For some asset owners, an allocation to hedge funds in 2022 was a ballast against a tumultuous bear market.
With stocks and bonds falling in tandem, hedging strategies helped allocators avoid losses — and in some cases, post positive annual returns.
It’s these asset owners that Institutional Investor will honor at the 20th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards in May. The allocator finalists were chosen from a pool of hundreds of nominees submitted by managers, peer institutions, and other industry professionals and vetted by II’s editorial team. Six finalists in each category are now up for a final vote to determine the winners.
This year’s impressive list of finalists includes the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii, which returned 15.72 percent in its diversifying strategies allocation, including hedge funds, for the year ending September 30. Other public pension finalists include the Retirement System Investment Commission of South Carolina, which has a significant portable alpha program, and the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, which uses hedge funds to mitigate risk and deliver returns that are uncorrelated to equities. They are joined by the Indiana Public Retirement System, whose low-volatility hedge fund portfolio has consistently outperformed its benchmark; the Utah Retirement System, whose hedge fund program has stayed steady amid the significant volatility over the past few years; and the Employees Retirement System of Texas, which — in addition to posting positive hedge fund returns — has demonstrated a commitment to seeding new managers.
Among those pensions, though, there will only be one winner. Hedge fund managers are now invited to vote for the top allocators in each category. Allocators, meanwhile, are asked to vote for the manager finalists.
The winners will be named at a gala dinner held on May 11 at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. At that dinner, II will also recognize this year’s Hedge Fund Rising Stars and Lifetime Achievement honorees.
For more information about the dinner, please visit the event website. Qualified managers can vote here.
Public Plan of the Year
- Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii
- Employees Retirement System of Texas
- Indiana Public Retirement System
- Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association
- Retirement System Investment Commission of South Carolina
- Utah Retirement Systems
Corporate/Insurance Plan of the Year
- Eastman Kodak Co.
- General Electric Co.
- General Motors Co.
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.
- New York Life Insurance Co.
- Trans-Canada Capital
Endowment of the Year
- Brown University
- Lehigh University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- New York University
- Texas Tech University
- University of Missouri System
Foundation of the Year
- Annie E. Casey Foundation
- Carnegie Corp. of New York
- J. Paul Getty Trust
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Kresge Foundation
- Smithsonian Institution
Family Office of the Year
- Duquesne Family Office
- Ilitch Family Office
- Mousse Partners
- Waycrosse
- Willett Advisors
- Wolfson Group
Health Care System of the Year
- Boston Children’s Hospital
- CommonSpirit Health
- Indiana University Health
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Mount Sinai Health System
- Yale New Haven Health
Outsourced Investor of the Year
- Blackstone Alternative Asset Management
- Investure
- Stable Asset Management
- Strategic Investment Group
- UBS Asset Management (UBS Hedge Fund Solutions)
- Verger Capital Management
Hedge Fund Consultant of the Year
- Aksia
- Albourne Partners
- Cambridge Associates
- Masterpiece Advisors
- Mercer
- NEPC