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South African hedge funds have delivered a median 11.62% to the end of October in a complex 2025 which has seen the FTSE-JSE All Share Index move 33.9% higher while South Africa’s All Bond Index has added 16.93%.
Hedge funds globally have also had a strong run, with the HFRX fund weighted composite index gaining 74 basis points in October, bringing its year-to-date return to 10.31%.
This month’s first provisional nominees for the 2025 HedgeNews Africa Awards are the early standouts for the year so far, based on 10 months of data to the end of October.
Second provisional nominations will follow next month based on 11 months of returns, with final nominations across all categories to be released early in the new year based on the full 12 months.
Now in their 17th year, the Awards are based on an established quantitative methodology. Nominations in each category are based on return, with nominees needing to be within 25% of the top Sharpe ratio amongst the nominees in each category in order to win, a means to measure risk-adjusted returns.
First provisional nominations (data to end-October).
Long/Short
Fairtree Silver Oak Equity Long Short FR Retail Hedge Fund
Oyster Catcher RCIS Long Short Retail Hedge Fund
Market Neutral
Laurium Market Neutral Prescient RI Hedge Fund
Oyster Catcher RCIS Smart Alpha Retail Hedge Fund
Multi Strategy
Abax Alternative Prescient Retail Hedge Fund
Differential Gradient Prescient QI Hedge Fund
Fixed Income
Abax Agile FI Prescient Retail Hedge Fund
Oakhaven Strategic Fixed Income FR QI Hedge Fund
Pan-Africa
Steyn Capital Africa Fund
Sustainable Capital Africa Alpha Fund
Fund of Hedge Funds
Edge RCIS Portable Alpha 1 QI Hedge Fund
Momentum Portable Alpha QI FoHF
The 2025 HedgeNews Africa Awards, based on 2025 calendar-year data, will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 in Cape Town.
To be considered for the Awards, which are based on calendar-year returns, funds must submit their data to our database. Contact data@hedgenewsafrica.com
Awards Methodology
Awards are based on risk-adjusted return. The award in each category goes to the fund with the highest return amongst the nominees, provided its Sharpe ratio is within 25% of the top Sharpe ratio amongst the nominees in each category.
To be nominated, funds must have a minimum of R80 million under management (averaged over the period, or $10 million in the case of dollar-based funds) or R160 million in the longer-term awards.