Cardano, LGT, BlackRock Named as Finalists for aiCIO European Innovation Awards

(February 5, 2014)—Traditional long-only, hedge funds, custodians, consultants, and asset servicers—a wide range of players have been singled out as helping institutional investors find innovative solutions to their problems in this year’s aiCIO European Innovation Awards.

Over the past two months, European investors nominated partners they felt had honestly offered them something new that would fit their investment needs over the long term.

Despite returns and costs being a concern, the ability to create and implement new ideas that worked for the individual investor was the driving force behind the nominations below.

Winners in these categories will be announced tomorrow—February 6—with awards being distributed on May 15 at the aiCIO European Innovation Awards dinner at London’s Savoy.

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The winners of the asset owner categories, the shortlists of which are also announced today, will be announced at the dinner on May 15.

For a list of last year’s winners in the asset managers and servicing categories, click here. For a gallery of last year’s event, click here.

A list of all the categories with full details behind the nominations can be found on the bottom part of this page.

Core: Fixed-Income

· Babson Capital

· Hermes

· Payden & Rygel

· Twenty Four Asset Management

Core: Equities

· Barings

· Impax Asset Management

· Nordea

· Principal Global Investors

Core: Emerging Markets

· Ashmore

· HSBC

· Investec Asset Management

· Lazard

Strategy & Tactics: Multi-Asset & Smart Beta

· Amundi

· BlackRock

· Momentum Global Investment Management

· Intech

Strategy & Tactics: Liability-Driven Investing

· Axa Investment Management

· F&C Investments

· Insight Investment

· Schroders

Strategy & Tactics: Swaps/Buy-in

· Deutsche Bank

· Partnership

· Pension Insurance Corporation

· Rothesay Life

Strategy & Tactics: Fiduciary Management

· Cardano

· MN Services

· P-Solve

· Russell Investments

Strategy & Tactics: Investment Consulting

· AonHewitt

· LCP

· Cambridge Associates

· Redington

Strategy & Tactics: Manager Selection

· Albourne Partners

· bfinance

· Russell Investments

· Towers Watson

Alternatives: Overall

· AQR

· Cairn Capital

· LGT

· Pantheon

Alternatives: Real Estate & Infrastructure

· Henderson Global Investors

· La Salle

· Allianz Global Investors

· MetLife Investment Management

Alternatives: SRI/ESG

· First State

· Hermes

· Generation Investment Management

· Bridges Ventures

Servicing: Transition Management

· BlackRock

· Citi

· Russell Investments

· State Street

Servicing: Securities Lending

· eSecLending

· Northern Trust

Servicing: Custody/Asset

· BNP Paribas

· JP Morgan

· Northern Trust

· State Street

(February 5, 2014) — Investors from the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland have been recognised by aiCIO readers as topping the bill when it comes to innovation.

From corporate pension funds running a couple of billion euros to national industry-wide schemes with multiples of that amount, the shortlist this year draws from a wide pool across the continent.

Over the last two months, industry participants have submitted nominations and these have been whittled down to leave four finalists in each category. The winners of these asset owner categories will be announced at a celebratory dinner on May 15 at London’s Savoy, when aiCIO will host some of Europe’s leading figures in institutional investment.

Institutional investors will be recognised for innovation excellence across a range of 15 categories, including asset allocation, portfolio construction, and risk management. A new award for 2013 will highlight the huge strides that are being made in improving governance structures to empower investments teams and reassure trustee boards the most effective decisions are being made.

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The aiCIO awards do not seek out the investors who have made the greatest one, three or even five-year returns; rather they acknowledge those who believe there may be a more efficient way of investing members’ assets and managing portfolio risk.

Some of last year’s winners—and runners up—have appeared again, but we also welcome newcomers.

For a rundown of last year’s winners, click here. For a photo gallery of the event, click here.

Nominees are as follows, but for a list including reasons for the nominations click here.

Asset Allocation

· BT Pension Scheme

· Friends Life

· IndustriensPension

· PensionDanmark

Portfolio Construction

· Chilterns LGPS (Berks, Bucks, Oxfordshire)

· Royal Mail Pension

· SPK

· Zurich

Risk Management

· HBOS Final Salary Pension Scheme

· PKA

· Pension Protection Fund

· Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL)

Governance

· AP4

· Danish pensions (ATP, Industriens Pension, PensionDanmark, PFA Pension, PKA, and Sampension)

· PGGM

· Tesco Pension

Corporate/Industry Pension Scheme Below €5 Billion

· ABF

· PP Pension

· Lombard Odier

· United Utilities

Corporate/Industry Pension Scheme Above €5 Billion

· Huisartsen Pensioenfunds

· Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company

· Philips Pensioenfonds

· Santander Pension Fund

Public Pension Scheme Below €15 Billion

· Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (German medical workers’ pension)

· Lancashire County Council Pension Fund

· Merseyside Pension Fund

· West Yorkshire Pension Fund

Public Pension Scheme Above €15 Billion

· APG

· ATP

· Pension Protection Fund

· Universities Superannuation Scheme

Chief Investment Officer/Investment Head of the Year

· Paul Bishop, Head of Investment, Railpen

· Stefan Dunatov, CIO, Coal Pension

· Patrick Groenendijk, CIO, Pensioenfonds Vervoer

· Theodore Economou, CIO & CEO, CERN Pension

· Penny Green, CEO, SAUL

· Henrik Gade Jepsen, CIO, ATP

· Tom Joy, CIO, Church Commissioners Fund