Categories and Criteria

This award will go to a firm or individual to recognise an outstanding philanthropic or educational endeavor over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024) with a demonstrable positive impact on the sector.

Key criteria include:

• Why the initiative was necessary or beneficial
• Clear evidence of the positive impact of the initiative
• Testimonials from industry leaders and/or those impacted positively by the initiative

Nominations for this category are accepted. The judging committee and PAM editorial team will award this prestigious honor to a person who has defined the spirit of the wealth management sector through their professional and charitable work over the course of their career.

This award is to recognize the business that has done the most to further the interests of women in the in the wealth management industry over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). Evidence can include testimonials from senior industry professionals attesting to the positive influence created by this firm.

Key criteria include:

• Clear evidence of support for gender balance in staffing and in senior leadership positions
• Creation and/or promotion of proactive policies and mentorship to combat gender bias in the workplace

This award is to recognize the individual that has done the most to further the interests and participation of women in the in the wealth management industry over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). Evidence can include testimonials from senior industry professionals attesting to the positive influence created by this firm.

Key criteria include:

Clear evidence of support for gender balance in staffing and in senior leadership positions

Creation and/or promotion of proactive policies and mentorship to combat gender bias in the workplace

This award will go to the wealth manager, family office/multi-family office, private bank, consultant or service provider that has run the most effective initiative to promote and enable DE&I internally or in the wealth management industry at large.

Key criteria include:

• Clear evidence that the initiative has significantly progressed DE&I internally, and/or made a meaningful impact on the wider industry.
• Clear evidence that the initiative used company resources effectively to progress DE&I.
• Clear evidence that the initiative itself was run in an inclusive and equitable manner, with diverse owners/voices included in the process.
• Testimonials from industry leaders and/or those positively impacted by the initiative preferred.
  

This award will recognize outstanding individual efforts to promote and enable DE&I internally or in the wealth management industry at large.

Key criteria include:

• Clear evidence that the initiative has significantly progressed DE&I internally, and/or made a meaningful impact on the wider industry.
• Clear evidence that the initiative used company resources effectively to progress DE&I.
• Clear evidence that the initiative itself was run in an inclusive and equitable manner, with diverse owners/voices included in the process.
• Testimonials from industry leaders and/or those positively impacted by the initiative preferred.
  

This award is open to any wealth manager or company serving the family office sector. It is focused on rewarding a business that has shown true innovation in its provision of a product or service that has solved a problem, create efficiencies, or just generally made life easier for family office professionals or clients. The judges will be focused on new products or services which have come to the market in the past year (to July 31 2024), and where the firm has demonstrated the usefulness of the innovation through client testimonials and business growth.

Key criteria include:

• Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea
• Commercial success and business growth of the particular innovation
• Description of future development possibilities
• Positive client feedback via submitted testimonials
  

This award will reward firms displaying excellence in the provision of cyber-security and other data protection services to HNW/family office clients over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). The award is aimed at recognizing vendors specializing in holistic or narrow solutions to protect family offices from a host of business threats, including cyber-attacks, data-breaches, and internal bad actors. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, as well as innovations and product development that demonstrates new thinking, alongside positive customer feedback through client testimonials.

Key criteria include:

• Commercial success and business growth
• Sales/market share figures
• Demonstration of product innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea
• Description of future development possibilities
• Client feedback via submitted testimonials
  

This award will recognize and reward excellence among the range of firms providing the family office sector with custodial services, with judges looking at factors including the breadth of offering, security and fraud prevention measures, reliability and usability, supporting a broad range of asset classes. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, differentiated service and capabilities or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the family office sector and top-class client service standards.

Key criteria include:

• Commercial success and business growth
• Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea
• Description of future development possibilities
• Positive client feedback via submitted testimonials
  

This award will recognize consultants serving ultra-high-net-worth focused businesses that have demonstrated outstanding insight and support over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). Success in this category depends on a mixture of demonstrating customer and revenue growth, detailing how new initiatives and tools have aided wealth managers over the past year, and evidence of supporting businesses improve their operational effectiveness.

Key criteria include:

• Commercial success and business growth Sales/market share figures
• Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to your changes
• Description of future development possibilities
• Client feedback via submitted testimonials
  

This award is designed to recognize and reward excellence among the range of firms providing family office businesses with fiduciary services and a range of trustee structures. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, new products, tools, partnerships or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the family office sector and top-class client service standards.

Key criteria include:

• Commercial success and business growth
• Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea
• Description of future development possibilities
• Positive client feedback via submitted testimonials
  

This award will recognize excellence among firms providing access to alternatives for private wealth clients. Credit will be given for the breadth of access and services across a range of alternatives including hedge funds, private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure. Judges will focus on business growth, innovation, infrastructure, service levels, access to top quality managers and useability for the private wealth firms and end clients utilizing the platform or other solution. The winner may be a family office, private bank, outsourced investment office or asset manager.

