Fairfield, July 26, 2013 – Hedge Funds Review and BarclayHedge recognized the best performing hedge funds and funds of hedge funds in the Americas at the second Hedge Funds Review Americas Awards (at an event on July 25) in New York City.

"The depth and breadth of the funds receiving awards is proof positive that selecting the right managers is crucial to putting together a hedge fund portfolio that delivers significant risk adjusted returns," said Margie Lindsay, editor of Hedge Funds Review, adding, "The list of winners should help convince doubters that hedge funds are more than capable of producing double digit returns on a consistent basis."

A portfolio consisting of the winning funds in the one-year single manager performance categories would have returned nearly 25% in the 12 months to the end of March 2013 - the period under consideration for the awards - with volatility of only 2.37% and a Sharpe ratio above 10.

The Hildene Opportunities Fund, winner of the hedge fund of the year award, had its best year so far in 2012 with gains of over 45% and has returned around 30% annually since inception in 2008.

The list of winners includes many hedge funds that posted high double-digit returns in 2012 including: KSA Capital Partners, named best long/short equity hedge fund; Crabel Multi-Product, winner of the best CTA/managed futures hedge fund; and 400 Capital Credit Opportunities Fund, best fixed income/credit hedge fund.

"The range of funds and funds of hedge funds winning awards reflects the wide variety of hedge fund strategies available to investors. The presence of emerging managers in the awards is another sign of the growth and health of the hedge fund industry," said Sol Waksman, founder and President of BarclayHedge, Ltd. "From our perspective at BarclayHedge, the range of strategies offered by the winning funds display some of the very best characteristics of the industry and should encourage even more investment by pension funds and others."

The awards also recognize the performance of funds of hedge funds (FoHFs). SkyBridge Capital picked up the award for FoHF of the year. Titan Advisors, Magnitude Capital, Gapstow Capital Partners, DGAM and Ssaris were among the other FoHFs collecting accolades.

Says Margie Lindsay, "The strong showing by some top funds of hedge funds also shows this sector of the industry still has a vital role to play."

The industry's rising stars were also recognized in a series of qualitative awards. Credit specialist Prosiris Capital Management, led by former Goldman Sachs proprietary trader Reza Ali, was named the best emerging hedge fund manager. Prosiris has posted annualized returns of nearly 25% since inception in mid-2011 and already manages close to $1 billion.

Steven Boyd's Armistice Capital was named the best new hedge fund. A long/short equity manager with a clear thesis on how to beat the markets, Armistice's 48% return since inception in July 2012 makes it one to watch for the future.

The awards also rewarded some of the industry's biggest and best-known names.

AQR Capital Management was named the most innovative hedge fund, while Blackstone Alternative Asset Management won the best overall FoHF group category. Millennium Management was recognized for its excellent investor relations team.

Citadel claimed the award for best overall hedge fund group. The Chicago-based asset manager is coming off one of its best-ever years, with industry-leading returns across a wide range of strategies and products. The group has steadily expanded its product range in recent years, launching a series of single-strategy funds alongside its longstanding multi-strategy offering, while maintaining its relentless focus on performance.

Hedge Funds Review's lifetime achievement award was presented to Donald Sussman of Paloma Partners, one of the most respected and well-liked figures in the industry. Sussman has been at the cutting edge of the financial markets for more than three decades. Paloma was one of the first hedge funds to use computer technology and quantitative techniques to invest in the 1980s and has a long history of backing talented managers with fresh ideas.

Sussman remains as enthusiastic as ever about hedge fund investing, telling Hedge Funds Review, "Quality hedge funds do generally generate alpha and that is the key to preserving capital."

Another qualitative award recognized the industry's most important participants: end investors.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTTP) received the award for outstanding contribution to the industry by an institutional investor. OTTP, which manages the retirement assets of more than 300,000 teachers in the province of Ontario, is a trailblazer and pioneer among institutional investors.

The plan was an early adopter of hedge funds in the 1990s and has continued to evolve its approach to alternative investing over the years. OTTP looks for unique and innovative alternative strategies that offer diversification benefits and improve its risk-adjusted returns. It has built strong relationships with hedge fund managers and works tirelessly to promote best practices in the industry.

The September issue of Hedge Funds Review will feature a special interview with Ron Mock, senior vice-president of fixed income and alternative investments at OTTP, who will take over as the plan's CEO next year. Citadel and AQR will also be profiled in the magazine.

The winners of the Americas Awards 2013 were selected based on a rigorous methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative analysis. The process started with running a quantitative screen over all funds reporting to the BarclayHedge database to extract raw performance figures as well as other important metrics. Information on non-reporting funds was independently sourced.

Funds that met the qualification criteria and had top-quartile returns in their category were ranked based on returns, Sharpe ratio and downside deviation. An independent panel of judges reviewed all the risk and return metrics on the top-ranked funds and selected the winners.

In selecting the winning funds, the judges took into account the quantitative analysis as well as their qualitative experience and expertise.

Where judges were conflicted in an award category, they stood aside from judging. The winners of the qualitative awards were selected at the discretion of the judges.

