Canada celebrates coming of age

Date: Thursday, September 18, 2008
Author: ISI Publications

Canadian hedge fund industry celebrated the best-of-the-best:

Canada celebrates coming of age

18 September 2008, TORONTO — Tuesday night was one of celebration for hedge fund managers and service providers in the alternative asset space, as the Hedge Fund Hotel and ISI Publications hosted the inaugural Canadian Hedge Fund Awards.

The event, sponsored by KPMG, Belzberg Technologies Inc. and RBC Dexia Investor Services, was held at the Boiler House in the historic distillery district — a beautiful venue just as unique as the funds celebrated during the evening. Though the market is currently experiencing a time of turmoil, the financial services industry took the time to come together and honour the innovative and top-performing funds of the past year.

Janet Ecker, President of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance and former Ontario Finance Minister, the keynote speaker, began the evening and spoke on the developments in the financial services industry here in Toronto, as well as in the rest of Canada, that will continue to make Canada competitive on the world stage.

The award ceremony was kicked off after dinner, with the winners of the Best Sharpe Ratio group; Creststreet Energy Hedge Fund L.P. taking home that prize in the AUM under $25 million category and CI Trident Global Opportunities Fund winning the AUM over $25 million award. In the Best Overall Return group, Creststreet again took home the AUM under $25 million category, while Sextant Strategic Opportunities Hedge Fund L.P. was the winner in the AUM over $25 million category, with an amazing return of 139.56% this year.

The third category, Best New Fund Performance (with a track record of 6-18 months) went to IMFC Global.

In the final two categories, Eric Sprott (CEO of Sprott Asset Management) was awarded the Most Significant Industry Development in the Last Year prize, and the audience unanimously cheered as Jim McGovern, CEO of Arrow Hedge Partners Inc, accepted his award for Best Contribution to the Canadian Hedge Fund Industry.

There was a significant charitable element to the awards ceremony; Kate Ross received the Hedge Fund Hotel bursary this past summer to pursue a nursing degree at Trent University in Peterborough, and her achievements were celebrated last night. Kate, a young woman living and working in Toronto, was selected for the bursary for her financial need, her medical knowledge, her aptitude and capacity for learning, and her sheer determination to make a difference. Kate joined us on the evening to receive her bursary, despite the deadline of an 8am class Wednesday at Trent.

The judges of the awards were chosen for their in-depth knowledge and experience in the Canadian alternatives space: Kevin O’Leary (co-host of Squeezeplay and cast member of Dragon’s Den, Fortune Hunters), Jeff Sutcliffe (portfolio manager & CCO, North Star Capital Management Limited), Chris Holt (editor and founder of www.AllAboutAlpha.com), and Eamonn McConnell (CEO  & portfolio manager of MANNA Asset Management Inc).

ISI Publications, one of the organizers of the awards, is also producing a report in the weeks to come that will focus on the developing hedge fund market in Canada and also profile the funds honoured last night. Canada’s Hedge Fund Industry Report 2008 will be published mid-October and will be available to all attendees of the event free-of-charge and available for purchase from ISI’s online bookstore, www.BooksonBiz.com.

For any additional information on the event, please contact Jeremy Loeb at ISI Publications (416 849 1926 or jeremyl@isipublications.com