Hopefully, these problems are in the past because a transformation, worthy of a real chrysalis, is underway. Having been the cause of its downfall, Klarna, the fourth biggest of 13 unlisted holdings, is in the forefront of a comeback by the £500m investment company.
First quarter results last week held out the prospect of a £100m windfall for Chrysalis should Klarna, in which 11.4pc of the fund’s assets is invested, float in the US with a $20bn (£16bn) valuation this year.
Together with the potential £50m disposal of another investment flagged in December, Chrysalis could soon be flush with enough cash to start returning capital to shareholders.
In return for granting Chrysalis a further three years at a continuation vote in March, shareholders extracted important changes from the company and its managers, who left Jupiter last year to set up their own business dedicated to the fund.
Their performance fee has been cut and will not be paid until Chrysalis repairs the damage from its crash. In addition, the company has agreed that once a £50m cash buffer has been set aside, it will return the first £100m it makes on sales and flotations to shareholders.
This will be done by buying back its shares which, because they are cheap, will boost the value of shareholders’ remaining investments, as well as put money in their pockets.
The company will also pay out a quarter of all future gains made on disposals, ensuring the managers don’t eat all the profits first like a very hungry caterpillar.
After a dormant period when the shares languished as much as 61pc below the value of its investments, Chrysalis has come to life, rallying 61pc to 85.1p in the past seven months, although the stock still trails on a big discount of 44pc.
While that leaves Chrysalis 68pc below the 2021 high and 15pc less than its launch price, the rebound looks secure as stock market flotations accelerate after a two-year hiatus and valuations look more rational.