South African single-manager hedge funds added a median 1.4% in April, clawing back some March losses, as the FTSE/JSE All Share Index rose 1.65% while South Africa’s All Bond Index gained 3.27%.
In comparison, the MSCI World Index added 8.22%, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 14.53% and the MSCI Frontier Markets Africa Index added 7.86%.
Long/short equity funds were the strongest category, returning a median 2.18% for the month, while single manager multi-strategy funds were next, gaining a median 1.36%.
Market neutral and quantitative funds followed with a median return of 1.21%.
Fixed income funds rose a median 1.05% for the month, to reflect a year-to-date gain of 2.93%, making them the best performing hedge fund category for the year so far.
Pan-African funds posted solid gains, returning a median 8.95% for the month.
South African fund of hedge funds fared better than single-manager funds on an overall basis, adding a median 1.86% in April.
Copyright. HedgeNews Africa – May 2026.