Bateleur Capital was founded by Kevin Williams in 2004, launching with a long/short hedge fund and R11-million in seed capital. The Cape Town-based, 100% owner-managed business chose the hedge fund structure because they believed it was the most suitable vehicle for protecting investor capital while providing a largely unconstrained investment universe – a philosophy they continue to uphold 20 years later.
Meet the team
Kevin Williams is the founder and CIO and has been in financial markets since 1996, having previously worked on the sell-side for various international investment banks. The investment team is made up of 10 people, which consists of five portfolio managers and five investment analysts. The business has grown steadily to its current complement of 17, ensuring that they are well positioned for responsible growth. The team cumulatively has over 200 years of industry experience.
We’ve delivered 20 years of outperformance while protecting capital, with one of the longest-running hedge funds in South Africa
Investment philosophy
Bateleur Capital prides itself on its consistent and meticulous approach, combining fundamental analysis with a top-down macro-overlay; leveraging their hedge fund background to deliver competitive returns while placing a strong emphasis on capital preservation. Their funds aim to keep pace with equity markets in good times and protect capital in periods of market stress – which they believe will lead to outperformance over the medium to long term and deliver consistent real returns.
Investment framework
A robust fundamental framework underpins the process for potential investments, which utilises a four-quadrant approach analysing quantitative and qualitative factors among other metrics – this is followed by robust debate within the investment team. The flat organisational structure of the business enables swift and decisive implement-ation of their investment decisions, which sets them apart from larger institutional asset managers.
Client focus
Bateleur Capital believes every client has different wants and needs when it comes to the level of interaction and service they require, and it is their responsibility to understand this and handle accordingly. In addition, they partner with and lean on DFMs to give them a platform to interact and engage with financial advisors. The business has some exciting projects in the pipeline which they believe will help them to reach the end client in a more interactive manner, given the retail market is a big focus of theirs.
Importance of hedge funds
Hedge funds are the foundation that built Bateleur Capital, despite currently being a small percentage of their assets under management, and they believe that leveraging their hedge fund background gives them an edge over both their competitors and larger institutional asset managers. The hedge fund industry in South Africa is growing significantly as the products become more accessible to retail investors and the benefits of including them in one’s portfolio become difficult to ignore.
Bateleur Capital’s funds aim to keep pace with equity markets in good times and protect capital in periods of market stress
Products and performance
Bateleur Capital has delivered 20 years of outperformance while protecting capital, with one of the longest-running hedge funds in South Africa. They offer three different hedge fund products, among other unit trusts and equity-only mandates, namely the Long Short, Market Neutral and Special Opportunities. Their award-winning flagship hedge fund – the Bateleur Long Short Prescient RI Hedge Fund – has delivered a return of 17.9% over the past year, and 14.6% annualised since inception.
