A local asset management company has been nominated for a prestigious award at the Investors Choice European Hedge Funds Awards.Equilibria Capital Management’s flagship fund — The EQC Global Opportunities Fund- has been nominated for the Best Discretionary Global Macro Fund of 2012 in the emerging managers category.Equilibria, which was set up in Bermuda in 2011 by former Morgan Stanley portfolio managers Daniel Tafur and Lopez Ceron, is an alternative asset management company focused on absolute return strategies.Based in XL House on Bermudiana Road, the company has a team of four, three of whom are Bermudians or spouses of Bermudians. The firm also has an office in Geneva, Switzerland, where one other staff member is based.The company has grown significantly in the past two years since it launched in Bermuda and now currently manages $200 million in client assets through a number of investment funds and separate accounts for private and institutional clients globally.The company’s flagship investment fund is the EQC Global Opportunities Fund was established in 2009 and was managed by Mr Tafur from Morgan Stanley in London. In 2011, Mr Tafur and Mr Ceron took the fund out of Morgan Stanley and now continue to run it through Equilibria.EQC Global Opportunities, a global macro fund, has been nominated along with another 3 funds for this prestigious award. The fund has delivered a net return to investors of more than 10.6 percent in 2012, has delivered annualised returns of 8.5 percent since inception through December 31, 2012.This compares favourably with the broader hedge fund space, the company says, which delivered returns of 3.5 percent in 2012 and has annualised returns of 3 percent in the comparable period.The Investors Choice European Hedge Fund Awards recognise and honour fund managers who have achieved outstanding risk adjusted absolute returns.The winner will be announced in London on April 18, 2013.