Key Takeaways
- • Capital Fund Management dominates across multiple categories, winning awards for Systematic Global Macro (5-year performance), Cumulus in multi-strategy (2-year), and IS Trends in trend following, which achieved best-in-class returns across 2, 3, 5, 7, and 10-year periods.
- • Phoenix Gold Fund achieved highest absolute return status in 2025 while also capturing best-performing honors in the Gold Equities category, demonstrating strong momentum in precious metals-focused strategies amid broader macro uncertainty.
- • Emerging markets and regional macro strategies showed strength, with Pharo Macro Fund leading in emerging markets macro (2025 and 2-year performance) and SulAmérica Apollo FIM Fund capturing Brazilian macro leadership in the larger AUM bracket (BRL 5-10bn).
- • AI-driven equity strategies and systematic approaches continue expanding the awards landscape, with Plotinus Asset Management's Plotinus 2p winning the Equity AI Strategy category across 2025 and multi-year periods, alongside recognition for systematic macro funds in smaller AUM tiers.
- • The awards span $25 million to multi-billion AUM funds across 15+ distinct categories, reflecting The Hedge Fund Journal's comprehensive coverage of CTA and discretionary trading strategies, with data sourced through NilssonHedge and Preqin partnerships.
Summary
The Hedge Fund Journal's 2026 CTA and Discretionary Trader Awards recognize performance leaders across a diversified range of alternative investment strategies, with results spanning 2025 calendar-year performance and rolling multi-year periods through the 5, 7, and 10-year horizons. The awards cover 15 distinct strategy categories, from systematic macro and trend following to emerging markets macro, equity AI, and regional Brazilian macro funds, reflecting the breadth of institutional trading strategies in the alternative asset space.
Capital Fund Management emerged as a dominant force, securing awards across three separate categories. IS Trends, the firm's trend-following vehicle operating under a flat-fee model, achieved the highest recognition granularity, winning best-performing honors across all measured periods: 2, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. The firm also won the multi-strategy category for Cumulus (2-year performance) and captured the systematic macro crown for Systematic Global Macro over the 5-year period. This breadth of recognition signals sustained excellence in systematic and discretionary macro execution across multiple time horizons and market cycles.
Precious metals strategies attracted significant attention, with Phoenix Gold Fund (managed by Seraya Investment and AIMS Asset Management) claiming dual honors as both the 2025 gold equities category winner and the outright highest absolute return fund across all strategies evaluated. This recognition underscores investor appetite for hard-asset exposure in the current macro environment. Separately, Plotinus Asset Management's Plotinus 2p won the newly tracked Equity AI Strategy category for 2025 and 2-year performance, indicating growing institutional recognition of machine-learning-driven equity trading approaches.
Regional macro strategies demonstrated particular strength in 2025. The Pharo Macro Fund (Pharo Management) led the emerging markets macro category for both 2025 annual and 2-year rolling performance, while SulAmérica Apollo FIM Fund captured Brazilian macro honors in the larger AUM segment (BRL 5-10bn), also posting best-in-category 2025 and 2-year results. These regional designations reflect institutional capital flow into higher-yielding emerging market macro strategies. The awards also recognized smaller, specialized funds, including SysCat Alpha Fund's 5-year leadership in the sub-$25 million short-term trader segment and Bowmoor Capital's Global Alpha Fund excellence in the $100-200 million trend-following tier.
The Hedge Fund Journal compiled these awards in partnership with data providers NilssonHedge and Preqin, ensuring systematic performance verification across the surveyed fund universe. The 2026 awards reflect 2025 market conditions characterized by macro volatility, emerging market outperformance, and sustained investor interest in systematic and AI-driven trading approaches.
Capital Fund Management emerged as a dominant force, securing awards across three separate categories. IS Trends, the firm's trend-following vehicle operating under a flat-fee model, achieved the highest recognition granularity, winning best-performing honors across all measured periods: 2, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. The firm also won the multi-strategy category for Cumulus (2-year performance) and captured the systematic macro crown for Systematic Global Macro over the 5-year period. This breadth of recognition signals sustained excellence in systematic and discretionary macro execution across multiple time horizons and market cycles.
Precious metals strategies attracted significant attention, with Phoenix Gold Fund (managed by Seraya Investment and AIMS Asset Management) claiming dual honors as both the 2025 gold equities category winner and the outright highest absolute return fund across all strategies evaluated. This recognition underscores investor appetite for hard-asset exposure in the current macro environment. Separately, Plotinus Asset Management's Plotinus 2p won the newly tracked Equity AI Strategy category for 2025 and 2-year performance, indicating growing institutional recognition of machine-learning-driven equity trading approaches.
Regional macro strategies demonstrated particular strength in 2025. The Pharo Macro Fund (Pharo Management) led the emerging markets macro category for both 2025 annual and 2-year rolling performance, while SulAmérica Apollo FIM Fund captured Brazilian macro honors in the larger AUM segment (BRL 5-10bn), also posting best-in-category 2025 and 2-year results. These regional designations reflect institutional capital flow into higher-yielding emerging market macro strategies. The awards also recognized smaller, specialized funds, including SysCat Alpha Fund's 5-year leadership in the sub-$25 million short-term trader segment and Bowmoor Capital's Global Alpha Fund excellence in the $100-200 million trend-following tier.
The Hedge Fund Journal compiled these awards in partnership with data providers NilssonHedge and Preqin, ensuring systematic performance verification across the surveyed fund universe. The 2026 awards reflect 2025 market conditions characterized by macro volatility, emerging market outperformance, and sustained investor interest in systematic and AI-driven trading approaches.
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