This report has been prepared by STRATEGIQ Capital for information purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, a solicitation, or an offer to buy or sell any financial product or instrument.
The information contained in this report has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to its accuracy, completeness, or reliability. The data presented relates to the period ending June 2026 and may be subject to revision.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Hedge fund investments involve material risks, including the possible loss of capital. Hedge funds may employ leverage, short selling, derivatives, and other complex investment strategies, which may increase investment risk and amplify losses. As a result, these investments may not be suitable for all investors.
All hedge funds included in this survey are classified as South African Retail Investor Hedge Funds (RIHFs). Retail hedge funds were brought under the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act (CISCA) in 2015 and are regulated investment vehicles designed to improve accessibility for retail investors, while remaining subject to defined investment limits and regulatory safeguards.
This document is intended for financial advisers, professional investors, and institutional investors. It should not be relied upon by retail investors as the sole basis for any investment decision and should, where appropriate, be considered together with independent financial advice.
STRATEGIQ Capital (Pty) Ltd is an authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP 46624).
STRATEGIQ Capital is a South African discretionary fund manager focused on building resilient, outcome-driven portfolios for financial advisers and their clients.
As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary in 2026, we reflect on a decade in which we have continued to evolve our offering, strengthen our investment process, and embrace technology to enhance the client experience. Through all of this, consistency has remained at the core of how we invest.
Today, our investment proposition is centred on delivering greater consistency of returns through disciplined, holistic portfolio construction. This has naturally led us to alternatives, which we view as an important complementary component within well-constructed portfolios and an area where we have built a distinct industry edge.
We believe alternative investments, including hedge funds, can enhance diversification, introduce differentiated return streams, and support more consistent risk-adjusted outcomes across a range of market environments.
As we look ahead, we remain committed to partnering with advisers to build portfolios that are robust, diversified, and better positioned to navigate a wide range of market conditions.
ABOUT THIS REPORT
This survey provides an independent, data-driven view of the South African retail hedge fund universe β covering performance, flows, fees, and manager insights.
It forms part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and supporting advisers with practical, portfolio-focused insights.
Only funds with at least a 3-year track record and R100m AUM were included in the report.
All strategy composites are calculated on an equal-weighted basis, using net-of-fee monthly returns as submitted by fund managers.
46
Funds
22
Firms
+70%
Coverage
Q2
2026
10 Years Β· Key Milestones
2016
Founded STRATEGIQ Capital
2020
Multi-strategy hedge fund solution launched
2023
Global Liquid Alts launched
2024
Living Annuity Solutions launched
2025
Fund of Hedge Funds launched
2026
Celebrating 10 Years of Disciplined Investing
Manager in Focus
Manager Spotlight
In Conversation with
Each edition of the STRATEGIQ Manager Spotlight features an in-depth conversation with one of South Africa’s leading hedge fund managers. We go beyond the performance numbers to explore the thinking, culture and conviction behind the returns.
Photo coming soon
Portfolio Manager
Q&A
STRATEGIQ Research Β· Survey Overview
Survey Summary
A comprehensive overview of South African retail hedge fund performance, flows, and strategy composition.
Source:STRATEGIQ Capital Research Β· Fund manager submissions Β· ASISA
Note:Based on 46 funds that responded to the survey.
Assets Under Management
Strategy Breakdown
Funds per Platform
Fund Count by Strategy
Gross & Net Exposure Dispersion by Strategy
Box: 25thβ75th Percentile β’ Whiskers: Full Range β’ Median: Line β’ Gross: Solid β’ Net: Faded
* Fixed Income/Macro strategies are excluded from this chart, as their structural use of leverage on low-volatility instruments often results in elevated gross exposures. As such, these are not directly comparable to other strategies and would distort the overall scale of the analysis.
Fee Structure Distribution
Number of funds in each fee bracket. Management fees are predominantly 1β1.5%; performance fees cluster at the industry-standard 20%. Hover a bar for the strategy breakdown.
Management Fee
Performance Fee
β
of managers use a high watermark
Performance fees are only earned above the prior NAV high.
STRATEGIQ Research Β· Quarter in Focus
Quarter in Focus
A focused view of the latest quarter β AUM, implied flows, trailing strategy returns, and how broad-based those returns were across funds.
