The Regal Tasman Market Neutral Fund has won this year's Australian Hedge Fund of the Year award.
The Regal offering beat the Bennelong Long/Short Equity Fund and Macquarie Short Term Currency Offer to claim the top prize.
The fund is led by Regal chief investment officer Philip King and has delivered annualised returns of 26.2 per cent in the three years to April 2011, compared to the 0.3 per cent decrease for the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index.
Research house Zenith Investment Partners holds the Regal team in high regard and has a highly recommended rating on the fund, which aims to provide attractive returns uncorrelated with the market.
The Regal Tasman Market Neutral also won the Best Market Neutral Fund category, ahead of Bennelong Long/Short Equity and Macquarie Asian Alpha.
Other winners included the Evergreen Australian Equities Return Fund in the Best Emerging Manager category, the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust in the Best Long/Short and Absolute Return Fund class, and the Merricks Capital Soft Commodities Fund in the Best Global Macro/Futures Fund segment.
The AWJ Fund was selected as the Best Fund-of-Funds, beating BT Total Return, while Kapstream Absolute Return Income topped the Best Fixed Income and Credit Fund category.
Paul Chadwick, the former head of GMO Australasia, now a director of Nanuk Asset Management and a director CQS Australia, received the Contribution to the Australian Hedge Fund Industry award, while Ascalon was recognised as Best Investor Supporting Australian Managers.
"Australian hedge fund managers continue to benefit from a growing interest in alternative investment from Australian investors and a widening pool of excellent service providers to assist in the administration and management of complex investment portfolios," Alternative Investment Management Association Australia president Kim Ivey said at the awards yesterday.
Winners were determined by a judging panel comprising Zenith, Caravel Consulting, Perpetual, Triple A Partners and 358 Australia.
