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Herman Finds a New Shell

A story about a continuation fund

Herman looks across a beautiful beach toward a little seaside cafe with striped umbrellas

Herman Finds a New Shell

A story about a continuation fund

FundOpsHQ

Herman reads a big picture book in a deck chair under a striped umbrella

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Herman stands proudly on the sand outside a bright seaside cafe with a striped awning

Herman the hermit crab looked after a little fund. Its best company was a seaside cafe, and it was doing beautifully.

1
Herman sits on an old pier at sunset beside a small treasure chest

But a fund does not last forever. Herman's was nearly ten years old, and it was time to give the money back.

2
Herman with a wet paintbrush and a drawing of many cafe tables

Herman thought about the cafe. It had so many plans. It needed a few more years, and more help.

3
Herman stands between an old grey shell and a shiny larger shell on the sand

Then he had an idea. A new fund could buy the cafe from the old fund. It is called a continuation fund. Like a crab, the cafe would get a new shell.

4
A wise old seal with a brass scale and Herman on the pier weigh a model cafe against a bag of shells

"But what is a fair price?" Herman asked. He knew it mattered. So he asked for an outside opinion and asked his investors' committee to look.

5
Herman posting plain letters into a line of little bottle-post bottles floating out to many islands

Then he wrote to every investor. "You can take your money now, or you can stay with the cafe. Both are good choices."

6
On the beach

They took their time to decide. Some had waited long enough and wanted their money. Others loved the cafe and stayed.

7
A group of walrus and pelican visitors walk along the beach with Herman

New investors came to look. They asked good questions and walked along the beach. Then they said yes.

8
A pier scene where a chest of coins gets handed down a line of animals to those going home

The old fund sold the cafe to the new fund. The money went back to those who had chosen it.

9
Herman holds a teacup at a table in a cosy seaside cafe with one otter and one seagull as customers and nobody else

The cafe stayed just where it was, with the same tables and the same view, and a new shell around it.

10
A second little cafe further along a long summer beach with new umbrellas and busy tables

That summer, it opened a second cafe further along the sand.

11
Herman tucked into his shell on the moonlit sand with his scarf as a blanket

Herman tucked himself in and listened to the waves. Everyone had got to choose. That was the part he liked best.

12
Herman reads to two tiny baby hermit crabs in a shell-lined rock pool bedroom

A note for grown-ups

The words in this book are real ones, explained simply. The animals and examples are made up, and real terms vary from fund to fund. It is here to help you read and talk together, and it is not advice. The pictures were drawn with an AI image model and checked by hand.

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