Differential Capital has won the best multi-strategy fund for 2024 at the annual HedgeNews Africa Awards, proving the significant impact made by the asset manager within just five years.
The Differential Gradient Prescient QI Hedge Fund recorded a net gain of 25.39% and a Sharpe ratio of 1.5. The awards are presented to funds with the top return in their category provided their Sharpe ratio is within 25% of the top Sharpe ratio among the nominees to judge consistency of returns.
Suited for medium-term investors, the concentrated, multi-strategy hedge fund was started in 2019 and aims to generate superior risk-adjusted returns of three to six percent (after fees) above cash.
“We are proud to have comfortably beaten our peers in what was a really good year,” said Differential Capital CEO Vincent Anthonyrajah. “We were nominated for the same award last year, and our performance over the past five years reveals we are in the top 10 of all hedge funds which demonstrates our consistent performance.
“I am grateful to our team who put in a huge amount of effort and maintained focus to allow us to achieve this. Our business would not exist without our clients, who entrust us with their savings, and it is critical that we deliver these returns to them.”
Differential Capital stands for excellence, resilience, and innovation, with an investment philosophy that fosters adaptability and allows for continuous refinement that enhances the company’s investment positioning, based on evolving market conditions and technological improvements.
“Our win proves that transformation – including the way we approach investing using Artificial Intelligence – does not come at the expense of performance in the South African investment industry. We aim to achieve competitive returns over time,” said Sam Houlie, Differential Capital’s Co-CIO. “In 2021, when I first met the Differential Capital team and saw the in-house technology, skills and potential, I anticipated this type of industry-leading achievement and had no hesitation in buying equity in the business. Receiving the award was an extremely gratifying moment – this is just the beginning of what we as a next-generation asset manager leveraging AI can do.”
Musa Malwandla, Differential Capital’s Co-Chief Investment Officer (AI) said the award celebrated the team’s pioneering work in forging a new path to alpha generation, “where human expertise and technology collaborate rather than compete. We’re grateful to our clients who believed in our vision when it was just an idea and support us as we continue to prove that this powerful combination is the future of investment management.”
The company’s Chief Technology Officer, Jeremy Naguran, said the award highlighted the power of innovation and technology in modern asset management. “Our ability to build cutting-edge solutions enables us to navigate complexity, drive efficiency, and deliver superior investment outcomes.”