Laurium Capital celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2023 – with the South Africanasset manager enjoying excellent growth since inception.
Laurium Capital is one of South Africa’s leading boutique asset managers, with over R50 billion in assets under management and a team of 39 expert employees. The firm celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2023 – and the company has enjoyed excellent growth since its inception, driven by top-quartile returns in almost all its funds.
Learn more about Laurium Capital here
Laurium Capital’s growth is primarily thanks to two things – its philosophy of putting its clients’ needs first and its commitment to only hiring the best investing minds. We unpack how these values guided Laurium Capital on its path to the top, below.
Laurium Capital was founded in 2008 by Murray Winckler and Gavin Vorwerg using approximately R100 million in capital they received from friends, family, and their own pockets. This capital went towards the firm’s first fund, the Laurium Long Short Prescient RI Hedge Fund, which has returned 10% per year since inception (1 August 2008 to 29 February 2024).
The firm then launched the Laurium Aggressive Long Short QI Hedge Fund, which has returned 14% per year since inception (1 January 2013 to 29 February 2024) versus the equity market (Capped SWIX) of 7.6% with similar risk. The growth has been achieved by taking both long and short positions within the South African equity market while capitalising on market inefficiencies and special opportunities.
The success of these initial funds laid the foundation for Laurium Capital to expand its offering to include other hedge fund strategies as well as long-only suite equity and fixed income products – available to both local and global investors. Over the years, Murray and Gavin have methodically built a top-tier team that has all contributed to the firm’s successes. The team’s continuity is strong, with the average tenure of the investment team being 7 years and an average industry experience of 20 years.
About half of the employees at Laurium own equity in the business, further cementing their commitment to the business and striving for excellence. Laurium has also made inroads when it comes to diversity and inclusion, achieving a BEE Level 1 rating in 2023. Fifty percent of the staff is black and 40% are women, which has helped enhance the firm with a diverse set of thinking and ideas.
Laurium Capital’s growth has been consistent and targeted ever since, with the asset manager acting quickly and decisively when opportunities present themselves. In December 2020, Laurium Capital acquired 100% of the equity of Tantalum Capital. The primary objective of the transaction was to strengthen the combined efforts of the teams across multi-asset portfolios, with an emphasis on global equities and fixed income. The result was the establishment of a combined team with deep experience and strong capabilities across the full range of investment mandates, with an additional focus on global equity research.
Laurium’s global fund solutions are available to South African investors looking to gain global market exposure or externalise assets with international investors.
Laurium Capital has achieved sustained success over the past 15 years thanks to its diverse range of investment products and its highly-skilled team of asset management experts. It continues to take a personal approach to the funds under its management, with an eye on growth and evolving opportunities. An example of this is the firm’s recent launch of the Laurium Enhanced Growth Fund, an Irish UCITS available on the Prescient ICAV platform. This offering broadens international investors’ access to Laurium’s hedge funds.
Laurium staff also invest a substantial amount of their own money in its investment products – investing alongside their clients. This personal touch and commitment to performance have enabled the company to thrive. The future is bright for Laurium Capital – learn more about its investment products here.
Collective Investment Schemes in Securities (CIS) should be considered as medium to long-term investments. The value may go up as well as down and past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. CIS’s are traded at the ruling price and can engage in scrip lending and borrowing. A schedule of fees, charges and maximum commissions is available on request from the Manager. There is no guarantee in respect of capital or returns in a portfolio. A CIS may be closed to new investors in order for it to be managed more efficiently in accordance with its mandate. Performance for the A1 Class has been calculated using net NAV to NAV numbers with income reinvested. The performance for each period shown reflects the return for investors who have been fully invested for that period. Individual investor performance may differ as a result of initial fees, the actual investment date, the date of reinvestments and dividend withholding tax. Full performance calculations are available from the manager on request.
Annualised Performance: Annualised performance shows longer term performance rescaled to a 1-year period. Annualised performance is the average return per year over the period. Actual annual figures are available to the investor on request. Highest and lowest return: The highest and lowest returns for any 1 year over the period since inception have been shown. NAV: The net asset value represents the assets of a Fund less its liabilities. Market Neutral highest rolling 1-year return 31.9%, lowest rolling 1-year return -10.8% and Benchmark: 6.4%; Long Short highest rolling 1-year return 45.8%, lowest rolling 1-year return -24.0% and Benchmark: 6.5%; Aggressive Long Short highest rolling 1-year return 69.8%, lowest rolling 1-year return -33.6% and Benchmark 6.2%. Laurium Capital (Pty) Ltd is an authorized FSP (FSP34142). Prescient Management Company (RF) (Pty) Ltd is registered and approved under the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act (No.45 of 2002). For any additional information such as fund prices, fees, brochures, minimum disclosure documents and application forms, please go to www.lauriumcapital.com.
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