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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
Belzberg Technologies Inc., KPMG 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
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 last night 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:
(416 849 1926 or
jeremyl@isipublications.com).
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