South African hedge funds delivered a steady December, with the HedgeNews Africa South African Single-Manager Composite adding 0.73% for the month to close the year with an exceptional 15.56% gain, the strongest year since records began in 2007.
By comparison the FTSE/JSE All Share Index dipped -0.29% in December and South Africa’s All Bond Index lost -0.32% while the MSCI World Index dropped -2.68%, only slightly detracting from double-digit gains for all three indices on the year.
South African long/short equity funds added a median 0.9%, to leave the category 20.05% higher on the year, surpassed only by a 20.66% median return in 2021.
Market neutral and quantitative funds were the next strongest category, adding a median 0.77% to sit 12.86% higher over 12 months, their strongest year on record.
Fixed income hedge funds added a median 0.6% for the month, to sit 11.49% higher on the year, while multi-strategy funds gained a median 0.45% in December to end the year with a 12.53% return.
South African fund of hedge funds rounded out a solid year with a median gain of 0.77% in December as markets retraced, taking their 2024 full-year returns to 15.93%.
Copyright. HedgeNews Africa – February 2025.