(Aug 27): Three years ago, Chong Chin Eai watched Donald Trump’s shock election victory roil markets. His months-old Vanda Global Fund, founded with US$24 million ($33.3 million) from friends and family, was down more than 50%. At his nadir, Chong considered using his own savings to cover investors’ losses and shut up shop.
Instead, he decided to stick to his investment thesis. Fast forward to now, and Singapore-based Vanda is the world’s best performing hedge fund this year, Eurekahedge data show, up 278% through July. The group, named after Singapore’s national flower, has delivered an average annualised return of 40% since inception.
“A lot of fund managers would’ve just given up after six months to start a brand new track record,” Chong, 45, said. “But I wanted to show investors the flow of the fund and the growth of the fund, both in terms of the performance and also in myself.”
