Nordic hedge funds continued their positive momentum from April into May, as the Nordic Hedge Index advanced 2.54 percent. The gain came against the backdrop of strong gains in semiconductor and AI infrastructure stocks, alongside growing optimism over de-escalation in the Middle East and a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Diversified and equity-focused strategies led the way, remaining the strongest-performing segments for a second consecutive month.
All five sub-strategies within the Nordic Hedge Index ended May in positive territory. Diversified strategies, spanning multi-asset, multi-strategy and niche approaches, posted the strongest gain at 3.81 percent, lifting their year-to-date return to 5.87 percent and making the segment the strongest-performing category year-to-date.
Equity-focused strategies, covering managers trading equities and equity derivatives, advanced 3.10 percent on average in May, lifting their return for the year to 3.59 percent after negative returns in each of the first three months.
Multi-manager funds recorded an average gain of 2.68 percent, lifting their 2026 return to 5.59 percent. Fixed-income hedge fund managers gained 1.44 percent in May, leaving their return for the year at 2.46 percent, the lowest year-to-date figure among the NHX sub-strategies. Systematic trend-following CTAs, macro and managed futures strategies edged up 0.18 percent in May, extending their year-to-date gain to 5.46 percent.
Performance dispersion remained broadly in line with the previous month. The top 20 percent of funds gained an average of 8.14 percent, while the bottom 20 percent declined by 1.80 percent. At the individual fund level, returns ranged from a gain of 18.08 percent to a decline of 18.57 percent.
Within the index, equity-focused strategies remained the category with the widest dispersion among constituents, with returns ranging from a gain of 17.54 percent to a decline of 18.57 percent. Overall, the share of funds generating a positive return increased from 83 percent in April to 87 percent in May.
Top Performers in May
The strong performance was also evident at the single-fund level, with several managers posting double-digit monthly returns. Atlant Edge, a diversified hedge fund combining equity-related derivatives with Nordic fixed-income instruments, led the Nordic Hedge Index in May with a gain of 18.08 percent. Impega continued its strong momentum into May, posting the second-best return for the second consecutive month with a gain of 17.54 percent, while ranking as the best-performing fund year-to-date with a gain of 53.32 percent. VISIO Allocator Fund, a Finnish diversified hedge fund, rounded out the top three with a 15.28 percent gain in May.
The energy transition-focused Proxy Renewable Long/Short Energy fund also delivered a solid return, gaining 13.24 percent in May. Accendo Capital maintained its positive momentum, following its 17.22 percent gain in April with a 12.60 percent advance in May.
Top-Performing Long-Only Equity Funds
In September 2023, HedgeNordic introduced a new sub-strategy category to the Nordic Hedge Index: Equity Long-Only (ELO). This category is home to funds that would fall short of qualifying as a hedge fund due to their long-only trading approach, but exhibit habitual characteristics of a hedge fund strategy (e.g., leverage and derivatives usage, portfolio concentration, fee structure, a spin-off of a long/short strategy, and absolute return objectives, among others).
The long-only equity category extended its gains in May, posting the strongest return among the categories at 5.08 percent and lifting its year-to-date gain to 6.47 percent. Asilo Argo remained the strongest performer in the long-only equity cohort for a second consecutive month with a return of 20.55 percent in May. AuAg Precious Core, managed by Eric Strand, recorded a gain of 10.49 percent. Newcomer UB Megatrends rounded out the top three with an 8.32 percent gain.