Key criteria include:

• Demonstration of top-quality client servicing standards, including client testimonials
• Access for private wealth firms to a broad range of alternatives and top-quality managers
• Strong business growth and innovations that have supported this upward trajectory
  

This award will recognize asset managers servicing high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients that have demonstrated huge success with the adoption of of their products into the segment over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024) and / or outcomes for clients. Success in this category depends on a mixture of top-notch performance alongside net asset growth during the judging period from the family office and HNW advisory space. Submissions should include up to five years of performance if available.

Key criteria include:

• Evidence of commercial success and business growth
• Top performance figures through the judging period
• Description of how the market responded to your product/service Positive client feedback submitted testimonials
  

This award is designed to recognize and reward firms providing family office businesses with third-party fund administration services. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, new products, tools or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the family office sector and top-class client service standards.

Key criteria include:

• Commercial success and business growth
• Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea
• Description of future development possibilities
• Client feedback via submitted testimonials
  

This award is designed to recognize and reward excellence among service providers providing their family office clients with help and support in dealing with data aggregation and reporting requirements used for internal business purposes and/or external requirements. Success in this category depends on a mixture of demonstrating customer/revenue growth based on the reporting solution, as well as detailing how your product or service has aided clients through testimonials.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Sales/market share figures for reporting solution

Description of how the market responded positively to your product/service

Client feedback via submitted testimonials

This award is designed to honor firms that have excelled in the provision of technology solutions to family office clients over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). This may include full outsourced IT infrastructure or a hosting platform to support family offices with a range of tasks. Success in this category depends on demonstrating client and revenue growth, as well as detailing examples of how services provided have benefitted family office clients in terms of improved communications, business development and security, all backed up by client testimonials.

Key criteria include:

Evidence of commercial success and business growth

Demonstration of product innovation and description of how the market responded to the idea

Description of future development possibilities

Positive client feedback via submitted testimonials

This category is designed to recognize and reward firms providing family office professionals with an integrated aggregation, reconciliation accounting, and performance system across multiple asset classes. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, new products, tools or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the family office sector, plus top-class client service standards.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Demonstration of service innovation and differentiation and evidence of positive reception from the market

Description of future development possibilities

Client feedback via submitted testimonials

This award is designed to reward insurance brokers specializing in the family office and HNW space that have delivered across the board through business/client growth, innovation, and client servicing over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, breadth of insurance solutions offered, new services or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the sector, and top-notch service standards backed-up by client testimonials.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Sales/market share figures

Demonstration of innovation and a description of how the market responded positively to the idea

Description of future development possibilities

Client feedback via submitted testimonials

This category will recognize firms providing family offices with lifestyle concierge services and support who have demonstrated business growth, expertise, innovation and top-quality client service over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). Success in this category depends on a mixture of demonstrating customer and revenue growth, as well as detailing how new initiatives and tools/products have aided family offices to grow over the past year.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Sales/market share figures

Demonstration of product innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea

Description of future development possibilities

Positive client feedback via submitted testimonials

This award is designed to reward insurance providers specializing in the family office and HNW space that have delivered across the board through business/client growth, innovation, and client servicing over the past 12 months (ending July 31, 2024). Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, breadth of insurance solutions offered or innovation in response to specific challenges, new services or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the sector, and top-notch service standards backed-up by client testimonials.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Sales/market share figures

Demonstration of innovation and a description of how the market responded positively to the idea

Description of future development possibilities

Client feedback via submitted testimonials

This award aims to reward firms providing outsourced investment services, specifically for wealth managers. Success in this category depends on the demonstration of a first-class investment proposition that meets the demands of a diverse range of family office clients, from wealth preservation to providing strong growth potential. Firms should also demonstrate the way they have used technology and/or other tools to enhance the client experience and mention any other developments that have been well received by the sector, as well as evidencing top-class client service standards, shown by client testimonials.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Demonstrating investment performance through the judging period

Demonstration of product innovation

Description of future development possibilities

Customer feedback via submitted testimonials

This award is designed to recognize excellence among firms providing curated investment product platforms to the high-net-worth segment. Credit will be given for both positive client investment outcomes, outstanding and differentiated product due diligence and education.

For the performance component, firms should provide statistical evidence for how their platform has added investment value over a range of asset classes, both over the past year (to July 31, 2024) and the long-term. Details on how platform assets have grown should also be provided.

For the due diligence and education, please describe how your platform supports advisers, and your philosophy and approach to providing a market-leading investment platform.

