Investor Update

Stakeholder Update 

The first quarter of CY26 represented an important period of refinement, validation and de-risking for NovusQuo. The work completed during the period builds directly upon the progress reported in Q4 CY25, including Pathfinder PDS approval and selected socialisation, and advancement of trustee, administrator and market infrastructure arrangements. 

Product launch will occur later than originally anticipated. While this is not the outcome we had initially targeted, engagement across exchange, market participants, distribution partners, investors and advisors has been constructive and has improved both the product and the supporting ecosystem around it. 

The quarter delivered meaningful progress across product design, market participation, operational readiness and launch planning. This has reduced execution risk, broadened market support and provided greater clarity around liquidity formation, likely size and pricing parameters for initial issuance. 

Our focus now moves to completing the remaining milestones required for launch and preparing for more direct engagement with investors in the period ahead. For further detail please refer to the Gannt Chart below. 

Marketing & Distribution Infrastructure 

During the quarter we completed a significant evolution of our marketing and communications framework. Collateral production has transitioned from traditional PowerPoint based documents toward a digital, microsite-based architecture which we expect will become the future-state distribution model for NovusQuo. 

This transition is expected to improve: 

• Distribution tracking and investor engagement metrics; 

• Organisational and user interaction analytics; 

• Version control and content governance; 

• Regulatory consistency and auditability; 

• Dissemination efficiency across advisers, investors and stakeholders. 

Beyond launch support, we believe this capability establishes a scalable digital infrastructure aligned with long-term distribution and product growth. 

Product Design, Market Structure & Launch Preparation 

Engagement with Cboe throughout the quarter resulted in a constructive review of several aspects of product design and launch implementation. 

This process led to refinement of product structure, listing mechanics and liquidity architecture and, in turn, prompted us to reconsider elements of our Designated Market Maker (DMM) and Authorised Participant (AP) arrangements. 

This has led to fruitful engagement with a leading global institution active within prime brokerage markets regarding participation in the NovusQuo ecosystem. They have expressed strong interest in participation as an Authorised Participant, including the potential provision of balance sheet support for primary issuance, liquidity formation and block trading activity. Importantly, discussions have extended beyond market infrastructure and into direct participation within the NQ Capital units themselves, potentially through primary market ownership positions. 

This institutional engagement has been cross-checked against feedback from MST Income and our broader investor dialogue, including development of a shadow demand framework incorporating indicative transaction size, demand observations and pricing ranges. 

Collectively, these discussions have given us increasing confidence in market support for first issuance. We look forward to sharing more detailed information in the weeks ahead. Importantly, the broader market backdrop outlined previously remains intact. Lower real rates, hybrid redemptions, evolving portfolio objectives and ongoing demand for differentiated income and growth solutions continue to support investor interest across both NQ Capital and Dividend units. 

Operational Readiness & Regulatory Progress 

Operational progress continued during the quarter and the business is now approaching final execution milestones. Subject to final issuance of the Product Disclosure Statement, both the Trustee and Administrator have completed sign-off on product design and operational workflows. 

The ATO ruling process being coordinated through external counsel remains active and is similarly dependent upon final PDS completion. Based on current advisor engagement we remain optimistic regarding finalisation in coming months. 

The remaining sequence toward launch is now relatively clear: