Winners announced for European Single Manager Awards 2014

Sushil Wadhwani, CEO of Wadhwani Asset Management, is named outstanding contributor to the European hedge fund industry. Michael Hintze of CQS collected the lifetime achievement award

Winners of the Hedge Funds Review European Single Manager Awards 2014 were honoured at a black-tie dinner (May 22) celebrating the performance and best qualities of the region's industry.

The awards highlighted the outstanding leadership of three unique individuals. Sushil Wadhwani, CEO of Wadhwani Asset Management, was recognised for his contribution to the industry, while CQS's Michael Hintze was given the lifetime achievement award and Luke Dixon and Daniel Summerfield, representing USS Investment Management, claimed the award for outstanding contribution to the industry by an institutional investor.

Best overall group was given to Henderson Alternative Investment Advisor. The company also picked up the best long/short equity and best energy/commodity fund awards as well as having the Henderson European Absolute Return Fund recognised as the best sub-$100 million alternative Ucits fund.

In the one-year performance category, Marathon's Special Opportunity Fund was named best credit hedge fund, while AHL Evolution, part of the Man Group, nabbed best managed futures/CTA hedge fund for the second year running.

Hedge fund of the year went to Napier Park's European Credit Opportunities Fund, which has shown outstanding performance with a team highly skilled in finding relative value opportunities across the credit spectrum.

The outstanding achievements of emerging managers were highlighted with Aperios Emerging Connectivity Fund picking up best equity hedge fund and Portland Hill Overseas fund bagging best event-driven emerging manager. LindenGrove Capital Master Fund won both best fixed income/credit emerging manager as well as best new hedge fund. Lyxor Melanion Fund won two prestigious awards: emerging manager of the year and most innovative hedge fund.

Under the qualitative category Comac Capital was recognised for its outstanding investor relations team.

Long-term performance awards recognised performance over three and 10 years. Cumulus Energy Fund from City Financial Investment Company was recognised as best directional hedge fund over three years. Chenavari's Toro Capital IA fund picked up best fixed-income directional hedge fund over three years.

Best non-directional over three year winners included Lascar Fund from Gladstone Capital Management and Nektar, part of Brummer & Partners. Best directional hedge funds over 10 years included Winton Futures Fund, Marathon Special Opportunity Fund and Polar Capital's European Forager Fund. Best non-directional hedge fund over 10 years went to BlueCrest International Fund.

The European Single Manager Awards 2014, now in its fourteenth year, recognises the best of Europe's hedge fund managers. This year's awards continue to showcase young talent with a section of categories aimed at emerging managers as well as emphasising the qualitative aspects of the industry.

The hedge fund investment process relies on more than just numbers, and our judging process recognises this. An expert judging panel reviews the risk and return characteristics of the top funds and agrees a shortlist and winner in each category.

The judging panel, chaired by Hedge Funds Review executive editor Margie Lindsay, is impartial and unbiased and rewards genuine performance and quality. Members of the panel are: William Benjamin, global head of research at HSBC Alternative Investments; Luke Dixon, co-head of public market manager selection at USS Investment Management; Simon Fox, principal, alternatives boutique at Mercer; Chris Jones head of public markets and alternatives at bfinance, an independent, privately owned, financial services firm; Tushar Patel, managing director, investment management at Hedge Funds Investment Management, an investment firm focused on hedge funds; and Matthew Roberts, a portfolio manager at Towers Watson.

The judging panel considers the results of the quantitative analysis and selects a winner in each category. In selecting the winning fund, the judges take into account the quantitative analysis as well as their qualitative experience and expertise.

Around 250 people attended the dinner held at the Park Lane Hotel in London.

