+18.7%/Year Since Inception: Performance Update on the Smart Whales Model

Since inception, Eight Ventures’ Smart Whales model has returned an annualized 18.7%.

*The table details performance for the six-year period ending February 17, 2026, benchmarked against key comps.

Smart Whales Performance Facts – Six-Year Edition

• 18 holdings, representing diverse sectors including semis, telecom, consumer finance …
• 9 buyouts
• 60 all-time holdings – 47 winners and 13 losers[2]
• Top winner, up 719%, erases the impact of the largest 11 losers[3]
• Stock returns for Smart Whales’ big winners during our holding period:
  • • 30 – 49.9%: 8 holdings
    • 50 – 99.9%: 12 holdings
    • 100 – 719%: 7 holdings

Smart Whales is a buy-and-hold strategy that embodies the investor-as-owner ethos, making a limited number of high-conviction bets. The model copycats some of the most efficient wealth creators in the investment universe with long track records of outperformance. Smart Whales leverages their best ideas, their research teams, and their large budgets to bring great investment ideas out from behind seven-figure minimum investment requirements, 2% annual fees, and arrangements that extract 20% of your profits.

Investment Approach

Buy-and-hold US equities orientation

• Strong concentration in a relatively small number of holdings[4]
• Features U.S. and International investments – global focus provides wider range of opportunities through market cycles

Diverse Investment Strategies

• Growth – Strong revenue growth, signaling “better mousetrap”
• Income – Strong payouts often indicate mature operations with stable cash flows, and can signal durable competitive advantage and wide moat
• Deep value – Valuation metrics indicate strong cash flow relative to investment

Noncorrelation

• Investments represent diverse market capitalizations, industries and trading strategies
• Provides meaningful deviation from major indices

Profitability

• Strong preference for profitable companies with favorable valuation metrics (for example, reasonable P/E & P/B ratios), over against promising but non-profitable growth names

Secular Growth

• Strong preference for companies operating in sectors experiencing secular growth
• This preference does not preclude certain deep value opportunities in disfavored industries

[1] Performance figures are time-weighted return figures for 2/18/2020–2/17/2026, provided by Interactive Brokers’ Portfolio Analyst. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Equity investments risk loss of capital. Would-be investors must consider the suitability of investments in light of their personal financial situation.

[2] Winners represent profitable exits or holdings in which we are up. Losers represent exits in which we suffered a capital loss or positions in which we now have a negative return.

[3] This stat is based on contribution-to-total-return data provided by Interactive Brokers’ Portfolio Analyst.

[4] Number of holdings has ranged from 18 to 22 since inception.