Best of the Best
Country/Region Awards: China
Showcase your Leadership in China
The Best of the Best Country/Region Awards recognise exceptional organisations that have demonstrated outstanding performance and leadership within China. Showcase your firm’s regional expertise and be celebrated as a leader in China.
ETF categories (e.g. ETF Manager of the Year, Best New ETF, ETF Index Provider of the Year) are now part of our dedicated AAM ETF Awards 2026, revived after nearly a decade! Submissions open December 15th 2025.
Categories
Submit entries for one or more of the following categories:
Best Asset Management Company
Recognises the overall excellence of a Chinese asset management firm.
Submission Guidelines
- Demonstrate a significant market share based on net assets raised from both retail and institutional investors.
- Detail your firm’s management stability, new initiatives, if any, over the past year.
- Provide supporting data on your firm’s growth of assets over the past two years for the period to 30 November 2025.
CEO of the Year
Honours the outstanding CEO of an asset management firm in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Explain how your firm has navigated the challenging market conditions of the past year. Demonstrate your leadership in guiding the firm through these challenges, and discuss your firm’s performance, assets under management, and any new initiatives, if any, implemented.
CIO of the Year
Honours the outstanding chief investment officer in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Demonstrate your outstanding achievements as a chief investment officer at the country level for a pension fund or fund management company.
- Explain how you have successfully navigated market conditions, mitigated risks, and positioned your portfolios for future market cycles.
- Provide supporting data on the portfolios you manage, the size of your investment team, your investment performance, and new initiatives implemented, if any.
Pensions Leader of the Year - NEW
Recognises the individual demonstrating the most outstanding leadership and impact within China’s pensions industry.
Submission Guidelines
- Outline your significant achievements and contributions to the pensions market within China over the past 1-3 years.
- Highlight your strategic vision and successful implementation of key initiatives for your firm within the pensions sector.
- Describe your leadership approach, including team management and engagement with clients or stakeholders.
- Detail any innovative solutions, new initiatives, or significant contributions you have made to advance the country’s pensions landscape.
- Provide evidence of your influence and positive impact on the industry (e.g. policy contributions, thought leadership, successful business growth).
Best Bond Manager
Recognises the top-performing bond manager in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Describe your firm’s investment and research process, including how you have navigated challenges and country-specific issues over the past year.
- Provide performance data for the past year and indicate the size of your bond assets.
- Support your submission with relevant data up to November 30, 2025.
Best Domestic Private Fund Manager
Celebrates outstanding performance in domestic private funds.
Submission Guidelines
- Given the increasing popularity of private fund managers in various strategies, explain your firm’s specific approach, product focus, performance, and assets under management over the past three years.
- Highlight your firm’s ability to raise funds from institutional and high-net-worth investors.
Best Equity Manager
Honours the most successful equity manager in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Given the ongoing global macro challenges, such as rising interest rates and inflation, explain how your domestic equity strategies have performed over the past year.
- Highlight your successes and achievements up to November 30, 2025.
- Provide the size of your equity assets under management for the last two years.
Best Investor Education
Honours the organisation demonstrating the most effective and impactful investor education initiatives in China.
Submission Guidelines
Please provide details on your investor education program, including:
- An overview of the program’s objectives and target audience(s) within China.
- Key activities, content, and tools used (e.g. seminars, articles, videos, online platforms, gamification).
- Metrics demonstrating the reach and impact of your initiatives (e.g. number of participants, website traffic, survey results on improved financial literacy).
- Any innovative or unique aspects of your program.
- Evidence of long-term commitment to investor education in China.
Best MRF Scheme Manager (1 Year) - NEW
Honours the manager demonstrating the strongest performance and success within the Mainland-Hong Kong Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) scheme over the past year. Eligibility requires the submitted fund(s) to have at least a 3-year track record within the MRF scheme.
Submission Guidelines
- Specify the eligible MRF fund(s) submitted (Northbound or Southbound), confirming each has at least a 3-year track record within the scheme.
- Provide one-year performance data (net of fees) ending September 30, 2025, including relevant benchmark performance.
- Detail the total number of funds your firm distributes via MRF and the total AUM gathered specifically via the MRF scheme across all those funds.
- Outline key performance drivers and distribution successes for the submitted fund(s) within the cross-border market over the past year.
Best MRF Scheme Manager (10 Years) - NEW
Honours the manager demonstrating the strongest, consistent long-term performance and success within the Mainland-Hong Kong Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) scheme over the past decade, celebrating the scheme’s 10th anniversary.
Submission Guidelines
- Specify the eligible MRF fund(s) submitted (Northbound or Southbound).
- Provide ten-year performance data (net of fees) ending September 30, 2025, including relevant benchmark performance.
- Detail the total number of funds your firm distributes via MRF and the total AUM gathered specifically via the MRF scheme across all those funds.
