for citizens or residents of the United States of America or for any “U.S. Person”, as this term is defined in SEC Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. The definition of this term is set forth in the legal terms and conditions of our web site. The investment products described on this web site are not registered under the U.S. federal securities laws or any other relevant U.S. state laws. Consequently, no investment product may be offered or sold directly or indirectly in the United States of America (including in U.S. territories and possessions), to or to the benefit of residents and citizens of the United States of America and to “U.S. Person”. This restriction also applies to residents and citizens of the United States of America and “U.S. Person” who may view or access this web site while travelling or during a stay outside of the United States of America.

If you are a U.S. Person, go to www.williamblairfunds.com

Statement of Financial Condition

The Annual and Semi-annual Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition of William Blair & Company, L.L.C., and its
wholly owned subsidiary, William Blair International, Limited (collectively the "Company") are available below (as PDFs).

12/31/15: Annual Statement
06/30/15: Semi-annual Statement
12/31/14: Annual Statement
06/30/14: Semi-annual Statement
12/31/13: Annual Statement
06/30/13: Semi-annual Statement

Clients may also request a printed copy of the statements by calling 1-800-621-0687 ext.5001.

NMS Rule 605 & 606

Disclosure of SEC-Required Order Execution Information and Routing Information

For the convenience of our clients, below we provide links to order execution data and routing information as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations.

NMS Rule 605 - Order Execution Information
William Blair & Company presents this order execution information pursuant to NMS Rule 605. Access our William Blair Rule 605 Data files.

The data that you will find by following the link above will provide you with an indication of the type of execution you will receive for stocks in which William Blair is a market maker. However, please be aware that the majority of the order flow executed by William Blair & Company is not covered by NMS Rule 605 due to special handling requests by customers. The execution results from this order flow will not appear in the data and may differ substantially from the results.

NMS Rule 606 - Order Routing Information
William Blair & Company presents this order routing information pursuant to NMS Rule 606. View William Blair Rule 606 Data (PDF).

William Blair takes into consideration many factors when determining where to route customers' orders. These include opportunities for price improvement, speed of execution, market depth and order size, cost of execution and the reputation of a particular venue. William Blair actively monitors the execution quality provided by the different market makers and exchanges, and routes orders to venues that have provided consistent, high-quality executions over time.

Business Continuity Plan

FINRA Rule 4370 requires that members and member firms establish and maintain business continuity and contingency plans relating to an emergency or significant business disruption.

Click to view William Blair & Company's Business Continuity Plan Summary (PDF).

UK Stewardship Code

Click to view William Blair & Company's UK Stewardship Code (PDF).

Privacy Notice

Click to view the William Blair SICAV Privacy Notice (PDF).

Cookie Policy

PRIVACY AND COOKIES

Click to view William Blair & Company's Cookie Policy (PDF).

Social Media Disclaimer

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a broker dealer and investment adviser dually registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). William Blair, along with affiliated entities William Blair Investment Management, LLC and William Blair International, Ltd (collectively, “William Blair”) sponsors and publishes posts on or through pages, profiles, accounts, feeds, channels or other portions of various social media platforms, including but not limited to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (each, a “Site”) for educational, promotional or other business reasons.

About William Blair Posts

No William Blair post published on any social media platform is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of any William Blair investment product to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Additionally, all William Blair posts published on any social media platform are for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or recommendations to invest in any particular security, strategy or investment product.

William Blair posts on social media may include statements concerning financial market trends, and are based on current market conditions, which will fluctuate and may be superseded by subsequent market events or for other reasons. Historic market trends are not reliable indicators of actual future market behavior or future performance of any particular investment which may differ materially, and should not be relied upon as such. The investment strategies and broad themes discussed in William Blair’s social media posts may be unsuitable for investors depending on their specific investment objectives and financial situation. Information contained in posts has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. You should note that the materials on the social media platforms are provided "as is" without any express or implied warranties. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments involve a degree of risk, including the risk of loss. No part of William Blair posts may be altered without express written permission from William Blair.

William Blair posts may provide links to third party websites only as a convenience and the inclusion of such links does not imply any endorsement, approval, investigation, verification or monitoring by William Blair of any content or information contained within or accessible from the linked sites. While we make every attempt to provide links only to those websites we think are trustworthy and accurate, we cannot be responsible for the content or accuracy of the information presented on those websites and we specifically disclaim any liability for any loss or damages which you may incur, directly or indirectly, as a result of your use of them. We reserve the right to terminate a link to a third party website at any time.

