Gains on activist investments helped cancel out losses on cryptocurrency wagers and generate an 18.2% annual return for Canadian hedge fund manager Anson Funds Management’s main strategy last year, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Last year’s positive performance marked the sixth consecutive year of gains for the Anson Investments Master Fund, which outperformed both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Canada’s main equity benchmark, but trailed the S&P 500.
According to an investor letter seen by Bloomberg, the $1.8bn fund has now increased investors’ capital 10-fold since its 2007 inception.
The fund’s top-performing position last year was UK homebuilder Vistry Group, which acquired rival Countryside Partnerships in 2022. Anson pushed for that transaction and is working with management to reshape the company’s capital structure and compensation, CIO Moez Kassam said in the letter.
Vistry’s shares rose 47% in 2023, while Twilio and Globalstar, two other firms in which Anson says it has played an activist role, jumped 55% and 46% respectively.
Short positions in a basket of cryptocurrency stocks, including exchanges and crypto miners, weighed on the fund’s performance, but Kassam said in the letter he expects crypto investment to contribute to returns this year.
