‘Euphoric’ Markets Propel XIB Hedge Fund to 72% Yearly Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Market volatility in 2020 boded well for a Canadian hedge fund that seeks to capitalize on stock inefficiencies along with event-driven opportunities.

Toronto-based XIB Asset Management posted a 16.8% rise in December, bringing its annual gain to 72%. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 2.2% last year and 1.4% in December.

The vaccine roll-out and initial inoculations helped boost performance in December, which also partially stemmed from catalysts in the electric vehicle, gaming, base metals, hydrogen energy, alternative health-care, and cannabis sectors, according to XIB's letter.

While December's outperformance may be an outlier, XIB said, “volatility presents opportunities for many of our investment strategies and we leveraged the recent euphoric market dynamics to capitalize on an abundance of these opportunities.”

Sean McNulty and Peter Hatziioannou co-founded XIB in 2016, with Chris Seyffert as one of the portfolio managers. The firm manages about C$130m ($101 million) in assets.

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