General User Guidelines

Due to the highly regulated nature of our industry and as a matter of policy, William Blair, in some instances, may not reply to user comments. Please ensure that your contributions in relation to any William Blair posts are relevant and topical. Do not publish your own advertisements of any kind on any William Blair social media page or with respect to any William Blair posts. We ask you to be respectful and courteous and refrain from publishing, including through hyper-links, inappropriate or offensive material on any William Blair social media page. Do not attempt to promote investments (this includes posting testimonials, giving investment advice, or making recommendations about specific securities, securities strategies, products or services) on any William Blair social media page. Do not attempt to submit to William Blair any personal, confidential or account information through any William Blair social media page. William Blair is not subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding information submitted to them through any William Blair social media page or otherwise through any social media platform.

Third-Party Posts on any William Blair Social Media Page

While William Blair may monitor third-party posts published on any William Blair social media page, such posts may be reviewed to ensure regulatory compliance, but otherwise are not edited before being displayed. Third-party posts on any William Blair social media page are the view and responsibility of the third-party, not William Blair. William Blair cannot guarantee the appropriateness, accuracy or usefulness of any third-party posts or of any third-party hyper-link, nor are they responsible for any unauthorized or copyrighted materials contributed by a third-party in any William Blair social media page. William Blair reserves the right to remove or edit any third-party posts or comments on any William Blair social media page that are inappropriate or that violate (or may violate) applicable regulations.

William Blair does not publish or otherwise disseminate statements relating to current or former clients’ positive experiences with or endorsements of William Blair and expects you to refrain from publishing such posts on any William Blair social media page. You should limit your posts on any William Blair social media page to investment themes rather than commenting, positively or negatively, on William Blair, its products, services or personnel. Although our clients may follow this account, this should not be interpreted as a testimonial regarding any client’s experience with our firm.

Any descriptions of, references to, or links to other products, publications or services do not constitute an endorsement, authorization, sponsorship by, or affiliation with William Blair with respect to any hyper-linked site or its sponsor, unless expressly stated by William Blair. William Blair expressly disclaims any responsibility for the posts, the accuracy of the information, and/or quality of products or services provided by or advertised on these third-party sites, as posted by third-parties on any William Blair Social media page.

Use Social Media Platforms at Your Own Risk

William Blair is in no way affiliated with any social media platform and has no responsibility for any social media page’s operations and services. William Blair and their respective affiliates, directors, officers, or employees are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or special damages arising out of or in any way connected with your access or use of, or inability to access or use, a social media platform, any William Blair social media page thereon or reliance on any William Blair post or any failure of performance, interruption, defect, delay in transmission, computer viruses or other harmful components, or line or system failure associated with a social media platform or any William Blair social media page thereon. Use of a social media platform or any William Blair social media page thereon is at your own risk.

Privacy Policy

William Blair is not responsible for the terms of use or privacy policies of any social media platform on which William Blair posts may appear, including in any William Blair social media page. For additional information regarding account security and privacy, refer to our Privacy and Security statement

Copyrights and Trademarks

Each social media page’s content and information, and all trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade dress, logos, copyrights and other intellectual property displayed on the Site by William Blair (“Content”) are protected by U.S. and worldwide copyright and trademark laws and treaty provisions, and are owned by, controlled by or licensed to William Blair or their respective owners. By using any social media page, we do not grant you any rights to reproduce, sell, or license any of the content contained herein, except that you may print a copy of the information contained herein for your personal use only. You may not reproduce or distribute the text or graphics to others or copy all or substantially all of the content to your own hard drive or server without the prior written permission of William Blair.

Permitted Uses of Our Sites and Content

We have listed below the permitted uses of our Content. We reserve the right to change our permitted uses at any time.

• William Blair grants you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive and nontransferable right to view, store, bookmark, download, copy and print pages from the Site for your personal and noncommercial use only. Unless you receive our permission in advance, you may not exploit any of the Content commercially or forward it as a mass distribution.
• If you link other websites to any Site, you may not imply or suggest that William Blair has endorsed or is affiliated with such websites and you may not display this Site as “framed” within another website.

