Research Principles

Income investing deserves better research.

Most income investors begin with yield. We understand why. Yield is visible, easy to compare, and emotionally attractive.

But high yield alone tells you very little about the quality of the income behind it.

An attractive yield can come from a healthy investment. It can also come from deteriorating fundamentals, excessive leverage, destructive distribution policies, capital erosion, or risks that are not immediately obvious.

We built IQ Score because income investors needed a better way to distinguish durable income from risky income.

Everything we publish begins with that idea.

1. We Follow the Data

Our research does not begin with a preferred conclusion.

It begins with evidence.

We do not start with an opinion and search for data that supports it. We begin with the available information and allow that information to shape the conclusion.

When the evidence changes, our conclusions may change as well.

Changing a conclusion because the evidence changed is not inconsistency. It is good research.

2. Quality Comes Before Yield

Yield attracts attention.

Quality determines whether that yield deserves your capital.

A higher yield is not automatically better. In many cases, unusually high yields reflect unusually high risks.

Lower-yielding investments may be supported by stronger balance sheets, healthier cash flows, more sustainable distributions, and better long-term economics.

IQ Score was designed to evaluate quality first.

Yield matters. But yield without quality can become expensive.

3. We Separate Quality from Valuation and Timing

A strong investment can be expensive.

A weak investment can be cheap.

Those are valuation questions.

IQ Score is primarily a quality framework. It does not determine whether the current market price offers an attractive entry point.

It also does not attempt to predict short-term price movements or use technical indicators to determine when an investor should buy or sell.

Valuation, market timing, momentum, portfolio allocation, and position sizing require separate analysis.

Keeping those questions separate prevents quality from being confused with price or timing.

4. Research Is Not Personal Advice

Every investor is different.

Your financial position, objectives, experience, tax situation, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, time horizon, and existing portfolio are personal to you.

No general research framework can fully understand those circumstances.

IQ Score therefore does not provide personalized investment advice or make investment decisions on behalf of users.

We provide research intended to help investors ask better questions and make better-informed decisions.

Judgment remains with the investor.

5. Independence Matters

Independent research requires independence of thought.

Our conclusions are not determined by advertisers, issuers, sponsors, brokers, asset managers, or commercial partners.

Companies cannot purchase favorable classifications.

Coverage cannot be bought.

Methodology cannot be negotiated.

Unfavorable conclusions cannot be suppressed through payment or commercial pressure.

Our responsibility is to the integrity of the research, not to the popularity of its conclusions.

6. We Disclose Relevant Interests

R-Ventures B.V. and people associated with IQ Score may invest in securities covered by our research.

Personal investing experience can strengthen research. It must not determine the outcome of that research.

When a publication focuses on one or more individual securities, we disclose whether the author, R-Ventures B.V., or another relevant person associated with IQ Score has a financial interest in the securities discussed.

Where relevant, we also disclose whether a position was recently established or materially increased before publication.

These disclosures allow readers to evaluate potential conflicts for themselves.

They should never be interpreted as a recommendation to copy a position.

7. We Explain Uncertainty

No research process is perfect.

No data source is complete.

No methodology captures every relevant risk.

We believe uncertainty should be explained rather than hidden behind false precision.

That means being clear about:

• what IQ Score measures;
• what it does not measure;
• where data is missing or delayed;
• where confidence is limited;
• when methodology changes; and
• where judgment remains necessary.

We would rather explain the limits of the evidence than pretend certainty.

8. We Correct and Improve

Research improves through continuous learning.

Data may be corrected. New information may become available. Assumptions may prove incomplete. Better analytical methods may be developed. Sometimes we may simply make a mistake.

When we identify a material error, we aim to correct it openly and within a reasonable period.

As our understanding improves, IQ Score will continue to evolve.

A methodology that never changes is not necessarily consistent. It may simply have stopped learning.

Continuous improvement is a feature of serious research, not a weakness.

9. We Keep Quality Separate from Commercial Interests

Every product decision should support the quality, independence, or usefulness of the research.

Commercial features, partnerships, pricing decisions, and new services must not determine scores, classifications, or research conclusions.

Where a business decision could reasonably affect how readers interpret our independence, we should explain the relationship clearly.

Growth matters.

Research integrity matters more.

10. We Do Not Sell Certainty

Investing will always involve uncertainty.

No model can eliminate risk.

No framework can predict every outcome.

No score can guarantee future performance.

IQ Score is designed to improve decision-making, not replace judgment.

Its purpose is not to provide certainty. Its purpose is to improve the quality of the probabilities investors work with.

Our Commitment

Income investors deserve more than lists sorted by yield.

They deserve transparent research, independent thinking, honest methodology, clear communication, and the humility to acknowledge uncertainty.

That is the standard we hold ourselves to.

For more detail, read our:

• IQ Score Methodology, explaining what the framework measures and how classifications should be interpreted;
• Conflict of Interest Policy, explaining how we disclose and manage relevant financial interests; and
• Investment Disclaimer, explaining the limits of our research and the risks of relying on investment information.

Our objective is not certainty. Our objective is better probabilities.