Solutions
Edge Technology Group: Best Cloud Services Provider – Flexible working is likely to be part of the “new normal” as the past year demonstrated the power of the cloud and the benefits enjoyed by firms with a robust digital platform. As managers significantly increased their use of unified communications and collaboration tools, service providers are seeking to better meet their needs in this regard.
BCS Global Markets: Best Boutique Prime Broker – The prime brokerage landscape has seen significant changes over the last couple of years, making it difficult for funds to source the right prime partner. BCS Global Markets has established itself as a boutique prime within the equities space and has recently won Hedgeweek’s Best Boutique Prime Broker award.
Investcorp-Tages: Best Seeding Platform – Investcorp-Tages anticipates increased investor demand for alpha generation and portfolio diversification. Investcorp-Tages was created in May 2020 as a joint venture between two major players in the alternatives space, Investcorp and Tages. It brought together, in a single entity, the absolute return businesses of both firms, including their industry-leading seeding platforms. The global reach and strength of the combined seeding capabilities of Investcorp-Tages can be demonstrated by the fact that the firm won both Best Seeding Platform in the Hedgeweek European Awards 2021, and the same award in the Hedgeweek US Awards 2020.
Via the combination
Tradeweb: Best Trading & Execution Platform – Institutional investors are trading electronically more than ever before as they fully grasp the benefits of this fast, efficient and stable way of accessing liquidity. This bodes well for the outlook on further electronification in the hedge fund arena.
“Even though this trend was evident before, it truly accelerated last year. The proof is the record volume we saw across our rates, credit, money market and equity marketplaces. We traded nearly USD 838 billion on average every day in 2020, and over a trillion in January and February this year,” says Bhas Nalabothula (pictured),
SS&C Eze: Best Cloud Based Technology & Best Portfolio Management Software – Complex and volatile market conditions put pressure on the technology tools available to hedge fund managers, especially in the front and middle office. Remote work has heightened cybersecurity and risk management concerns. Additionally, a challenging fundraising environment and complex investor demands drive the need for technology partners to provide a secure and robust infrastructure. Technology vendors like SS&C are rising to the challenge.
“Investors are looking at operational risk and potential liabilities as much as investment risk. To successfully raise capital in today’s environment, hedge funds need to validate their vendor’s security and risk programmes,” says Justin Sycamore, Director of
Lockton: Best Insurance Service Provider – As the insurance market strives to achieve profitable underwriting, insurers are reducing line sizes and introducing coverage restrictions, alongside rate increases. As they navigate this tough environment to the best of their ability, providers must be prepared for better times, while managing risk on behalf of their clients.
The past 12 months have been witness to the largest market correction in over 20 years. “This would have been the case with or without Covid-19 but clearly the pandemic has been an amplifier,” explains Calvin Barnes (pictured) at Lockton.
As a result, it has become increasingly
Waystone: Best Offshore Regulatory & Compliance Firm and Best UCITS Platform – The DMS Group and MontLake, now jointly known as Waystone, are delighted to have been recognised with European Hedgeweek awards with DMS announced as the winner of the Best Regulatory & Compliance Firm category and MontLake taking the Best UCITS Platform award.
“2020 proved to be a pivotal year for the MontLake UCITS Platform,” commented Richard Day (pictured), Global Head of Product at Waystone, “the strength of the platform infrastructure, our focus on investor servicing and a high touch operating model assisted managers and investors with navigating through an incredibly
Sentieo: Best AI Technology Provider – There is still a lot of friction in the adoption of technologies which could accelerate the move to more efficient and successful research to drive investments. This is despite a growing appetite for cloud solutions and artificial intelligence on behalf of all types of institutional investors.
SEB: Best Prime Broker – Although client interaction has increased through the shift to virtual working, the importance of relationships in the hedge fund business means physical meetings remain critical.
“When things normalise I think we will see a mix of physical and digital interaction, especially now that everyone has learnt to use digital tools efficiently,” suggests Fredrik Beyer (pictured), Head of Sales and Origination, SEB Prime Finance, “The pandemic has completely changed the way we interact with clients. Setting up quick meetings with clients has become easier, thus increasing client interaction. However, we still believe this is a relationship business
One Ten Associates: Best Hedge Fund Recruitment Firm – The pandemic has changed the way fund managers recruit professionals. The industry has embraced the new, virtual way of working and post-lockdowns the majority of the process will continue to be performed through video conferencing, meeting only end-stage candidates face-to-face.
