Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – The Hedge Fund Journal has announced the winners of this year’s edition of the UCITS Hedge Awards, with four Nordic funds featuring among the winners. Three members of the Nordic Hedge Index (NHX) were awarded: IPM Systematic Macro Fund, SEB Asset Selection, and Norron Select.
IPM Systematic Macro Fund was selected as the best performing fund in the “Systematic/Quantitative Macro” category for 2018 and over the previous two- and three-year periods. IPM’ systematic macro strategy relies on proprietary investment models to identify and capitalize on value opportunities from discrepancies between observed prices and long-term intrinsic values across asset classes. IPM Systematic Macro’s class A share class included in the NHX gained a cumulative 11.6 percent in the past three years.
SEB Asset Selection was named the best performing fund over a ten-year period in the “Trend-Following CTA” category that includes funds with assets of more than $100 million. SEB Asset Selection, which uses a systematic trend-following approach to invest in four different asset classes, has generated an average annual compounded return of 3.7 percent since launching in October 2006. The fund managed by SEB’s Global Quant Team led by Hans-Olov Bornemann gained a little more than 26 percent in 2008 and around 17 percent in 2014 but lost 3.7 percent in the past three years in a difficult period for trend-followers.
Long/short equity fund Norron Select was another member of the NHX to take home a prize at the UCITS Hedge Awards 2019. Led by portfolio manager Marcus Plyhr (pictured right), the Nordic-focused vehicle was selected as the best performing fund in the “Long/Short Equity – Nordic” category for 2018 and the past two-, three-, four-, five- and seven-year periods. Norron Select advanced 4.1 percent in 2018 and earned an average return of 7.9 percent per year since launching in early 2011. The fund is enjoying a seven-year streak of positive annual performance.
Sissener Canopus, a Norwegian absolute return fund not part of the NHX, was named the best performing fund in the “Long/Short Equity (Discretionary) – Global” category over the past four- and five-year periods. The fund’s investment strategy focuses on investing in large companies with healthy liquidity, solid balance sheets, predictable cash flow streams, and good corporate governance. Sissener Canopus earned an annualized return of 11.5 percent over the past five years through last week.