For awards for Sections B, C and D, the performance and data is for the period to November 30, 2022.
- ASEAN Asset Consultant of the Year. This award will recognise the role and contribution of an asset consultant to the funds and pensions industry in ASEAN; the incumbent has to demonstrate a solid track record in pensions advisory and a high level of strategic input for its clients as well as a commitment to the region. Client references will be an added advantage.
- Best Application of ESG. COVID-19 has significantly heightened awareness of ESG issues and its long-term implications going forward. Please explain how your firm’s ESG policies and strategies have been adopted and integrated into your portfolios (whether firm wide or by specific asset classes) and the research methodology used. Please provide supporting data on assets and third party endorsements, if any.
- Best ESG Manager in ASEAN. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of ESG and the associated long-term risks that have come front and centre during the crisis. Please explain how your institution has negotiated this once-in-a century pandemic and how your ESG strategies and mandates have coped during the period. Please indicate size of ESG coverage, footprint and assets under management.
- Best Impacting Investing Manager. Impact Investing is still a relatively new theme in ASEAN and assets under management are still relatively low. At its core, impact investing combines financial returns and societal returns for a specific mandate or cause. Please explain how your firm is making a difference in deploying this strategy in either public markets or private markets, the research and investment process, and assets under management.
- Best ESG Strategy – Pension Fund. Now more than ever, the momentum is growing in Asia for asset owners and pension funds to apply ESG strategies across their spectrum of investments. Please explain how your pension fund has incorporated ESG best practices into your portfolios and to ensure the long-term sustainability of these investments.
- Best Pension Fund for Member Communications. It is incumbent upon members of pension funds to equip themselves with sufficient knowledge to make informed choices about their savings and investments in both the accumulation phase before retirement and in the decumulation phase post retirement. Please explain steps that your pension fund has undertaken to improve the engagement process, new initiatives, raising investor education programmes, and the tools and technologies that have been used to convey the key messages.
- ETF Index Provider of the Year in ASEAN. The winning applicant will have been at the forefront of developing accurate, objective and superior indices in the region. They will demonstrate how they have developed sophisticated index concepts in response to continuous growth of the ETF market and expanded their index offering on a regional level and across all asset classes.
- ESG Index Provider of the Year in ASEAN. Allocations to ESG strategies are growing across the region including from a host of asset owners and pension funds. Please explain how your institution is meeting client demands by structuring innovative indexes based on your proprietary research methodology; please provide supporting data on take-up and size of client assets that track these indices.
- Fintech Innovation in Asset Management. This new award recognises a firm’s product or service offering that has made a significant difference for your clients. Please explain how your firm is deploying or has deployed cutting edge technology or technologies to offer better outcomes for your clients at the retail, wholesale or institutional level. Please explain your online presence and use of apps, if any.
- Index Provider of the Year in ASEAN. This recognition will be awarded to the index provider that has done the most to improve investor outcomes through index introductions, research, adviser support and more. Also provide information on innovatory practices and investments in new technology or support infrastructure used to support the provision of indexes the firm provides and give details of the company’s online presence; provide evidence of having benefitted from smoother operations and/or new value added services; and list significant contributions to the investment management industry.
- Best Application of Artificial Intelligence (new). AI strategies are gaining traction as firms incorporate these technologies into their investment process in managing portfolios. Please explain your process, its impact and market acceptance for your retail or institutional clients in the region.
- Best Climate Change Strategy (new). As fiduciaries of capital, asset managers play a critical role in the ongoing energy transition as part of the journey to achieve a Net Zero emission world. Please explain how your institution is responding to this challenge and steps implemented to date in managing client portfolios.
- Best Digital Assets Manager (new). The crypto winter that has set in on the industry has left lingering scars this year; a number of regulators meanwhile have scrambled to address the fallout. Please explain your firm’s strategy in managing these assets including tokenized assets, your specific focus and achievements and new initiatives in the past 12 months.
- Best Institution for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (new). Much work remains to be done in the DEI sphere in Asia-Pacific and among one metric, the representation of women in senior management remains relatively low. Please explain how your institution is positioned within DEI, achievements to date.
- Best Local Custodian in ASEAN (new). This newly-created award recognises contributions by local banks in ASEAN which offer custody and related services in their home market. Please explain how your institution has fared in the market in the past 12 months in terms of assets growth, significant mandates won, new product/services introduced, market advocacy, etc. in light of the issues affecting the market not the least of which is the ongoing pandemic. How are you responding to client demands in competition with other foreign or local custodians in your market? How are you meeting the heightened requirements of risk and compliance? How are you addressing developments shaping digital assets and currencies? Please provide supporting data in your submission.
