Awarded and rewarded at last

The recently held Old Mutual Symmetry Hedge Fund Awards honoured the hedge fund that delivered the best overall performance at the lowest risk, as well as the top performers across the four main hedge fund strategies: long-short, fixed interest, trading,

Kyle Hulett, Head of Symmetry Alternative Investments, says the aim of the annual awards is to raise investor awareness of the hedge fund industry by acknowledging top performing hedge funds and their managers.

Hulett says 20 eligible hedge funds participated in the qualifying performance survey, which was open to hedge fund managers who have at least R2.5-million of assets under management and a 6-month track record.

In addition only those hedge funds open to new investors could qualify for the awards. Hulett explains that there is little purpose in placing focus on funds that investors cannot access.

Participating funds were judged on their one-year performance (net of all costs) ending December 31, 2004. Hulett says that since the South African hedge fund industry is still in its infancy, a representative number of funds exist only at the one-year performance level.

Symmetry presented the industry with six awards, five for performance and one for the person who made the most significant contribution to the hedge fund industry in 2004.

* Best Overall Performance went to the Impact Fund from Breakwater Capital.

* The Long-short Equity Category was won by the Mayflower Fund from BlueBay Fund Managers.

* Fixed Interest Category went to the Pacific Dunes Fixed Income Hedge Fund from Peregrine Incubator Management with a return of 12.3% over the one year.

* In the Market Neutral Category Stanlib’s Quasar Fund took top honours.

* In the Trading Category Trendline’s Hedge Fund delivered an outstanding return of 47% over the one year, more than double the average return of 22.6% for this category.

While Kevin Shames, chairman of the South African Chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), was nominated for the Outstanding Contribution Award.