The universe of equity strategies spans a broad spectrum, ranging from passive investments in ETF wrappers to traditional long-only funds, as well as long/short, market-neutral, and even short-biased strategies. Close to the Nordic hedge fund space sits a distinct “satellite” segment of long-only strategies that do not formally qualify as hedge funds, yet consistently exhibit hedge fund-like characteristics. Funds included in HedgeNordic’s Equity Long-Only (ELO) sub-index extended their multi-year run in 2025, delivering an average return of 13.2 percent, following gains of 20.3 percent in 2023 and 22.4 percent in 2024.
Several of these funds delivered returns well above the average. In fact, a number of ELO constituents posted results in 2025 that would have placed them at the very top of many broader performance rankings. Leading the group was Borea Utbytte, a Norwegian banking-sector-focused equity fund, which returned 38.7 percent for the year. Managed by Magnus Vie Sundal, the fund benefited from a strong finish to the year amid a rally in bank stocks and a broader upswing in the Oslo Stock Exchange. Since its launch just over five years ago, Borea Utbytte has built an impressive track record, delivering an annualized return of 29 percent.
Close behind was AuAg Precious Green, a long-only strategy positioned as a modern reinterpretation of the classic 60/40 portfolio, allocating 60 percent to equities primarily in green-technology companies and 40 percent to precious metals, mainly gold. The fund returned 36.9 percent in Swedish krona terms, while its euro-denominated share class performed even more strongly, gaining 45.8 percent. The strong performance was partly supported by a rally in precious metals during the year, with gold and silver reaching new all-time highs of USD 4,549 and USD 83.77 per troy ounce towards the end of the year, levels never previously recorded.
HCP Quant, which employs a systematic, model-driven approach to investing in value stocks, also delivered a strong showing in 2025, returning 31.9 percent. Asilo Argo, which runs a high-conviction strategy aimed at identifying “future superstar” stocks, also stood out in 2025 with a return of 26.3 percent after being the top performer in this “ELO” group in 2024 with a return of 77.3 percent. Rounding out the top five was Protean Small Cap, a long-only small-cap strategy that adheres to the same investment philosophy as Protean’s flagship hedge fund, Protean Select. The fund delivered a solid return of 20.7 percent in 2025. Since its launch in June 2023, Protean Small Cap has gained 67.9 percent, outperforming the Carnegie Nordic Small Cap Index by 42.2 percentage points over the same period.
