Matrix Fund Managers is the proud recipient of the award for best South African fixed income hedge fund in 2020, presented at the HedgeNews Africa Awards on March 4. The Matrix NCIS Fixed Income Retail Hedge Fund was a clear leader in its category after an exceptional year, winning top honors with a net return of 33.57% and a Sharpe ratio of 1.96, which reflects consistency of returns relative to risk. Since its inception in 2008, the fund had an annualised return of 16.9% after all costs, outperforming traditional SA bond and equity markets and beatings its cash hurdle by 10% pa (based on figures as at 31 December 2020).
The chart below shows the net calendar performance of the fund against its main benchmark which is cash (STeFI Call Deposit Index).
Matrix was further nominated in two other categories – joining the shortlists for overall Best Performance over five years for a single-manager fund and also for Fund of the Year, based on 2020 calendar-year performance.
Lourens Pretorius and Konstantin Egorov, the two lead managers of the fund, received the award on behalf of Matrix. Lourens thanked the event organizers, investors and the team for their support. He expressed a humble appreciation for the award amidst very testing markets in 2020 and wished all the managers well for 2021. Konstantin likened the 2020 market conditions to the crash landing a Hercules aircraft on a gravel road – as he did in his cameo appearance in the Hollywood movie Lord of War.
Our absolute-return mindset means we pursue excellent performance within appropriate risk limits for our clients. Our flagship fixed income hedge fund embodies the active approach we take across our product set, looking to deliver strong returns for our clients while protecting against downside risks.
Now in their 12th year, the Awards use an established methodology with independently verified data submitted to HedgeNews Africa. This is the 5th HedgeNews Africa award that Matrix has received across the fixed income and single manager multi strategy categories.
