History

History  

The first Raging Bull Awards ceremony was held in 1997, and was initiated by Personal Finance’s founding editor, Bruce Cameron and Plexus Asset Management.  The motivation was to provide investors with a guide to unit trust funds that deliver good, sustainable performance over a certain period of time, without too much risk.

The Association for Savings & Investment SA (Asisa) was initially also a partner in the Raging Bull Awards, providing invaluable input on the criteria and methodology for the awards. Asisa is no longer associated with any industry award initiative, but Asisa members, however, continue to be honoured guests at the Raging Bull Awards each year. The performance data and ratings system is provided for by ProfileData and PlexCrown Fund Ratings.

The award’s methodology has matured over the years to ensure it remains a relevant and fair test of manager skill. Awards are now made on the basis of outright performance in a number of major unit trust categories and on the basis of risk-adjusted performance in the asset allocation and other key sub-categories as measured by the PlexCrown.. Competition has increased dramatically over the years with fewer than than 50 unit trust being considered at initiation.

Now more than 1,000 funds form part of the calculation. The awards remain coveted, and the roll of honour is limited to a select few funds and managers who have proved their abilities over longer periods. These are the managers that investors can choose with confidence.

Hosts

Personal Finance

Since its launch in 1996, Personal Finance has established itself as the leader in this market, tackling issues affecting the pockets of the consumer. It is a lifestyle publication rather than a strictly business or financial publication – written to be accessible, interesting and useful to individuals concerned about their financial affairs. Very high journalistic standards and the use of plain language and graphics to explain complex financial issues make Personal Finance a credible source of information with sound money advice for the conscience reader. It is carried in Independent Media’s national Saturday titles – Saturday Star, Weekend Argus and Independent on a Saturday, as well as in Business Report on a Friday, which appears in The Mercury, The Star and the Cape Times. It also appears in the Cape Argus and Daily News on Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively. Personal Finance also has a bi-weekly podcast available on IOL, where all print articles will be published as well. Personal Finance is also the host of the annual Raging Bull Awards, and compiles a digital magazine on the event as well.

PlexCrown

PlexCrown, owned by ProfileData, has earned a reputation as the leading retail unit trust fund-rating agency in South Africa. Its ratings are independent, unbiased and completely objective and are based on a combination of various recognised statistical measures. It prides itself on being in the forefront of statistical research especially in the unit trust industry where we have developed rating and information products to serve its stakeholders.