Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – About a dozen Nordic hedge funds have been nominated for the EuroHedge Awards 2023. Particularly noteworthy is the representation of Nordic hedge funds in the “Fixed Income” category, accounting for five out of the six nominations. Last year’s top-performing hedge fund in the Nordics, Pareto Total, has received nominations in two distinct categories, one focusing on shorter-term performance and the other on longer-term performance. CABA Flex has emerged as a contender for the “New Fund of the Year” award.

The With Intelligence EuroHedge Awards aim to recognize and celebrate the best performers in the European hedge fund industry. The nominations and winners are determined using a combination of Sharpe ratios and absolute returns. These criteria seek to reflect two of the primary objectives of hedge funds: managing volatility and delivering positive returns. At last year’s EuroHedge Awards, three out of the 15 Nordic hedge funds nominated won their respective categories and came home with awards. The winners of this year’s EuroHedge Awards will be announced on February 29 in London.

Nordic Domination in Fixed Income

In 2023, fixed-income strategies emerged as the standout performers in the Nordic hedge fund industry. Six of the ten top performers in the Nordic Hedge Index were fixed-income hedge funds. This dominance extended to the EuroHedge Awards nominations, with several Nordic fixed-income hedge funds competing in the “Fixed Income” category. Asgard Fixed Income Fund, Danske Invest Hedge Fixed Income Relative Value Fund, Nordkinn Fixed Income Macro, SEB Eureka Fixed Income Relative Value, and Investin SRV – Fixed Income are among the contenders in this category.

Another fixed-income fund, CABA Flex, has been nominated in the “New Fund of the Year” category along with five other funds. Unlike other fixed-income funds in the Danish market, CABA Flex of Danish fixed-income boutique CABA Capital employs a buy-and-hold strategy within a three-year maturity structure to harvest risk premiums in Scandinavian mortgage bond markets. At inception in December 2022, the fund had an initial expected return of 37 percent over its three-year lifespan.

Commodity and Volatility

Svelland Global Trading Fund, a long/short equities- and commodities-focused hedge fund overseen by Norwegian Tor Svelland, has earned a nomination in the “Commodity & Currency” category. Specializing in futures and equity trading in LNG, crude oil, emissions, copper, aluminum, and iron ore, the fund delivered impressive returns since launching in 2017. After enjoying a 45.2 percent gain in 2022 to secure its position as the best-performing fund in the Nordic hedge fund industry that year, Svelland Global Trading Fund gained 10.4 percent in 2023.

Danske Invest Global Cross Asset Volatility, managed by Chief Portfolio Manager Jacob Øland Jensen, has been shortlisted in the “Convertibles & Volatility” category. This multi-asset, multi-strategy fund aims to exhibit low correlation to risky assets, primarily in stressed markets, with a target return between four to six percent. Danske Invest Global Cross Asset Volatility gained 10.3 percent in 2023 after edging down 0.7 percent in the challenging market environment of 2022.

Equity Funds in the Spotlight 

Pareto Total, a long-biased equity long/short fund managed by Bård Johannessen and Oddmund Nicolaisen Enæs out of Oslo, has been nominated in two categories at the 2023 EuroHedge Awards. Pareto Total secured a return of 31.4 percent in 2023, earning the top spot among Nordic hedge funds listed in the Nordic Hedge Index. Pareto Total competes in the “Global Equity” category alongside Oslo-based energy-focused equity fund OAM Absolute Return. Additionally, Pareto Total contends with Alcur Fonder’s Alcur Classic in the “Long Term Performance (5 years) – Equity Strategies” category.

KLP Alfa Global Energy, an energy-focused market-neutral equity fund under the umbrella of Norwegian pension provider KLP, has been shortlisted in the “Equity Market Neutral & Quantitative Strategies” category at the 2023 EuroHedge Awards. At the same time, PriorNilsson’s Sweden-focused long/short equity fund, PriorNilsson Idea, has been nominated in the “European Equity – under $500m” category, rounding off the impressive lineup of Nordic hedge funds at the EuroHedge Awards 2023.

Photography by Chris Cooper/ ShotAway/ www.ShotAway.com/#shotawaydotcom