Du Toit and Majedie take top prizes at FN awards

Smaller firms more than held their own against their larger rivals at the eleventh annual Financial News Awards for Excellence in Institutional Asset Management, Europe, at London's Royal Courts of Justice last night.

Hendrik du Toit, the chief executive of Investec Asset Management, took home the coveted Asset Management Chief Executive of the Year prize, while Majedie Asset Management scooped the night's other top gong, winning the European Asset Management Firm of the Year category.

Du Toit, whose firm has £61.5bn under management and who delivered the night's key-note address, saw off competition from peers including Abdallah Nauphal at Insight Investment, which manages £182bn on behalf of its clients, and Martin Gilbert at Aberdeen Asset Management, which looks after £184bn.

Competition was equally strong among the firms nominated for European Asset Management Firm of the Year, but Majedie triumphed on the night ahead of much larger rivals including Aberdeen, but also $1.8 trillion fixed-income giant Pimco.

Elsewhere and another of the industry's smaller names, Ruffer, which manages assets of over £12bn, pipped larger rival BlackRock in the category of Multi-Asset – Absolute Return Investment Management Firm of the Year.

A number of asset managers retained awards won at last year's event. iShares, BlackRock's exchange-traded funds provider, successfully defended its title of ETF Provider of the Year, while Cardano and Generation Investment Management also cheered back-to-back victories and Insight Investment won the Liability-Driven Investment Firm of the Year prize for the third year in a row.

There was a double win for investment consultant Mercer, which triumphed yet again in the category of Asset Managing Investment Consultant of the Year, while partner Debbie Clarke was named the Most Influential Woman in Asset Management.

Financial News compiled a long-list of 904 possible nominations through a combination of submissions from the asset management industry, recommendations from contacts and research.

The editorial team reduced potential nominations to 65 names across the 23 shortlists, with some managers appearing in several categories.

These shortlists were then put before 103 judges from across the asset management industry, who were each invited to give a mark out of five to the nominees. Judges were not allowed to mark a nominee with whom they had any connection.

The full list of winners is printed below.

• Fixed Income Asset Management Firm of the Year: Insight Investment

• Liability-Driven Investment Firm of the Year: Insight Investment

• Equity Asset Management Firm of the Year: MFS Investment Management

• SRI/Sustainable Investment Management Firm of the Year: Generational Investment Management

• Good Steward of the Year: Co-Operative Asset Management

• Emerging Markets Investment Management Firm of the Year: First State Investments

• Multi-Asset – Diversified Growth Investment Management Firm of the Year: AQR Capital

• Multi-Asset – Absolute Return Investment Management Firm of the Year: Ruffer

• ETF Provider of the Year: iShares

• Property Investment Management Firm of the Year: CBRE Global Investors

• Infrastructure Investment Management Firm the Year: First State Investments

• Fiduciary Management/Implemented Consulting Firm of the Year: Cardano

• Asset Managing Investment Consultant of the Year: Mercer

• Pure Consulting Investment Consultant of the Year: Hymans Robertson

• Specialist Investment Consultant of the Year: KPMG Investment Advisory

• Best Consultant Relations Professional: Karen Roberton, JP Morgan Asset Management

• Institutional Marketer of the Year: Andrew Benton, Baring Asset Management

• Boutique of the Year for Equity Investments: Veritas Asset Management

• Boutique of the Year for Non-Equity Investments: Troy Asset Management

• UK Asset Management Firm of the Year: Baillie Gifford

• European Asset Management Firm of the Year: Majedie Asset Management

• Most Influential Woman in Asset Management: Debbie Clarke, partner, Mercer

• Asset Management Chief Executive of the Year: Hendrik du Toit, Investec Asset Management