Source:STRATEGIQ Capital Research Β· Fund manager submissions Β· Morningstar Direct
Observation Period:
Strategy Snapshot
Return vs Implied Net Flow
Positive Return Ratio by Strategy
STRATEGIQ Research Β· Relative Returns
Relative Returns Analysis
All hedge fund strategies and market comparators ranked together in a single view.
Source:STRATEGIQ Capital Research Β· Fund manager submissions Β· Morningstar Direct
Observation Period:
Relative Performance Heatmap
Select a reporting period to rank strategies.
*Returns for periods longer than one year are annualised.
Return vs Volatility
Max Drawdown by Strategy Composite
Max Drawdown (%)
No drawdowns over this period
*Returns for periods longer than one year are annualised.
Sharpe Ratio by Strategy Composite
Correlation Matrix
Pairwise correlations of monthly composite returns over the selected trailing window.
STRATEGIQ Research Β· Strategy Deep Dive
Strategy Analysis
Performance and risk analysis by strategy β filter to view individual strategies.
Source:STRATEGIQ Capital Research Β· Fund manager submissions Β· Morningstar Direct
Observation Period:
01
Sharpe Ratio
Risk-adjusted return β the higher the ratio, the more return earned per unit of risk taken.
02
Volatility
Annualised dispersion of returns β lower volatility means smoother, more predictable performance.
03
Max Drawdown
The largest peak-to-trough decline over the period β a smaller decline signals stronger resilience.
STRATEGIQ Research Β· Alpha & Attribution
Return Decomposition
Cumulative monthly attribution by strategy. Stacked bars show the contribution of each return source over time, with the line reflecting the composite cumulative return.
Source:STRATEGIQ Capital Research Β· Fund manager submissions
Observation Period:
01
Risk-Free (Rf)
Represents the baseline return from cash (STeFI Composite), i.e. the return available without market risk.
02
Beta
Represents benchmark-driven returns (ALSI for equity strategies, ALBI for fixed income/macro), reflecting passive exposure.
03
Alpha
Represents the residual return attributable to manager skill, after accounting for cash and benchmark effects.
EQUITY L/S
FIXED INCOME / MACRO
MARKET NEUTRAL
MULTI-STRATEGY
Contact Us
STRATEGIQ CAPITAL Β· LETβS TALK
Incorporating Hedge Funds into Investment Solutions
STRATEGIQ Capital is a Discretionary Fund Manager (DFM),
offering investment solutions that incorporate retail hedge funds across multiple mandates.
Pre-Retirement Portfolios
Living Annuities
Discretionary Investments
β
Available on all major LISPs
Our approach is underpinned by a proprietary research framework and manager database, built through ongoing engagement with fund managers, enabling consistent evaluation and informed portfolio construction.
South African hedge funds remain an important part of the local asset management landscape, but they are often underrepresented in public discussion. Each fund that participates in this survey helps address that gap. The data contributed supports a broader evidence base that regulators, allocators and institutional investors can use when assessing the role of alternatives in portfolios.
Improving awareness of what South African hedge funds can offer β including disciplined risk management, alpha generation and diversification benefits relative to traditional asset classes β depends on industry participation. Your contribution plays an important role in supporting that broader industry perspective.
46
Funds Participated
R85bn
AUM Represented
4
Strategy Groups
+70%
Universe Coverage
Appendix
Methodology & Definitions
Universe Construction
Funds included in the survey universe
Minimum AUM of R100 million as at Q2 26
Minimum 3-year track record as at June 2026
Strategy classification is taken from the manager survey and matched to the NAV master file. Funds without a usable strategy or matched return history cannot enter strategy-level attribution.
Benchmark Mapping
Risk-free rate
STeFI Composite is used as the monthly risk-free series throughout the decomposition.
Strategy benchmark
Equity L/S, Multi-Strategy and Market Neutral are mapped to JSE All Share. Fixed Income/Macro is mapped to JSE All Bond.
Monthly return input
Fund returns are manager-submitted monthly net-of-fee NAV returns, aligned to month-end periods.
