Hedge Fund Awards
The 2025 Edify Retail Hedge Fund Awards is a platform that recognises excellence in the Retail Investor Hedge Fund (RIHF) sector.
The awards program fosters engagement between hedge fund managers, financial advisors, and investors, enhancing education and understanding of the hedge fund sector with a specific focus on the retail market. By addressing common misconceptions and the limitations of ASISA hedge fund categories, the awards will help investors evaluate hedge funds more effectively based on their risk profiles. The awards aim to build credibility for hedge fund managers among the wider retail investor base, which has thus far had limited exposure to hedge fund products.
Awards Criteria:
- Nominees are the top 5 funds based on the highest 3-year annualised returns.
- The ultimate Winner is the fund with the highest risk-adjusted return among nominees.
- Sortino Ratio will be utilised as the measure of risk-adjusted return.
- Sortino Ratio was selected as a measure that does not penalise volatility to the upside, and emphasises the positive skew of asymmetric returns.
- The Awards explicitly consider South Africa-focused funds only. Funds with global or worldwide investment mandates are excluded from consideration.
Awards Categories:
- Best Fixed Income Retail Hedge Fund
- Best Equity Retail Hedge Fund: Defensive
- Best Equity Retail Hedge Fund: Growth
- Best Multi-Strategy Retail Hedge Fund
Eligibility
The 2025 calendar year monthly returns must be available by January 2026. Edify will make use of publicly available returns. Returns must be for the most expensive retail fee class. To be nominated, funds must have a minimum of R70 million average assets under management for the 3 year period.
Key Dates
- 26 January 2026 – Nominees announcement.
- 12 February 2026 – Winner announcement.
Winners for the 2025 Edify Retail Hedge Fund Awards
- Cogito Alpha Long Short Prescient RHF
- Fairtree Silver Oak Equity Long Short FR RIHF
- OysterCatcher RCIS Long Short RHF
- Steyn Capital FR RHF
- Visio Retail FR RIHF
- Laurium Market Neutral Prescient RIHF
- Nitrogen Nitrogen RCIS RHF
- Oyster Catcher RCIS Smart Alpha RHF
- Peregrine Capital Pure Hedge RHF
- SouthernCross NCIS Market Neutral RHF
- Blue Quadrant Capital Growth Prescient RIHF
- Marble Rock NCIS Keystone FICC RHF
- Obsidian SCI Multi Asset RHF
- Peregrine Capital High Growth RHF
- SouthernCross Multi Strategy Prescient RIHF
- Abax Fixed Interest Prescient RIHF
- Abax RCIS Vega RHF
- Fairtree Fixed Income FR RHF
- Matrix SCI Fixed Income RHF
- Terebinth FI Macro FR RHF
2024 Winners
- Nominee: Abax Fixed Interest Prescient RI Hedge Fund
- Nominee: Abax RCIS Vega Retail Hedge Fund
- Nominee: Acumen AcuityOne FR Retail Hedge Fund
- Winner: Terebinth FI Macro FR Retail Hedge Fund
- Nominee: Marble Rock NCIS Keystone FICC Retail Investor Hedge Fund
- Winner: Peregrine Capital High Growth H4 Retail Hedge Fund
- Nominee: SouthernCross Multi Strategy Prescient RI Hedge Fund
- Nominee: X-Chequer Duo Multi Strategy FR Retail Hedge Fund
- Nominee: Abax Bao NCIS Market Neutral RIF
- Nominee: Bateleur Market Neutral Prescient RI Hedge Fund
- Nominee: Nitrogen Nitrogen RCIS Retail Hedge Fund
- Winner: Peregrine Capital Pure Hedge H4 Retail Hedge Fund
- Nominee: 36ONE FR Retail Hedge Fund
- Nominee: Abax Long/Short Equity Prescient RI Hedge Fund
- Nominee: AG Capital Opportunity FR Retail Hedge Fund
- Nominee: AG Capital Rainbow FR Retail Hedge Fund
- Winner: Anchor Stable FR Retail Hedge Fund
