CAEP ASSET MANAGERS

The Fund
The CAEP RCIS Fixed Income Retail Hedge Fund is an absolute-return South African fixed-income fund targeting STeFI Call +3% over a rolling three-year period. Positioned as a cash-plus fixed-income allocation, it aims to deliver consistent returns with materially lower volatility than the ALBI and traditional bond funds.

INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Rather than relying on duration to drive performance, the fund seeks to build returns from carry, roll-down and relative-value opportunities across the South African yield curve. Duration is added selectively and tactically, when the fund is being paid to take it. The retail hedge fund structure gives the fund manager and her investment team a broader toolkit than a conventional long-only income fund. Swaps, FRAs, futures, repo and short positions allow them to isolate the risks they want and hedge those they don’t, while leverage can be used selectively to express high-conviction ideas.
A core/satellite approach allows selective exposure to currencies and commodities within tight risk limits, all with a clear focus on capital preservation.

INVESTMENT TEAM
The fund is managed by Anthea Gardner, founder of Cartesian Capital, as an authorised representative of CAEP Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd, the fund’s investment manager. The portfolio manager and her investment team take an active and flexible approach to identifying opportunities across the yield curve. Gardner is a seasoned market practitioner whose career spans leading local and international institutions. Before founding Cartesian in 2014, she worked at HSBC and Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg, Morgan Stanley in London and the African Development Bank in Tunis.
Her experience covers both fixed income and equities fund management, and she holds a master’s in derivative pricing methodologies, completed with a first-class pass. Her investment team provides additional depth to the investment process through macro research, analysis and idea generation.