Rolling Beta Estimation
Strict 12-month window
Each fund's beta is estimated from a rolling 12-month window of excess returns. The first 11 months are excluded by design because no beta is estimated from partial history.
The current implementation uses the trailing 12 months including month t. Months with gaps inside the 12-month window are skipped.
Monthly Alpha Decomposition
Return split each month
Once beta is available, each month's fund return is decomposed into cash, beta and alpha components.
Rf,t=risk-free return
β returnt=βt (Rbenchmark,t − Rf,t)
αt=Rfund,t − Rf,t − β returnt
This is an additive decomposition on monthly returns. Identity is checked each month so that fund return = risk-free + beta + alpha.
Cumulative Alpha Through Time
Built from monthly alpha, not compounded
The cumulative alpha line shown in the report is the running sum of monthly alpha contributions after the first valid beta month.
Cumulative Alphat=100 ×tΣi=1αi
In other words, monthly alpha is added through time rather than geometrically compounded. Fund rankings by alpha are based on the same additive sum across all valid months.
Full-period cumulative fund return is separate: that is calculated geometrically from the complete return history, including months before beta becomes available.
Annualisation And Ranking
Cumulative return
Annualised Return=(1 + Cumulative Return)1/N − 1
Annualised alpha
Annualised alpha is calculated as cumulative additive alpha scaled by total fund months in the full history, not just the valid-beta subset.
Annualised Alpha=Cumulative Alpha ×12total months
Information ratio and hit rate
Information ratio uses annualised alpha divided by annualised volatility of the monthly alpha series. Hit rate is the percentage of valid months where monthly alpha is positive.
Strategy Composite Decomposition
Monthly composite return
For each strategy and month, the composite return is the equal-weighted average of all available fund returns.
Monthly composite beta
The composite beta is the equal-weighted average of fund betas that are valid in that month. Funds with returns but no beta yet still contribute to the return composite, but not to the beta estimate.
Composite alpha
The same additive decomposition is then applied at strategy level: composite return = risk-free + beta + alpha.
Data Sources
NAV Returns: Fund manager submissions, ( funds)
AUM: Fund manager disclosures, Mar 2023 β Jun 2026
Industry AUM & flows: Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) Annual Hedge Fund Statistics, June 2026
Survey: STRATEGIQ Capital Q2 26 manager questionnaire
Market index data: Morningstar Direct
Limitations & Assumptions
Coverage and survivorship
Only funds active and reporting at June 2026 are included. Closed funds and funds without usable data are excluded.
Self-reported inputs
Returns, AUM and survey metadata are self-reported. Reasonableness checks are applied, but the report is not an external audit.
Representativeness
Methodology caveat
Because beta is estimated on a trailing window that includes the current month, the current alpha series is contemporaneous rather than fully lagged ex-ante attribution.
Past Performance
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Definitions
Not a quant? No problem. Here are the core portfolio and risk terms used throughout the report in plain English.
Alpha (Ξ±)
The manager's genuine skill β the return left over after stripping out what the market gave for free. Positive alpha means the manager beat the market on a risk-adjusted basis. The higher the alpha, the more value the manager added through active decisions.
Beta (Ξ²)
How much of the fund's return simply came from riding the market (JSE equities, interest rates). A fund with beta of 0.5 moves about half as much as the market. Beta return is what any passive index exposure would have delivered β not unique manager skill.
Risk-Free Rate (Rf)
The baseline return an investor could earn by simply holding cash or short-term government bonds. Any fund should at minimum beat this. We use STeFI Composite as the risk-free benchmark throughout the survey.
Sharpe Ratio
Return earned per unit of risk taken. Higher is better. It lets you compare funds fairly regardless of how aggressive their strategy is.
Max Drawdown
The largest peak-to-trough loss a fund experienced over the period. Smaller, or less negative, is better because it means shallower losses during stress periods.
Volatility (Annualised)
How much the fund's returns vary over time, scaled to an annual figure. Lower volatility generally means a smoother investor experience.
Information Ratio (IR)
Similar to the Sharpe ratio but focused specifically on alpha. A high IR means the manager adds value consistently, not just occasionally.
Box Plot (Dispersion Chart)
Shows the spread of returns across all funds in a given period. Wider boxes mean more dispersion, so funds performed more differently from one another.
