- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Related

Strong June Takes Alfa Axiom to Positive YTD Territory

Latest Report

- Advertisement -

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Reports and articles declaring trend following dead surface in the media quite regularly. But every once in a while, there are players in the industry proving the rumors of trend following’s demise are significantly exaggerated. Alfa Axiom Fund, a trend-following CTA fund in the Nordic Hedge Index (NHX), booked an impressive 10.2 percent gain in June, the fund’s third-highest monthly return since its inception in June 2014.

Alfa Axiom Fund, one of the quantitative hedge funds managed by Swedish asset manager Alfakraft Fonder AB, is a systematic trend-following CTA-type fund that trades futures contracts that have as underlying assets commodities and financial instruments such as metals, currencies, gas, bonds, equity indices, among others. The fund is designed to serve as a tool of diversification in a portfolio of stocks and bonds by maintaining low correlations with traditional asset classes.

Last month’s 10.2 percent gain was a breath of fresh air for Alfa Axiom Fund, considering that the fund suffered three consecutive years of single-digit losses. Despite delivering a solid return in the first month of 2018, the fund’s performance in the subsequent months has also been somewhat underwhelming. However, the trend follower is up 5.2 percent in the first half of the year following last month’s massive gain.

According to Thomas Stridsman (pictured), Alfa Axiom’s fund manager, the June performance appears to have been mostly attributable to the strength of the U.S. dollar that started in April-May. The strengthening of the Greenback against gold has resulted in a series of profitable short positions in the grain markets, as well as in precious metals such as palladium and silver. The fund’s latest monthly letter to investors writes that the fund remains short most markets, except for crude oil.

Commenting on the June performance, Stridsman told HedgeNordic that “when these oversized moves happen, I am just as surprised as everybody else. But don’t get me wrong, I am not surprised that they happen – after all, to generate them is what the model is designed to do. But when they happen makes me as happily surprised as everyone else.”

“I am not surprised that they [oversized moves]happen – after all, to generate them is what the model is designed to do. But when they happen makes me as happily surprised as everyone else.”

“It’s always nice with some strong performance, but let’s not forget that all good runs also come to an end with a losing month as some of the profits inevitably will be given back to the markets before the models can give their exit signals. That is simply just another fact of this game,” Stridsman added.

Subscribe to HedgeBrev, HedgeNordic’s weekly newsletter, and never miss the latest news!

Our newsletter is sent once a week, every Friday.

Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun serves as a data analyst responsible for maintaining and gatekeeping the Nordic Hedge Index, and as a journalist covering the Nordic hedge fund industry for HedgeNordic. Eugeniu completed his Master’s degree at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2018. Write to Eugeniu Guzun at eugene@hedgenordic.com

Latest Articles

Accendo-Backed SSH Secures Major Investment from Leonardo

While public and policy discussions around defence often focus on conventional weapons, many of today’s most active and frequent battles are unfolding in cyberspace....

Swedbank Robur Strengthens Private Equity Team

Swedbank Robur has appointed Lorenzo Gregory Sormani as co-portfolio manager of its private equity fund, Swedbank Robur Alternative Equity I, joining Senior Portfolio Manager...

Beyond Renewables: Coeli Fund Taps Into the Broader Electrification Race

Earlier this year, portfolio managers Vidar Kalvoy and Joel Etzler renamed their fund from Coeli Renewable Opportunities to Coeli Energy Opportunities – a move...

Three Danish Hedge Funds Recognized by the Hedge Fund Journal

Three Danish hedge funds have been recognized at the 2025 Hedge Fund Journal CTA and Discretionary Trader Awards. Two funds managed by Danske Bank...

Private Equity in Transition: Challenges and Opportunities

Private equity has matured into a mainstream – if not cornerstone – allocation for institutional investors. Following years of record fundraising and valuation expansion,...

Formue Highlights Private Credit’s Role in New Economic Era

Nordic wealth manager Formue has long prided itself on delivering institutional-grade investment solutions to high-net-worth individuals. As global economic conditions shift, Formue sees an important role...

Allocator Interviews

In-Depth: High Yield

Voices

Request for Proposal

- Advertisement -
HedgeNordic
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.