Competition heats up for the HedgeNews Africa Awards

The year 2010 is proving to be a tough one for many hedge fund strategies, with macro conditions continuing to hold sway in much of the investment world.

It is against this complex investment background that HedgeNews Africa is pleased to announce the provisional nominations for the annual HedgeNews Africa awards, to be celebrated at a gala dinner at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town, on the evening of February 17, 2010.

Managers in this part of the world continue to deliver convincing performance on a global comparison, with the HedgeNews Africa Composite Index returning 9.3% so far this year against a 5.66% return in the HedgeFund Intelligence Global Composite, which groups global funds.

As the quality of this year’s contenders shows, many in the HedgeNews Africa league tables are consistently providing strong risk-adjusted returns to investors.

The awards are based on data supplied to the HedgeNews Africa league tables, with the provisional nominations taking into account the first 10 months of the 12 to be considered for the awards (nine months for fund of funds). The winner in each category will ultimately be the fund with the highest return for the calendar year 2010, provided its Sharpe ratio is within 25% of the top Sharpe ratio in the category.

Funds must have a minimum of US$10 million under management to qualify for a nomination, except in the new fund category. Contenders for the long-term award, judged over three years, need assets of $50 million.

At this stage of the year we must emphasise that many categories are very closely contested. With two months of performance to go before the end of the calendar year, funds that do not feature in the provisional nominations may well make the final shortlists.

The HedgeNews Africa Awards dinner is a highlight in the industry’s calendar. Tables are limited – please email events@hedgenewsafrica.com to book.

PROVISIONAL NOMINATIONS:

SOUTH AFRICAN EQUITY
Coronation Presidio Fund
Silk Origin Fund
Steyn Capital Fund

PAN-AFRICA AND MENA EQUITY (HEDGE)
Insparo Africa and Middle East Master Fund
Laurium Capital Zambezi Fund
Nubuke Multi-Strategy Africa Fund

PAN-AFRICA AND MENA EQUITY (LONG/ABSOLUTE RETURN)
African Alliance Africa Pioneer Fund
Coronation Africa Fund
Kura Africa BMC Fund

MARKET NEUTRAL and QUANTITATIVE
Blueprint Hedge Fund
Peregrine Capital Pure Hedge II
X-Chequer Market Neutral Fund

MULTI-STRATEGY
Brait Multi-Strategy Fund
Coronation Multi-Strategy Arbitrage Fund
Tantalum MNC Fund

FIXED INCOME
KADD Capital Validus Plus Fixed Income
KADD Capital Fixed Income Fund
Green Oak Go Green
Fairtree Fixed Income Fund

SPECIALIST STRATEGIES
Barak Structured Trade Finance Fund
Creditsmith Event Driven Fund
Scipion Commodity Trade Finance Fund

BEST FUND OF FUNDS
Blue Ink Fixed Income Arbitrage Fund
Edge Iconic Income Opportunity Fund
Blue Ink-ubator Diversified Fund

NEW FUND OF THE YEAR
Nominees to be announced in December

LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE – SINGLE MANAGER
Nominees to be announced in December

LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE – FUND OF FUNDS
Nominees to be announced in January

FUND OF THE YEAR
Nominees to be announced on the night