The 2025 Raging Bull Awards for collective investment scheme performance to the end of 2024 comprise 19 certificates for straight performance over three years and eight trophies for risk-adjusted performance over five years. There is also the coveted trophy for the SA Manager of the Year and a certificate for the runner-up.
The certificate categories correspond with third-tier sub-categories in the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) Fund Classification Standard of 2013, amended in 2024, while the trophy categories are broader, corresponding more closely with Asisa’s second-tier classification. Not all Asisa categories are represented, either because there are not enough funds in a particular category to warrant an award, or because the mandates for the funds in those categories do not enable them to compete in a meaningful way.
The awards are open to actively managed unit trust funds and funds of funds (funds that invest in other funds), actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index tracking unit trust funds and other rules-based funds, and index tracking ETFs.
Certificates for straight performance
- South African equity funds: there are awards for the best general equity fund and the best small and medium cap equity fund. The general equity category includes funds in Asisa’s new SA Equity category, which was introduced to differentiate between funds that invest in both South African and offshore equities and those that invest solely in the local stock market.
- South African multi-asset funds: there are awards for funds in most of the multi-asset categories, including flexible, high-equity, medium-equity, low-equity, and income. The high-equity category includes funds in Asisa’s new SA High Equity category, in which the equity component is fully invested in the local market.
- South African interest-bearing funds: categories are for best short-term fund and best variable-term fund. These funds mainly hold bonds - the first category focuses on bonds of shorter duration, and the latter focuses on bonds of longer and variable durations. Money market funds are excluded from the awards.
- South African real estate: all funds fall under the single general real estate category.
- Worldwide funds: these are funds that can be invested anywhere in the world including South Africa. There are awards for funds in the general equity and multi-asset flexible categories.
- Global funds: these are funds that invest offshore, but are based in South Africa and are denominated in rands. There are awards for general equity funds, Africa equity funds (which invest mainly in Africa outside of South Africa), multi-asset flexible and high-equity funds, short- and variable-term interest-bearing funds, and real estate funds.
Trophies for risk-adjusted performance
- Best SA Equity Fund: this is for the best-performing equity fund in any Asisa SA Equity sub-category.
- Best SA Multi-asset Fund: all SA multi-asset sub-categories.
- Best SA Interest-bearing Fund: all SA interest-bearing sub-categories.
- Best Worldwide Fund: all worldwide sub-categories.
- Best Global Equity Fund: all global equity sub-categories.
- Best Global Multi-asset Fund: all global multi-asset sub-categories.
- Best Global Interest-bearing Fund: all global interest-bearing sub-categories.
- Best Real Estate Fund: both SA and global real estate sub-categories.
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