AfricaHedge rewards the winners of 2008 after a rollercoaster year in global financial markets

South African market-neutral fund Big Rock took home the prestigious Fund of the Year award at the third annual AfricaHedge Awards on 17 February, which recognised the best risk-adjusted performance of the region’s hedge funds at a glittering gala dinner held at the Westin Grand Arabella Quays in the Cape Town City bowl.

Managed by Lars Piepke and his team in Wellington, New Zealand, and Cape Town, Big Rock is one of the longest running hedge funds in Africa, with a record stretching back to 1999. Despite wildly unpredictable markets, it achieved a strong risk-adjusted return in 2008 on a sizeable asset pool, gaining 19.73% for the calendar year, on a Sharpe ratio of 1.99, one of the strongest in the league tables.