- Outline the long-term investment strategy, key performance drivers, and the firm’s strategic commitment to the MRF scheme over the past decade.
Best Pension Product
Celebrates the most innovative and effective pension product.
Submission Guidelines
- Explain how your pension product caters to individuals of different ages and needs.
- Discuss the product’s features, benefits, cost structure, transparency, track record, and market impact.
Best Pensions Manager - NEW
Honours the manager demonstrating overall excellence in managing pension assets in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Detail the types of pension schemes managed (e.g. Enterprise Annuity, Occupational Annuity, Private Pension Pillar 3 products).
- Provide total pension Assets Under Management (AUM) in China.
- Showcase investment performance (e.g. 1-year, 3-year, 5-year) for representative pension portfolios or products, including relevant benchmarks.
- Describe your approach to risk management specifically tailored for pension clients.
- Highlight any innovations or specific services offered to pension clients in China.
Best Provider for Private Pensions
Awards the leading provider of private pension services.
Submission Guidelines
- Given the early stage of China’s third pillar of private pensions, please explain your firm’s current market coverage, footprint, and strategic approach.
- Highlight the size of your assets under management and discuss your firm’s focus on target date funds or other relevant products.
Best ESG Manager
Honours the top ESG-focused asset manager.
Submission Guidelines
- Explain your firm’s approach to ESG investing.
- Detail your firm’s ESG setup at the country level where you are applying and provide specific examples of your ESG investment strategies.
- Indicate the size of your local ESG team, resources, products, and assets under management.
Best China Index Provider
Honours the leading index provider in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Explain how your firm has successfully met the demand for innovative indices across various asset classes in the Chinese mainland market. Highlight any new initiatives or product launches.
- Provide supporting data to demonstrate the growth of assets tracking your indices over the past two years.
Best ESG China Index Provider
Recognises the top ESG index provider in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Given the growing demand for ESG strategies in China, explain how your firm is meeting client needs by developing innovative ESG indices based on your proprietary research methodology.
- Provide supporting data on the adoption of your indices and the size of client assets tracking them.
Best Climate Change Strategy
Honours the most effective climate change strategy implemented by a Chinese firm.
Submission Guidelines
- This award will recognise an institution (stock exchange, bank, asset manager, insurer, sovereign wealth fund, corporate) for its efforts in decarbonisation and contributing to the energy transition towards a net-zero emissions world.
- Explain your institution’s response to this challenge at the country level, including steps implemented to date and future plans.
Fund Launch of the Year
Recognises the most successful new fund launch in China.
Submission Guidelines
- Explain how your firm successfully launched a new fund and its impact over the past year up to November 30, 2025.
- Highlight any innovative strategies employed during the launch period and provide supporting data on the amount of monies raised.
Most Innovative Product
Recognises the most innovative fund or product by a Chinese-based firm.
Submission Guidelines
- Your firm has been able to design and successfully launch a new and innovative fund or product for your clients in the past year and to anticipate market demand early on in the investment cycle at either the country or regional level.
- Provide supporting data, including the amount of monies raised.
Best Application of ESG - NEW
Recognises the most effective application of ESG principles by a China-based firm.
Submission Guidelines
- Given the three core components of ESG (environment, social, and governance), explain how your firm integrates these factors into your research and investment processes at the country level where you are applying.
- Detail how your firm’s ESG policies and strategies are implemented across portfolios (firm-wide or by asset class) and the research methodology and scoring system used.
- Provide supporting data on assets and any relevant third-party endorsements.
Best Application of AI for Pensions - NEW
Recognises the most impactful and innovative application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Chinese pensions sector.
Submission Guidelines
- Describe the specific AI application (e.g. tool, platform, algorithm) and the pension-related challenge or opportunity it addresses (e.g. investment strategy, risk management, member communication, administration).
- Explain the core AI technology utilised (e.g. machine learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics) and how it is applied specifically to pensions.
- Provide evidence of the application’s impact within the Chinese pension system (e.g., improved investment returns, enhanced member engagement, operational efficiencies, better risk controls).
- Highlight what makes this AI application unique or pioneering within China’s pension landscape.
- Specify the timeframe of the AI application’s development and implementation/launch.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Period
30 November 2024 – 30 November 2025
Eligible Funds
Must be available to Asian investors.
Minimum Track Record
1+ years (refer to individual award details for specific eligibility criteria).
Judging Criteria
Please see individual award details for specific judging criteria.
Submission Requirements
Deadline
December 17th, 2025 at close of business 6pm HKT. Late submissions will not be considered.
Payment
Ensure payment accompanies the submission.
How to Submit
1. Gather required documentation.
2. Complete the online form.
3. Submit application before the deadline.
Country/Region Awards: China
Contact Us
Check out our FAQs which answers the most common questions. If you have any further questions or have any issues with submitting your application, reach out to us at awards@asiaasset.com.