Key Takeaways
- • Qblue Alternative Risk Premia Fund earned the five-year performance award in the "Alternative Risk Premia" category at the CTA and Discretionary Trader Awards 2026, delivering a 9.7% annualized return from mid-2019 through end-2025, including a +5.8% gain during the challenging 2022 market environment.
- • Mandatum Asset Management's Mandatum Managed Futures Fund won the 2025 best-performing fund award in the "Trend Follower" category for managers with $100–$200 million in assets under management, recognizing performance in a specific AUM band.
- • Qblue's multi-strategy systematic approach harvests risk premia across equities, fixed income, commodities, and currencies, designed to deliver returns uncorrelated to traditional markets during periods of elevated correlation stress.
- • The two Nordic hedge funds' recognition reflects consistent performance through multiple market regimes, including the Covid-19 liquidity shock, the 2022 correlation breakdown, and 2025's "Liberation Day" volatility event.
Summary
Two Nordic hedge funds have been recognized at the 2026 CTA and Discretionary Trader Awards, organized by The Hedge Fund Journal. Qblue Balanced's Alternative Risk Premia Fund secured the award for best-performing fund over five years in the "Alternative Risk Premia" category, while Mandatum Asset Management's Managed Futures Fund captured the 2025 best-performing fund award in the "Trend Follower" category for managers with assets under management between $100 million and $200 million.
The Qblue Alternative Risk Premia Fund, launched in mid-2019, employs a systematic multi-strategy framework designed to extract risk premia across equities, fixed income, commodities, and currencies. Over the five-year measurement period ending December 31, 2025, the strategy generated a 9.7% annualized return. Notably, the fund delivered positive performance during the 2022 market stress—gaining 5.8%—a critical period when traditional asset correlations broke down and many systematic strategies faced headwinds. The track record also encompasses the Covid-19 liquidity crisis and 2025's "Liberation Day" volatility, demonstrating resilience across disparate market regimes.
Alexandra McGuigan at Qblue Balanced emphasized that the award validates a deliberate design philosophy. "The award is nice, but consistency is really the key point," McGuigan stated, noting that the strategy's ability to deliver uncorrelated returns during periods when correlation matters most reflects intentional architecture rather than chance. The fund's performance through multiple stress periods—including the 2019–2020 challenging start—underscores the systematic approach's durability in varying market environments.
The recognition of both funds highlights the continuing relevance of systematic strategies and trend-following approaches in alternative asset management, particularly among mid-sized managers navigating complex global markets.
The Qblue Alternative Risk Premia Fund, launched in mid-2019, employs a systematic multi-strategy framework designed to extract risk premia across equities, fixed income, commodities, and currencies. Over the five-year measurement period ending December 31, 2025, the strategy generated a 9.7% annualized return. Notably, the fund delivered positive performance during the 2022 market stress—gaining 5.8%—a critical period when traditional asset correlations broke down and many systematic strategies faced headwinds. The track record also encompasses the Covid-19 liquidity crisis and 2025's "Liberation Day" volatility, demonstrating resilience across disparate market regimes.
Alexandra McGuigan at Qblue Balanced emphasized that the award validates a deliberate design philosophy. "The award is nice, but consistency is really the key point," McGuigan stated, noting that the strategy's ability to deliver uncorrelated returns during periods when correlation matters most reflects intentional architecture rather than chance. The fund's performance through multiple stress periods—including the 2019–2020 challenging start—underscores the systematic approach's durability in varying market environments.
The recognition of both funds highlights the continuing relevance of systematic strategies and trend-following approaches in alternative asset management, particularly among mid-sized managers navigating complex global markets.
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