By Katrina Dean Allen
Photographs by Doug Goodman
Hundreds of the industry's leading managers turned up in New York for the 2009 Absolute Return Awards dinner on November 2 to honor those firms that delivered the best risk-adjusted returns over the past 12 months, including 2008's tumultuous fourth quarter—one of the most trying times ever for hedge fund managers.
The calendar year 2009 had been a much better one for hedge funds, and the mood of the evening was much lighter than that at the more somber event held in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. The night's big winner was Minnetonka, Minn.-based Pine River Capital Management, which garnered three nominations and took home two awards, including New Fund of the Year, for its Nisswa Fixed Income Fund. Paulson & Co. received five nominations yet again for the third year running, and won the much-coveted Management Firm of...
