A hedge fund offered by Australian groupBasis Capitalhas shared the honours with a Japanese equity fund after claiming a special award at the inaugural AsiaHedge Awards in Hong Kong last week.
The AsiaHedge Special Award was shared by the two funds after both experienced outstanding returns in the past 12 months but fell outside the parameters of the main award categories.
Basis Capital’s Pacific Rim fund, a fixed income based fund, returned 16.69 per cent in the past 12 months with a Sharpe Ratio of 4.14. Joining the Basis Capital fund in claiming the award was Kuroto, a Japanese equity fund run from New York.
Kuroto was up 72.57 per cent over the past 12 months with a Sharpe Ratio of 3.66, but failed to qualify for the main Japan award because its assets are only $25 million.
The awards celebrated the performance by Asia-Pacific hedge funds over the past year, with regional managers outpacing their US and European counterparts.
However, the fund which took home the night’s biggest honour was Boyer Allan Japan, which took home the coveted Best Fund as well as Best Japan Fund awards.
In the year to the end of May, the $150 million Boyer Allan Japan fund delivered a return of 14.75 per cent with a Sharpe Ratio of 3.47. It narrowly beat Oberon Japan, another London-based Japan manager, and Tokyo-based Tower K1.
Other winners included Ward Ferry Asia, which won the Asia including Japan category after finishing up 24.14 per cent with a Sharpe Ratio of 2.49 over the year.
The AsiaHedge Awards winner for Asia excluding Japan was Hong Kong-based HT Asian Catalyst, managed by Ophelia Tong, which was up 17.2 per cent with a Sharpe Ratio of 2.50 for the year.
Best Asian Arbitrage Fund went to Lionhart Global Appreciation Asia, which was up 12.92 per cent – a very impressive number when compared to other arbitrage funds around the world — with a Sharpe Ratio of 2.49.
The Best New Asian Fund to start over the past 12 months went toBarclays Global InvestorsEquity Market Neutral fund. In its 10-month life, the $300 million fund is already up an impressive 22.44 per cent with very little volatility.
