DMS Offshore Investment Services, the world's largest fund governance firm, has been voted the Best Offshore Advisory Firm in the Hedgeweek Awards 2014.
DMS was selected through a poll of the magazine's readers and the firm had no part in soliciting the award. More than 2,600 persons took part in the voting.
Hedgeweek's readers are mainly hedge fund investors, managers and their advisers.
Matthew Brown (pictured), director for DMS Offshore Investment Services (Europe), accepted the award at a ceremony in London on 28 February.
"We are humbled at this vote of confidence from Hedgeweek's readership, and at the same time are thrilled that our fund governance work has been recognised for excellence by our peers in the industry," says DMS founder Don Seymour.
DMS realised a 54 per cent increase in assets under management of its client funds from the prior year – which jumped from USD214bn to USD330bn. This increase was based on significant demand for its institutional fund governance services, particularly regulated directors, fund governance transparency reports, and independent director reports. DMS also increased its talent to more than 200 professionals during the same period.
"We have been working hard to keep our client funds advised on the big regulatory challenges of the impending Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which takes effect on 1 July 2014 and the Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive (AIFMD), which impacts investors in the European market. Our directors are focused on giving advice and providing solutions that help our client funds to succeed and we are proud of our efforts in this regard," Seymour says.
In addition to its headquarters in the Cayman Islands, DMS has offices in New York, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Luxembourg and São Paulo.
The Hedgeweek Awards are now in their fifth year and recognise excellence among hedge fund managers and service providers around the world. The awards are based on a peer review system in which readers elect a best in class in a series of categories via an online survey. In each category, the firms with the most votes at the end of the voting period are subject to a final review by Hedgeweek's senior editorial team.