European Single Manager Awards 2014 winners

Performance awards (one year)

Best long/short equity hedge fund
AlphaGen Octanis Fund (Henderson Alternative Investment Advisor)

Best global macro hedge fund
Rubicon Global Fund (Rubicon Fund Management)

Best fixed income hedge fund
BH Credit Catalysts Fund (Brevan Howard)

Best credit hedge fund
Marathon Special Opportunity Fund (Marathon Asset Management)

Best equity market neutral hedge fund
Lyxor BlackRock Eos Equity Market Neutral Fund (Lyxor Asset Management; Trading advisor: BlackRock Investment Management)

Best convertible bond hedge fund
Salar Convertible Absolute Return Fund (Ferox Capital)

Best managed futures/CTA hedge fund
AHL Evolution (AHL (Man Group))

Best energy/commodities hedge fund
AlphaGen Relative Value Agriculture Fund (Henderson Alternative Investment Advisor)

Best foreign exchange hedge fund
Alder Global 20 (Alder Capital)

Best Asia-focused hedge fund
Martin Currie ARF-Japan Fund (Martin Currie Investment Management)

Best global emerging markets-focused hedge fund
Pharo Macro Fund (Pharo Fund)

Best multi-strategy hedge fund
OZ Europe Master Fund (Och-Ziff Capital Management Group)

Best equity sub-$100m hedge fund
Camox Fund (Cologny Advisors)

Best global macro sub-$100m hedge fund
Laurentia Global Fund (Meadows Capital Management)

Best fixed income sub-$100m hedge fund
London Select Fund (London Diversified Fund Management)

Hedge fund of the year
Napier Park European Credit Opportunities Fund (Napier Park Global Capital)

Emerging manager performance awards (one year)

Best equity hedge emerging manager
Aperios Emerging Connectivity Fund (Aperios Partners Investment Management)

Best event driven emerging manager
Portland Hill Overseas Fund (Portland Hill Capital)

Best global macro emerging manager
Canosa Global Macro Fund (Canosa Capital) (a part of Brummer & Partners)

Best fixed income/credit emerging manager
LindenGrove Capital Master Fund (LindenGrove Capital)

Best managed futures/CTA emerging manager
Next AM Fund-Tendance Finance (Tendance Finance)

Emerging manager of the year
Lyxor Melanion Fund (Lyxor Asset Management; Trading advisor: Melanion Capital)

Long-term performance awards

Best directional hedge fund over three years
Cumulus Energy Fund (City Financial Investment Company)

Best equity directional hedge fund over three years
Ennismore European Smaller Euro (Ennismore Funds)

Best macro directional hedge fund over three years
North MaxQ Macro Fund (North Asset Management)

Best fixed income directional hedge fund over three years
Chenavari – Toro Capital IA (Chenavari Investment Managers)

Best equity non-directional hedge fund over three years
Lasker Fund (Gladstone Capital Management)

Best fixed income non-directional hedge fund over three years
Nektar (Nektar Asset Management) (a part of Brummer & Partners)

Best equity directional hedge fund over 10 years
Polar Capital European Forager Fund (Polar Capital)

Best macro directional hedge fund over 10 years
Winton Futures Fund (Winton Capital Management)

Best fixed income directional hedge fund over 10 years
Marathon Special Opportunity Fund (Marathon Asset Management)

Best non-directional hedge fund over 10 years
BlueCrest International Fund (BlueCrest Capital Management)

Alternative Ucits performance awards (one year)

Best equity hedge alternative Ucits fund
MontLake Pegasus Ucits Fund (ML Capital)

Best sub-$100m alternative Ucits fund
Henderson European Absolute Return Fund (Henderson Alternative Investment Advisor)

Alternative Ucits fund of the year
Martin Currie Japan Absolute Alpha Fund (Martin Currie Investment Management)

Qualitative awards

Best new hedge fund
LindenGrove Capital Master Fund (LindenGrove Capital)

Most innovative hedge fund
Lyxor Melanion Fund (Lyxor Asset Management; Trading advisor: Melanion Capital)

Best investor relations team
Comac Capital

Best overall group
Henderson Alternative Investment Advisor

Lifetime achievement
Michael Hintze, chief executive/chief investment officer
CQS

Outstanding contribution to the industry by an institutional investor
USS Investment Management

Outstanding contribution to the industry
Sushil Wadhwani, chief executive officer
Wadhwani Asset Management