How to win our service provider awards, part II

The process for prime brokers and trading & execution is different, as it involves first surveying buy-side clients. Our trading & execution survey is already under way, and the prime broking survey will follow in the next few weeks.

To win an AsianInvestor award for index provision or auditing & legal services involves three steps:

1. Indication of interest (IoI). Tell us which of nine categories (see below) your organisation would like to compete in. We will consider an additional category if we are missing something, but please note, our aim is to give awards that are comprehensive, authoritative and valued; it’s not ‘prizes for all’! IoIs must be received by noon this coming Friday, September 10. Feel free to contact Joe Marsh to ensure your IoIs have been received.

2. Written pitch. Firms will be asked to submit a written pitch if they have submitted an indication of interest. This material should be considered public. It lays out the case for why your organisation deserves the award. All submissions must be in Word document format.

No supplemental material will be accepted except for client testimonials from the buy side in Asia-Pacific. These will be treated with strict confidence and will be considered as off the record, but we do need to know the name of the client. We will also accept referrals instead of something in writing.

Submissions (not including testimonials) are limited to 1,000 words. If it exceeds 1,000 words, we will delete anything following the thousandth word. You should not feel the need to fill it out to the maximum word count; clarity of argument is more important than length.

However, you do need to submit a separate pitch for each award you bid for.

We welcome information regarding growth in your business in terms of clientele, client segments, and addressable assets; product innovation; infrastructure improvements; credit ratings; market leadership; investment into your business. We will consider activities from Q4 2009 to the present.

Mere size isn’t enough: we want to know what you have done for your clients and for the market in 2010 that makes this your standout year.

Pitches must be submitted to Joe Marsh by noon, Friday September 24. We will not be accepting late entries. Feel free to contact him to ensure we have received your submission.

3. Interviews. These will take place over the course of the following three weeks and must all be completed by Thursday October 14 (and the earlier the better).

These can be set up in advance but we must receive your written pitch on time for the interview to go ahead. Interviews are off the record and are meant to put your formal pitch in context.

The winners will be announced online later in October and the awards will be presented at a black-tie dinner at the JW Marriott hotel in Hong Kong on Wednesday, November 24.

Awards categories. All awards cover Asia-Pacific markets unless otherwise noted.

Index providers

Best provider of benchmark indices

Best provider of tradable indices

Best local provider of indices

Auditing & legal

Best auditor, funds advice

Best auditor, tax services for funds

Best onshore law firm for asset management, Asia ex-Japan

Best onshore law firm for asset management, Japan

Best law firm for alternative assets

Best offshore law firm

Note: AsianInvestor does not cover corporate finance-related business, because our mission is to inform asset owners and investment managers. Therefore we do not have awards for depository receipts, corporate trust or broker clearing. We do not cover Australia/New Zealand except in a regional context.

Thank you for your participation – and good luck!