The Hedgeweek Global Awards 2017 for excellence among hedge fund managers and service providers celebrate the achievements of firms that contributed to another significant year for the sector.

Another year, another fantastic awards event. The Reform Club Library, venue of the 2017 Hedgeweek Global Awards, was full of optimism and a palpable sense of excitement at what the year could bring. Of course, there are significant forces of change that hedge funds need to navigate, not least of which is MiFID II, which comes into play next January. But as global monetary policy shows signs of divergence, and markets return to fundamentals, the environment for seeking out alpha is improving.

London-based Quadra Capital Partners LLP was established in 2013 and became authorised by the FCA in 2014. An independent investment advisory firm, Quadra launched with a conviction that it could add real value in the liquid alternatives space, in particular to European institutional & family offices clients who prefer UCITS funds.

Sadis & Goldberg LLP is one of New York's leading financial services focused law firms. Known both domestically and internationally as a dominant force in the financial services sector, Sadis & Goldberg serves clients throughout the world and was recently ranked as one of the top five law firms for hedge fund launches in the 2016 Preqin Global Hedge Fund Report. 

FIS is a global financial services technology company, with a focus on technology, consulting and outsourcing solutions. FIS serves more than 20,000 clients in over 130 countries and employs more than 55,000 people worldwide. It is a Fortune 500 company and is a member of Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Its cloud-based Hedge360 platform provides a full suite of technology capabilities to support managed accounts, from fund administrators through to platform providers and hedge fund managers. 

With over 1,500 employees in international locations, over 250 employees and 40 partners dedicated to the financial services practice, EisnerAmper LLP has the breadth to handle global engagements and provide comprehensive guidance and support to its roster of hedge fund clients. 

Nedelma Inc is a software product solutions company. Its flagship product, The Portfolio Amalfi platform, offers multi-asset, multi-language, multi-currency dynamic reporting and data visualisation, as well as analytical capabilities to the asset management industry. Users can analyse and view data from multiple perspectives using a combination of attributes, formulas and values, with extensive options for dynamic customisation. 

Pillar Capital Management (‘Pillar') was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Bermuda. The firm manages open-ended Bermuda incorporated funds invested in the global property catastrophe risk market. 

Blue Diamond Asset Management is an independent privately owned company based in Pfaffikon, Switzerland. The team of four investment professionals and one COO has a singular focus on trading equity volatility.

Iron Cove Partners (ICP) is a leading full-service national insurance brokerage firm serving the financial services industry. Headquartered in Garden City, Long Island, ICP is a trusted advisor with decades of experience and over 150 Hedge Funds as clients. ICP provides cutting edge brokerage and consulting services to some of the globes largest financial institutions.

Tages Capital was founded in 2011 and has offices in London, Rome and Milan. Key executives at the firm include: Panfilo Tarantelli, Founding Partner; Jamie Kermisch, Partner and CEO; Salvatore Cordaro, Founding Partner and CIO; Sergio Ascolani, Founding Partner, and Umberto Quadrino, Partner and Chairman.

UCITS products are enjoying significant growth in Ireland as many fund managers look to establish these products to compliment their existing fund offering confirms Linda Gorman (pictured), CEO of Quintillion Limited, a European-based affiliate of US Bancorp Fund Services. 

ML Capital, one of Ireland's leading management company groups, has grown to exceed USD3.2 billion of AUM over the last 12 months. Its growth trajectory has enabled ML Capital to evolve from being just a leading UCITS platform operator to become a fund solutions provider, servicing both managers and investors alike. 

La Française Investment Solutions (LFIS) was founded in 2013 and has a clear value proposition for the marketplace: to recreate, operationally speaking, an investment bank in an asset management company. 

Sydney-based Invast Global is a subsidiary of Japanese listed Invast Securities Co Ltd. Employing a prime-of-prime model, Invast leads the industry in the provision of multi-asset high-quality, non-bank Prime Services. It provides credit intermediation, access to liquidity (both OTC and exchange) and comprehensive trading platforms/API connectivity options.

HedgeMark, a BNY Mellon Company, is regarded as a pure play dedicated managed account provider, in that HedgeMark assists clients in setting up and operating their own private managed account platforms. 

Hathersage Capital Management LLC is a discretionary global macro investment manager founded in 1991. The firm is a foreign exchange specialist, expressing its global macro views strictly in G10 currencies, using interbank spot, forwards and vanilla options. 

DMS Governance Ltd (DMS) is the worldwide leader in fund governance with more than 225 professionals representing leading investment funds with assets under management exceeding USD330 billion. 

Cowen Prime Services LLC continues to attract established institutional-quality hedge fund managers as well as start-ups and emerging managers. This is thanks to its ability to provide managers with the financial stability of a large bank as the counterparty in tandem with a service offering that provides tailored solutions. 

ACA Aponix, a division of ACA Compliance Group, provides financial services firms with a 360-degree, independent approach to technology risk and governance. The ACA Aponix team conducts comprehensive risk assessments to help fund managers identify potential gaps and vulnerabilities in their information security framework in order to mitigate associated risks to their business. 

Established in 2013, New York-based Wavelength Capital Management is an independent investment management firm specialising in liquid, transparent, and cost-effective investment solutions designed to preserve assets and produce returns in any economic environment. 

Twelve-years old CitySavvy specialises in creating communications programmes for asset management sector firms and financial institutions. "Our core expertise is international media relations programmes and profile raising for clients via thought leadership, engagement with business and media outlets, conference participation and so on," comments Henrietta Hirst, Managing Director of CitySavvy. 

Harneys operates through 14 international locations and its global funds practice advises on all aspects of offshore investment funds, establishment, maintenance and restructuring both in distressed and planned scenarios. 

London-based One Ten Associates is a specialist recruitment firm set up by Founding Partner, Mush Ali (pictured), in 2011 to service the non-investment hiring needs of the hedge fund and private equity sector. Mush is a qualified accountant who previously worked at KPMG and General Electric before switching to recruitment in 2004.

Supporting more than 400 investment management firms and thousands of global users, it's easy to recognise the impact the Eze Private Cloud platform has made in recent years – perhaps best solidified with recognition as Hedgeweek's Best Global Cloud Service Provider in 2017. 

SS&C GlobeOp, a division of SS&C Technologies, one of the world's largest fund administrators, has a clear strategic vision of what it takes to be a successful player in the fund administration space. 

With all the regulatory developments in recent times, and the ominous spectre of MiFID II looming large, it is fair to say that these are busy and exciting times for regulatory advisory firms. Duff & Phelps is no exception, with Julian Korek, Global Head of Compliance and Regulatory Consultancy, confirming that Duff & Phelps' global clients are interested in four issues, at present.

Axioma was founded by Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Ceria in 1998 and is a leading provider of innovative risk and portfolio management solutions, supporting the industry's largest, most sophisticated hedge fund managers and asset management groups. The company's product offering enables clients to consistently and effectively analyse risk in order to improve investment strategy, risk reporting and operational efficiency across an entire organisation.