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Reuben Beelders has taken over at the helm of Gryphon Alternative Investments following the departure of founder member Jan Meintjes, who left the company in March.

Richard Bottger and James Faircliff, principals of Tower Capital Management, have partnered with BEX Asset Management as of 1 April, to benefit from operational and licensing aspects.

The hedge fund unit at Sanlam Investment Management (SIM) in Cape Town now has a year’s track record with its Gen-X Dynamic Alpha Fund, which was seeded in April 2009 after the team identified the need for a more aggressively mandated product.

The Coronation Multi-strategy Arbitrage Fund has had a strong first quarter, with Louis Stassen and Neville Chester taking over from respected founding manager Edwin Schultz, who left the firm earlier this year to relocate to Australia. The fund, which launched in July 2003, has been a strong performer since launch, returning a net 15.4% per year since inception. It targets annual returns of cash plus 5%.

The South African industry has been working hard to make submissions to National Treasury on the first draft of the revised Regulation 28, part of Pension Funds Act 1956, which governs what domestic pension funds may invest in.

Peregrine Financial Services Holdings has bought 50% of Stellenbosch-based Green Oak Capital, the fixed income hedge fund manager founded by Willie Viljoen and Rean Smit, as of April 1.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is believed to be in advanced negotiations with Momentum to purchase its hedge fund managed account platform. The platform, South Africa’s first, launched in 2007 and is said to have R2.3 billion under management in around 30 managed accounts. Momentum, previously part of the FirstRand group, last month announced plans to merge with Metropolitan to create a new insurance company.

This month’s bumper issue of HedgeNews Africa, also available in print, includes coverage of the HedgeNews Africa Symposium and Awards, which brought together leading industry players to discuss the way forward into the next decade.

International Standard Asset Management (ISAM), which has offices in London and Cape Town, has formed a strategic alliance with Hite Capital Management (HCM), with Larry Hite, Alex Greyserman, and Gilbert Lee joining ISAM as shareholders and directors.

Chris Edwards has joined Absa Capital as of March 1, where he spearheads the company's move into the Prime Services space.