FUND MANAGER ISSUE 54 MARCH 2014 www.menafm.com FAMILY CONNECTIONS Chrystal Capital on how family office investment was vital to Action Hotels IPO FRONTIER FUTURE Morocco s downgrade to frontier status could be a turning point for the market FUND SERVICES AWARDS Mena FM recognises the leading service providers in the region WEIGHING UP THE AIFMD Does the AIFMD represent an opportunity or a threat for Mena-based alternative managers?
AWARD WINNERS MENA FM FUND SERVICES AWARDS 2014 SERVING UP EXCELLENCE Mena FM s 2nd annual Fund Services awards recognised a host of service providers for their contribution to the industry over the last year By James Brockett Whether it is keeping abreast of changing regional and international regulations, helping to structure new investment products or keeping up with the day-to-day administration of a growing fund, Mena s fund service providers have certainly had a busy year. Mena FM s 2nd annual Fund Services awards, held at the Address Hotel in Downtown Dubai, once again provided an opportunity to take stock of the industry s achievements and celebrate the best in the business. Hosted by Stephen Cole, veteran journalist and anchorman of Al Jazeera International, this year s awards featured 18 categories, recognising best-in-class administrators, custodians, law firms, advisors and software providers. Top winners included KPMG, who walked away with the gongs for Best Tax Advisory Firm and Best Audit Services, and Advent Software, who won in both categories for software providers. Maples Fund Services also scored a double victory, winning in the title of Best Fund Administrator in both private equity and hedge fund categories. S&P Dow Jones and sister company S&P Capital IQ also had cause to celebrate, being successful in the index provider and fund ratings categories respectively. Congratulations to all the winners. www.menafm.com 19
AWARD WINNERS MENA FM FUND SERVICES AWARDS 2014 MENA FM FUND SERVICES AWARDS ALL WINNERS: BEST FUND RATINGS AGENCY S&P Capital IQ (MUTUAL FUNDS) Deutsche Bank AG (PRIVATE EQUITY) Maples Fund Services (HEDGE FUNDS) Maples Fund Services (SHARIA COMPLIANT FUNDS) Apex Fund Services BEST PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE PROVIDER Advent Software BEST FUND REPORTING & ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE Advent Software BEST TAX ADVISORY FIRM KPMG BEST AUDIT SERVICES KPMG BEST SUB CUSTODIAN HSBC BEST GLOBAL CUSTODIAN Citibank NA UAE BEST INDEX PROVIDER S&P Dow Jones Indices BEST ADVISORY FIRM (REGULATION AND COMPLIANCE) Al Tamimi & Company BEST ADVISORY FIRM (UCITS) Arendt & Medernach BEST OFFSHORE LAW FIRM (CLIENT SERVICES) Walkers BEST ONSHORE LAW FIRM (CLIENT SERVICES) King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin BEST ONSHORE LAW FIRM Allen & Overy BEST OFFSHORE LAW FIRM Conyers Dill & Pearman Presenter for all awards: Stephen Cole (Al Jazeera) WINNER: MAPLES FUND SERVICES 2 AWARDS Best fund administrator private equity Best fund administrator hedge funds Collecting: Fred Tabbal WINNER: ADVENT SOFTWARE 2 AWARDS Best portfolio management software provider Best fund accounting and reporting software provider Collecting: Khodor Tajeddine 20 www.menafm.com
BEST TAX ADVISORY FIRM Winner: KPMG Collecting: Jyothi Kasi MUTUAL FUNDS Winner: Deutsche Bank AG Collecting: Manoj Aidasani SHARIA COMPLIANT FUNDS Winner: Apex Fund Services (Dubai) Collecting: Mario Tryfonides BEST SUB CUSTODIAN Winner: HSBC Collecting: Irfan Hasham BEST GLOBAL CUSTODIAN Winner: Citibank NA UAE Collecting: Ali Osman BEST AUDIT SERVICES Winner: KPMG Collecting: Luke Ellyard www.menafm.com 21
AWARD WINNERS MENA FM FUND SERVICES AWARDS 2014 BEST INDEX PROVIDER Winner: S&P Dow Jones Indices Collecting: Charbel Azzi BEST ADVISORY FIRM-REGULATION AND COMPLIANCE Winner: Al Tamimi & Company Collecting: Ed Brown BEST ADVISORY FIRM UCITS Winner: Arendt & Medernach Collecting: Bishr Shiblaq BEST OFFSHORE LAW FIRM CLIENT SERVICES Winner: Walkers Collecting: Daniel Wood BEST OFFSHORE LAW FIRM Winner: Conyers Dill & Pearman Collecting: Fawaz Elmalki BEST ONSHORE LAW FIRM CLIENT SERVICES Winner: King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin Collecting: Benjamin Aller 22 www.menafm.com
the leading business law firm in Luxembourg Dubai Representative Office Dubai International Financial Centre Currency House, Tower 1, Level 6, Suite 4 P.O. Box 482012, DUBAI, UAE Tel: (971) 44 34 88 96 - Fax: (971) 44 20 10 40 awards MENA Fund Manager Fund Services Awards 2014 Best Advisory Firm - UCITS 2013 Best Advisory Firm - Compliance and Regulation