About the Hedge Fund Awards

The annual Hedge Fund Awards, conducted by Acquisition International, remain one of the most prestigious awards programs covering the Hedge Fund and Alternative Investment industries.

Having previously partnered with companies such as Prequin and BarclayHedge, the Hedge Fund Awards are constructed to celebrate the best firms, managers, and funds that manage to maintain high-levels of return and professionalism in what has proven to be turbulent times for the industry. Given solely on merit, the 2018 Hedge Fund Awards are the ultimate platform to help you gain edge ahead of competition and find new clients among our extensive 108,000-person readership.

As per previous years, winners will be selected based on a rigorous methodology including quantitative and qualitative analysis as well as innovation, performance and quality. Our judging panel is focusing on the risk and return characteristics of all nominees. The number of votes received does not solely determine the decision-making process.

CONTACT US

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OUR APPROACH

STEP 1: GATHERING NOMINEES

Nominees are gained via our online nomination form from magazine subscribers, online visitors, social media following, clients and our wider circulation.

Those putting forward nominees are welcome to nominate their own firm or colleagues within their firm as well as third party businesses.

Acquisition International is part of the publishing house AI Global Media, the publishers also put forward nominees for consideration.

STEP 2: EVALUATING THE NOMINEES

All those who formally accept their nomination will be asked if they would like to submit material for further consideration as supporting evidence.

We consider materials supplied by nominees, information on those nominated businesses available online and any information supplied with the original nomination.

STEP 3: RESEARCH AND JUDGING

Our research team who are highlighted below will assess all information presented when it comes to determining winners.

The team gather information independently from a number of publicly available sources, they will assess the material supplied by the nominees and by those who put them forward originally.

They will cast their final judgment based on various criteria including client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, client feedback and business performance.

STEP 4: CONTACTING AND ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS

Once winners have been determined each winner will be contacted directly.

Details of those winners will be embargoed until Acquisition International formally announce the winners publicly via the website and award winners' magazine.

STEP 5: PROMOTE YOUR WIN

We encourage all of our winners to publicly announce their win independently.

Announcements via company websites, social media channels, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are a great way of really maximising the exposure gained from such an amazing achievement.

Our awards panel

Martyn Walters

After joining the business in 2015, Martyn has been involved with numerous award programmes on Acquisition International and has thus developed a keen interest in corporate finance matters. Gaining an understanding of the trends affecting how businesses perform has been hugely important in his role as lead researcher on AI.

Martyn is honoured to be the figurehead for AI award programmes, after witnessing the brand develop over the last four years.

Laura Hunter

Laura is our awards manager overseeing a number of our key Acquisition International awards programmes

Jeremy Roe

Jeremy is head of the research team, a diligent individual committed to Acquisition International’s customers and award winners

Kathryn Hall

As one of AI Global Media’s Directors, Kathryn is passionate about delivering maximum value for each award winner.

FAQs

How long has Acquisition International been in circulation for?

Acquisition International has been running for nine years and in that time the publication has grown substantially, now having a circulation of 108,000 readers in over 170 countries. AI is a monthly magazine that seeks to inform, entertain, influence, and shape the global corporate conversation. We aim to achieve this through a combination of high quality editorial, rigorous research and an experienced worldwide network of dedicated advisors, experts and contributors. Acquisition International is one of the many publications by AI Global Media, a UK based publisher which has over 200 issues to its name since 2010.

Where did the nomination come from?

In the interest of maintaining high response rates, we do not ask nominees to reveal their personal identity. As per the methodology, we frequently nominate candidates ourselves and, when it comes to the process of voting, if you didn’t cast a vote by self-submission it is likely to have been cast via a colleague or client who has received one of our direct invitations. One of the main mantras of our awards system is that your ability to succeed is not linked to the number of votes received. This means that your award will be received purely on merit. However, we do track unusual behaviour on our website to identify repeat votes and cyber-threats.

What happens if I agree to shortlist?

In the interest of focusing our efforts on relevant candidates, we ask all nominees to accept their position on the shortlist. This also gives people complete control in their decision on whether they would like to move forward with the award. Nominees who accept will be subject to our rigorous internal vetting procedure. They have an opportunity to present their own data which gets considered alongside the information collated by our research team. It can take up to 8 weeks for research to be completed.

Who makes the final decision?

We employ an entirely impartial panel of 5 individuals to conduct all of the research to our high standards. At the helm, the panel is led by a veteran academic leader with international academic and training experience and is well versed in research, fact-checking and mediation. We believe this method is the most efficient in determining which individuals and companies are most deserving in winning an award and has brought us much success and commendation throughout its use.

Is there a winner’s ceremony/award dinner and if so, when does it take place?

We do not focus our efforts on a celebratory event, despite being an enjoyable occasion, it doesn’t support our group’s philosophy of cost-effective marketing. As well as the lack of cost efficiency, AI is a company who runs awards worldwide and we believe it would be logistically difficult for some of our winners to attend an awards ceremony. We follow the belief that any of the optional costs involved with the award would be more beneficial in a year’s worth of online marketing for a winner, rather than spending it all on a ceremonial evening. All of our press announcements are made digitally, online and across our network to enforce our position as digital publishers. We aim to arm you with the tools (both digital and physical) to generate real-world value.

What happens if I am deemed successful?

There is a short press embargo in place where we ask you not to make the news public. During this period the programme manager will liaise with you to agree on the most appropriate coverage. Our main coverage takes the form of a digital celebratory magazine, but we also offer physical trophies, wall mounted and digital certificates, web-based advertisements and generic press releases which are bespoke to you or your company.

Are there any costs involved?

As previously mentioned there are no compulsory costs in accepting a nomination or winning an Acquisition International award. We do offer a variety of paid additional benefits for our winners, but these are completely optional. To demonstrate our commitment to no mandatory fees, all our winners are offered a free of charge promotional package. Our company policy will always remain: regardless of budget, our clients should always be able to garner the full value of the award and our seal of approval. We offer a variety of promotional opportunities to our winners. as we have an extensive network and we know, more than anyone, the wider business benefits from promoting industry awards.

"ELF Productivity Ltd is extremely proud to appear in Acquisition International Magazine’s Top 50 in Technology. We would like to place on record how delighted we are with the article and what a pleasurable experience it was collaborating with Acquisition International."

Chris Ainscough - ELF Productivity Ltd.

"Acquisition International were a joy to work with. They gave clear guidelines and responded quickly."

Joanna Potbury - DMH Stallard

"We are delighted to receive this prestigious accolade in recognition of the ground-breaking 22 years we have taught in this sector. Acquisition International’s Awards acknowledge all elements of education and reward individuals and organisations who have demonstrated their contribution and creativity in this field. It has been a pleasure to work with the team at AI and we look forward to a continued and successful association as we pursue our goal to offer further original, enjoyable and specialist adult educational programmes."

Mary Bromley - The Course