Now in to its third year, the investment awards span Cautious, Balanced, Aggressive and Absolute Return portfolios.
The winners are determined by an independent panel of judges, which themselves have experience in outsourcing to and working with wealth managers.
We spoke with a number of past winners to find out exactly what winning has meant to them. In such a competitive marketplace, it has become clear that this kind of recognition is a fillip for winning new business. This is clear whatever the size of your business, which is why we included categories for both large firms and smaller boutiques.
"Recognition and credibility"
“As a small discretionary manager, winning such prestigious industry awards has significantly increased our recognition and credibility with both existing and new adviser firms who are looking introduce business to us,” said Chris Mayo, investment director at Wellian Investment Solutions.
Wellian walked away with awards in both the Cautious (Platinum) and Aggressive (Gold) portfolio categories at our last awards.
Mayo added: “Entering for awards of this quality provides independent evidence that we are meeting that goal and that we are able to deliver consistent performance.”
"Independent stamp of approval"
Whitechurch Securities won Gold gongs in both the Aggressive and the Absolute Return categories in 2014. Managing director Gavin Haynes said: “With it being more difficult for advisers to obtain comparable performance data on wealth managers as it is on funds, I believe that these awards provide a good independent stamp of approval for who is performing well for clients.
“We will enter again in 2015 in what is becoming a larger and more competitive areas of the financial sector.”
This year we are also introducing our inaugural Media Marketing Award. An evolution of the Innovation Award from previous years, this is judged on wealth managers’ ability to raise brand awareness, build their client base and maintain ongoing relationships with investors through new media.
Submissions can include initiatives in website design, blogging and infographics, apps, and social media (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, YouTube, Flipboard).
Raised brand awareness
Bordier UK (previously Berry Asset Management) was a big winner in the Innovation Award category in previous years, and the firm says it has been working hard to remain aligned with its clients’ ever-changing requirements.
It told us: “We won the inaugural Portfolio Adviser Award for Innovation in recognition of the development of our managed portfolio service, and we won the Award again this year for the development of Performance Tracker, which enables clients and their professional advisers to view and compare their portfolio performance, securely online over various periods, against the relevant ARC PCI benchmark, and to create their own performance reports.
“Asset allocators are spoilt for choice when it comes to identifying an investment partner, and an industry award from a respected publishing house or industry body makes the due diligence process and their ultimate decision that much easier.”
More details about the Awards, and the entry form, can be found at pawmawards.com. Make sure you enter before the 30 September deadline. Good luck!
