Years like that are useful. A rising market can flatter everybody. It’s when conditions become more challenging that you find out whose discipline was real.

We closed the year with funds under management up 89%, a 34% increase in new investors, and a wholesale fund suite that is now complete. But the number I’d point you to first is a quieter one: of the opportunities we assessed in detail this year, we funded fewer than a third.

We said no far more often than we said yes.

That doesn’t show up in a returns table, but it says a great deal about how we manage investor capital.

Protecting investor capital has been Ark’s guiding principle since 2015. It sits underneath every loan, every partnership and every decision to walk away. We don’t rush to deploy capital. We’d rather explain why we’re not invested than take risk for which our investors aren’t being adequately compensated.

We also welcome the closer scrutiny now falling on our sector. A serious industry should be held to a high standard, and we have always aimed to operate above the bar rather than merely meet it.

You’ll find our governance set out in detail in the pages that follow not as compliance housekeeping, but because strong governance, transparency and accountability are fundamental to sustainable growth and investor trust.

Inside, you’ll find how each of our funds performed and why; where we chose to lend and where we stepped back; the deals we’re proudest of; the positions we’re actively managing; and our view of the year ahead.

The good news and the harder news, together. That’s how we’ve always reported.

Thank you for your trust and your partnership. Whatever the market does next, we’ll keep doing the work that allows our investors to make informed decisions with clarity and confidence.