Decades of top decile returns and a focus on client needs made GoldenTree Asset Management a market leader. The employee-owned firm’s culture of collaboration and innovation drives differentiated strategies across asset classes. All this makes GoldenTree the deserving winner of Global & Americas Hedge Fund of the Year.
The firm’s flagship Master Fund Strategy (“the Fund”) has a nearly 25-year track record of outperforming peers and wider public markets. The Fund has delivered net annualized returns of 10% since inception and ~13% over the last five years, putting it into the top decile in terms of outright performance. This history of delivering differentiated returns is visible across the platform. All four vintages of GoldenTree’s distressed funds, for instance, are in the top quartile or top decile relative to peers. Having invested in private credit for over a decade, the firm closed its first dedicated private credit fund earlier this year. That vehicle is already over 70% drawn with net returns of around 20%.
Part of the firm’s success is based in a thoughtful and deliberate approach to growing both the platform and its team. The firm focuses on where it thinks credit markets are going and how to be best positioned. GoldenTree started as a multi-strategy firm in 2000, a unique proposition at the time. In 2007, GoldenTree established a dedicated restructuring & turnaround team that has since grown to over 15 people, as well as a structured credit team that now numbers 10. Later, the firm added resources dedicated to emerging markets, private credit and more recently, real estate, as it saw the opportunity set in these asset classes expand.
GoldenTree’s Master Fund utilizes portfolio hedging to mitigate downside volatility and preserve capital during periods of significant market volatility. The Fund has not only weathered, but also capitalized on market dislocations. Some of the best periods for the Master Strategy Fund have followed these big market dislocations.
Client collaboration
For any hedge fund, data and technology is key. GoldenTree is constantly enhancing its platform and processes. The firm’s data insights team incorporates alternative data into the investment approach. GoldenTree is also proud of its ability to communicate this approach to its clients. GoldenTree views its partnership with its clients as part of its culture. Its strong, long-term relationships with clients span decades and across multiple strategies.
The firm’s broad platform means it can offer different solutions to different investors, but it also prioritizes its clients having the information they need to interpret a dynamic market. A weekly credit highlights offering that started during the pandemic has grown to become a well-regarded resource for investors. Quarterly virtual events on different themes are attended by hundreds of participants. Investors are further re-assured by the fact that GoldenTree is a 100% employee-owned firm. As such, its partners and employees are invested side-by-side with their clients, creating a strong alignment of interests and demonstrating its high investment conviction.
Being employee-owned also contributes to the firm’s partnership culture that has helped GoldenTree expand and thrive. Collaboration is critical to its success. There is a common purpose and collegiality where the firm is working together to achieve positive outcomes. This collaboration and the absence of siloed teams also creates fertile ground for identifying new opportunities and perspective on relative value. The firm invests broadly across distressed and performing credit, public and private credit, structured and emerging markets, and real estate. That range is an important differentiator from its peers.
GoldenTree continues to grow its presence globally. The firm has had offices in Europe for around 20 years and a presence in Asia for around 10 years. GoldenTree also opened its Dubai office in 2022, establishing a local presence in the region, and expanded its presence in Europe earlier this year by opening its office in Munich.