HFIM also helped prepare the quantitative analysis from the performance data.

BarclayHedge provided performance data and ran the quantitative screens.

Winners were recognized at a reception attended by 150 people at the Rooftop of the Roosevelt Hotel, New York City.

Judging panel

Kris Devasabai, US Editor of Hedge Funds Review (chair)
Ranjan Bhaduri, chief research officer and head of product development at AlphaMetrix Alternative Investment Advisors
Lionel Erdely, chief investment officer for alternative investments at Lyxor Asset Management and CEO of its US business
Deepak Gurnani, an experienced hedge fund investor and one of the founding members of Investcorp's hedge fund business in 1996
Hiroshi Harada, a managing director and head of hedge fund research for HedgeMark Advisors
Samantha Levenstein, a portfolio adviser working with Aksia's institutional client base and consulting a number of large defined benefit pension plans
Stefan Zellmer, a senior managing director and head of research at Revere Capital Advisors

Americas Awards 2013 winners

Quantitative awards

Performance awards (single manager funds over one year)

Best long/short equity hedge fund
KSA Capital Partners (KSA MidOcean)

Best equity market neutral hedge fund
Citadel Global Equities Fund (Citadel)

Best fixed income/credit hedge fund
400 Capital Credit Opportunities Fund (400 Capital Management)

Best event driven hedge fund
HG Vora Special Opportunities Fund (HG Vora Capital Management)

Best distressed hedge fund
Hildene Opportunities Fund (Hildene Capital Management)

Best global macro hedge fund
Bridgewater All Weather: Bridgewater Associates (2012 profile)

Best CTA/managed futures fund
Crabel Multi-Product (Crabel Capital Management)

Best emerging markets hedge fund
Fortress Asia Macro Fund (Fortress Investment Group)

Best multi-strategy hedge fund
Visium Global Fund (Visium Asset Management)

Best arbitrage hedge fund
BlueMountain Credit Opportunities Fund (BlueMountain Capital Management)

Best overall Canadian hedge fund
Breton Hill Master Fund (Breton Hill Capital)

Best overall Latin American hedge fund
Tree Capital Equity Fund II (Tree Capital)

Hedge fund of the year
Hildene Opportunities Fund (Hildene Capital Management)

Long-term performance awards (single manager funds)

Best directional hedge fund over three years
Waterfall Eden Fund (Waterfall Asset Management)

Best directional hedge fund over 10 years
MKP Credit (MKP Capital Management)

Best non-directional hedge fund over three years
SPM Structured Servicing Holdings (Structured Portfolio Management)

Best non-directional hedge fund over 10 years
Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund (Platinum Partners)

Performance awards (funds of hedge funds)

Best diversified fund of hedge funds over one year
SkyBridge Multi-Advisor Hedge Fund Portfolios - Series G (SkyBridge Capital)

Best diversified fund of hedge funds over three years
Magnitude US Partners (Magnitude Capital)

Best diversified fund of hedge funds over 10 years
Titan Masters International Fund (Titan Advisors)

Best specialist fund of hedge funds over one year
Gapstow Opportunity Fund (Gapstow Capital Partners)

Best specialist fund of hedge funds over three years
DGAM Unique Strategies Fund (Diversified Global Asset Management)

Best specialist fund of hedge funds over 10 years
Ssaris Multi Manager Relative Value Strategy (Ssaris Advisors)

Fund of hedge funds of the year
SkyBridge Multi-Advisor Hedge Fund Portfolios - Series G (SkyBridge Capital)

Qualitative awards

Best new hedge fund
Armistice Capital Fund (Armistice Capital)

Best emerging hedge fund manager
Prosiris Capital Management

Most innovative hedge fund
AQR Capital Management

Best investor relations team
Millennium Management

Best overall group (single manager)
Citadel

Best overall group (fund of hedge funds)
Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (2012 profile)

Outstanding contribution to the hedge fund/FoHF industry by an institution
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Lifetime achievement in the hedge fund/FoHF industry
Donald Sussman, Paloma Partners


About Hedge Funds Review
Hedge Funds Review has access to the top fund managers and investors in the industry. Its reputation for in-depth, accurate and readable content makes it the preferred source of information about the industry for participants around the globe.

About BarclayHedge
BarclayHedge is a leading independent, research based provider of information services to the alternative investment industry. Founded in 1985, Barclay has been publishing performance data and rankings based on that data since 1990 and currently maintains data on more than 12,000 alternative investment vehicles. BarclayHedge provides access to its Managed Futures, Hedge Fund, and Fund of Funds databases to thousands of investors. Barclay's 10 managed futures indices, 18 hedge fund indices, and 7 UCITS indices are universally recognized as alternative investment performance benchmarks and are utilized by investment professionals around the globe.

Hedge Funds Review Media Contact
Margie Lindsay, Editor
+44 (0)20 7316 9440
margie.lindsay@incisivemedia.com
www.risk.net/hedge-funds-review

BarclayHedge, Ltd.
Sol Waksman, Founder and President
+1.641.472.3456
swaksman@barclayhedge.com
www.barclayhedge.com