Prohibited Uses of Our Sites and Content

William Blair does not grant, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right to use Content on any social media page other than those set forth above, and you shall not make any other use of such Content without William Blair’s written permission. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing:

• You agree not to copy large portions of any social media page (such as by bots, robots or spiders that “harvest” the Site), interfere with the functioning of the Site or restrict or inhibit any others from using the Site.
• If you download any pages from any social media page, you agree that you will not remove or obscure any copyright or other notices or legends contained in any such Content. You may not alter or modify the Content in your copies.
• You may not (and may not encourage or assist others to) violate any law, regulation, rule or the intellectual property or contractual rights of others, or attempt to violate the security of any social media page or use or gain access to the identities, information or computers of others through any social media page.
• You may not transmit any virus, worm, time bomb or similar system interference or corruptant through any social media page.

William Blair has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor any social media page for unauthorized or objectionable conduct and to take all appropriate actions in response, without notice to you. We reserve the right to change or supplement our website policies at any time to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made on any social media page that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties and are forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in William Blair’s products' performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of William Blair to attract or retain key employees, unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, the operations and performance of our businesses. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believe,” “expect,” “potential,” “continue,” “may,” “should,” “seek,” “approximately,” “predict,” “intend,” “will,” “plan,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

International Use

The Content provided in or accessible through any social media page is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject William Blair to any registration or other requirement within such jurisdiction or country. William Blair reserves the right to limit access to the Site to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction. Unless otherwise expressly set forth herein, William Blair makes no representations that transactions, products or services discussed on or accessible through the Site are available or appropriate for sale or use in all jurisdictions or by all users, or that access by any user in the place it is located is not illegal or prohibited. Users who choose to access the Site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for establishing the legality, usability and correctness of any information or Content on the Site under the laws of any applicable jurisdictions. You may not use or export the Content on the Site or accessible through the Site in violation of applicable laws and regulations.

Transmission to and From any Social Media Page

Subject to any applicable terms and conditions set forth in our Privacy and Security Statement, any communication or other material that you send to us through the Internet or post on any social media page by electronic mail or otherwise, is and will be deemed to be non-confidential as between you and us and William Blair shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such information. William Blair will be free to use, for any purpose, and without compensation due or payable to you, any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques provided by you to William Blair through any social media page.

Disclaimer and Indemnity

William Blair and its affiliates disclaim, to the fullest extent permitted by law, all express and implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. If you live in a state that does not allow disclaimers of implied warranties, our disclaimer may not apply to you.

William Blair does not warrant that the information in any social media page is accurate, reliable or correct, that any social media page will be available at any particular time or location, or that any social media page is free of viruses or other harmful components. Electronic communications can be intercepted by third parties and, accordingly, electronic mail and other transmissions to and from any social media page or made via any social media page may not be secure.

The investments and strategies discussed in the content may not be suitable for all investors and are not obligations of William Blair or any of its affiliates or guaranteed by William Blair or any of its affiliates. The investments are not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other entity and are subject to investment risks, including the loss of the principal amount invested. Nothing contained on the Site constitutes investment, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. You should obtain and carefully review any applicable prospectus, statement of additional information and/or offering memorandum as well the William Blair Form ADV, as applicable, before making any investment decision. Decisions based on information or materials contained on any social media page are the sole responsibility of the user.

As consideration for access to any social media page, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless William Blair and their employees, contractors, affiliates, officers and directors from and against any claims whatsoever and of any nature for damages, losses and causes of action, including but not limited to actions by third parties against you, William Blair or any of its Related Person, arising out of or in connection with any decisions that you make based on such Content, your use of any social media page, or your violation of our website policies. You agree to make William Blair, whole for any and all claims, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from your use of the Site or any violation of this the policies laid out in this Disclaimer, unless prohibited by law.

Miscellaneous Provisions

YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and any other social media sites are public sites. William Blair is in no way affiliated with them and has no responsibility for their operations and services or for related service sites. William Blair is not responsible for any social media platform’s terms of use or privacy or security policies, or any other third party sites that may be linked to by a social media platform. By using a social media platform, you accept at your own risk that the Internet and online communications medium may not perform as intended despite the efforts of William Blair, your Internet Service Provider, and you.

For additional information regarding account security and privacy, refer to our Privacy and Security statement. For customer service inquiries or questions about your accounts, please visit our website at: www.williamblair.com.

Your Acceptance of these Terms

Your use of the Site constitutes your acceptance of the terms contained herein. You may reject these terms by leaving the Site at any time.

For additional information about William Blair or to contact us, please visit our website at: www.williamblair.com.