Hedge Fund Awards 2015

Hedge Fund Awards 2015 www.acquisition-intl.com 20 Best Systematic Equity Market Neutral Fund - Sweden (QQM Equity Hedge) & Best Nordic Equity Focused Hedge Fund QQM is a Swedish management company responsible for managing the Swedish market neutral hedge fund QQM Equity Hedge. We spoke to their Managing Director Ola Björkmo who believes fund managers do not get better when they get bigger, and skill and perfor- mance are what’s important in the hedge industry QQM are a company that achieves consistent returns. They believe this is the result of a fund management process that is systematic and based on proprietary quantitative models. “We never try to time the market,” says Ola Björkmo. “We always make sure that the fund´s beta to global equities is always close to zero. In terms of security selection, our models have been based on academic studies and economic principles.” “In terms of risk management, our approach is to be proactive and that it is integrated at each step of the investment process. Our fund is constructed to target pre-defined levels of expected risk in the medium term. It is also monitored against a number of risk measures to ensure these remain within their prescribed limits.” Speaking on the industry as a whole, Björkmo believes that boutique firms are a better option for investors. “We believe investors have realised that fund managers do not get better when they get bigger, and that boutique firms are often a better bet. In the future, we think that smaller managers will continue to outperform.” According to Bjorkmo, investors are also opening up towards equity market neutral funds. “Many investors realise today that adding an equity market neutral fund can significantly improve the long term risk-return profile of a conventional asset allocation. As a compa- ny that deals with these type of funds, what separates us from our competitors is that we generate absolute returns entirely from security selection, not market exposure. The strongest part of our business is our risk-oriented approach to fund management, where risk manage- ment is integrated at each step of the investment process.” Speaking about the award itself, Björkmo maintains that this award is a validation of the company’s success. “We believe it is important for the hedge fund industry that skill and performance is recog- nized. Especially in this industry, where the size is not a reflection of performance. I feel this award is because we were able to generate a positive performance, despite some tricky trends in the market. “For the future, we remain focused on our mission to generate perfor- mance, and to stand out from the crowd.” n Company: QQM Fund Man- agement Name: Ola Björkmo Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.qqm.se Address: Kungsgatan 48, 111 35 Stockholm, Sweden Telephone: +46 70 618 33 80 Fact File Best Systematic Equity Market Neutral Fund - Sweden (QQM Equity Hedge) & Best Nordic Equity Focused Hedge Fund QQM Fund Management AB