Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – One of the longest-running hedge funds in Sweden, RAM ONE, is shutting down. After over two decades of operation, Swedish hedge fund boutique RAM Rational Asset Management has decided to close all three of its funds and initiate the liquidation process.
The management team acknowledges the challenges they have faced in generating the desired risk-adjusted returns in recent years, leading to the decision to cease the management of long/short equity fund RAM ONE, its younger UCITS version, and a recently-launched long-only equity fund named RAM Long Active Value. Launched in late 2002, RAM ONE is the fifth longest-running hedge fund in Sweden. The fund faced a challenging period in recent years, experiencing a decline of approximately 18 percent in 2022, followed by a decline of close to 11 percent in the first half of 2023. Consequently, the fund’s assets under management have decreased from around €350 million in April 2019 to under €50 million in May 2023.
“In recent years, however, we have not been able to achieve the risk-adjusted return that our customers and we ourselves expected.”
“RAM Rational Asset Management started operations in August 2002. Over the past 21 years, we have had good periods and others less good in terms of risk and return. In recent years, however, we have not been able to achieve the risk-adjusted return that our customers and we ourselves expected,” Erik Edholm, CEO and founder of RAM, explains the decision. “As a consequence of this, the managed capital and the company’s income have decreased to a level where, for financial reasons, it is no longer possible to justify maintaining a management organization of the size and quality that we consider necessary to carry out a qualified management,” he elaborates.
“We, therefore, choose to cease the management of our funds, return the capital to our fund unit owners, and wind down the permit-required operations in RAM ONE AB. We want to thank our fund shareholders for the trust they have placed in us over the years,” concludes Edholm. With 21 years of operation, RAM’s flagship fund, RAM ONE, has delivered an annualized return of 3.5 percent with an annualized volatility of 9.6 percent. The value-based long-only fund RAM Long Active Value, launched in the autumn of 2022, has returned 15 percent since its inception.
The board of RAM ONE AB, which manages the AIF-structured funds, RAM ONE and RAM Long Active Value, along with the UCITS fund RAM Equity Long/Short via a discretionary management assignment, decided to cease the management of all funds by the end of August. The managers have already significantly reduced risk-taking in the funds, and the remaining fund holdings are liquid and tradable, with gradual liquidation planned throughout the summer.
Investors in the AIF funds have the option to redeem their fund units at the end of July or August. The UCITS fund has closed for deposits and withdrawals in compliance with the regulations for closing funds in Luxembourg. The liquidation process aims to ensure that investors receive their capital payout at the beginning of September.