Key criteria include:

Delivery of client objectives through risk-adjusted performance across a range of investment solutions

Demonstration of top-quality client servicing standards, including client testimonials

This award recognizes firms that have demonstrated consistently high standards in providing legal estate and trusts work to the HNW advisory/family office sector. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, new products, tools or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking or have responded to regulatory and/or tax, and top-class client service standards.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Sales/market share figures

Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea

Description of future development possibilities

Client feedback via submitted testimonial

This award is designed to recognize and reward firms providing outsourced general bookkeeping and accounting support services to family office firms. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, new products, tools, or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the family office sector. Top-class client service standards are also a must.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea

Description of future development possibilities

Client feedback via submitted testimonials

This award is designed to recognize and reward firms providing outsourced partnership accounting support services to family office firms. Success in this category depends on a mixture of client and revenue growth, new products, tools or brand developments that demonstrate new thinking and have been well received by the family office sector, and top-class client service standards.

Key criteria include:

Commercial success and business growth

Demonstration of service innovation and description of how the market responded positively to the idea

Description of future development possibilities

Client feedback via submitted testimonials

This award recognizes the private bank, wealth manager or family office with the most impressive ability to construct portfolios specifically to meet the needs and objectives of clients in the year to July 31, 2024. This could include specific portfolios or other client solutions that deliver non-financial objectives, such as environmental or social outcomes, or are designed to solve specific challenges for the client.

Key criteria include:

Up to three case studies outlining a client's specific needs or objectives, detailing how those needs were identified and served.

Evidence of measurement of non-financial success, and how this informs management of the portfolio on an ongoing basis

Best credit solution

This award is designed to reward the multi-family office or wealth management firm that has excelled in specialist estate planning services provided to high-net worth clients. Firms should provide evidence of the depth and breadth of their service offering and client testimonials to support the entry.

Key criteria include:

• Demonstration of a strong specialist estate planning service offering
• Evidence of business growth in the estate planning segment
• High client service standards evidenced by client testimonials
  

This award will recognize the top multi-family office over the judging period (the 12 months to July 31, 2024) across a range of client services, including investments, consultancy, philanthropy, tax support, and estate planning.

Key criteria include:

Clear evidence that client investment needs have been met through service and performance

Breadth of quality services provided to HNW/family office clients

Positive client feedback via testimonials

Commercial success and business growth

This award is designed to reward a family office that has demonstrated exceptional policies and procedures when it comes to its investment due diligence procedures. Submissions should demonstrate the due diligence steps taken to review a range of different asset classes and new investment opportunities, including funds and direct deals. Details of technological innovation that has helped deliver positive outcomes should be evidenced in the submission.

Key criteria include:

• Demonstration of high quality investment due diligence processes at a family office
• Evidence of DD procedures contributing positively to long-term risk-adjusted performance
• Evidence that a positive DD culture exists across the family office
  

This award is designed to reward the family office (of any size) that has stood out from the crowd in terms of its long-term risk adjusted performance. Family offices should provide long-term return statistics, alongside an explanation of how the family office’s investment philosophy has driven this performance.

Key criteria include:

• Positive long-term performance statistics (minimum three years - credit given for five years plus).
• Can be based on internal model portfolio(s) or anonymized client portfolio(s).
• Explanation of how the firm’s investment philosophy has led to such outcomes.
  

This award is designed to reward the sub-$5bn wealth management firm or family office that has led the way in terms of creating an inclusive and positive working environment for its staff, while also having a well-developed succession/business continuation structure in place for the future.

Firms should provide evidence of the steps taken to achieve a positive working environment, positive testimonials from staff, and any staff feedback research and turnover statistics that would support their submission.

Key criteria include:

• Demonstration of the steps taken to achieve an inclusive and positive working environment for all staff
• Evidence of how such programs have contributed to the commercial success of the firm
• Positive testimonials from employees and staff feedback research to support the submission
  

Designed to recognize excellence among multi-family offices at different size points, by rewarding firms that have delivered exceptional risk-adjusted returns and client service.

For the performance component, firms should provide return statistics for a range of anonymized client portfolios. Judges will credit both performance over the past year and longer-term performance.

Evidence or examples of excellent client service beyond investment management will also be given credit. Details of programs and how they successfully delivered for clients, and client testimonials, will both be given credit.

Key criteria include:

• Clear evidence that client objectives were met through risk-adjusted performance
• Quality of tax, estate, and other services to meet the needs of HNW/UHNW clients
• Top quality client service demonstrated through client testimonials
  

Designed to recognize excellence among multi-family offices at different size points, by rewarding firms that have delivered exceptional risk-adjusted returns and client service.

For the performance component, firms should provide return statistics for a range of anonymized client portfolios. Judges will credit both performance over the past year and longer-term performance.

Evidence or examples of excellent client service beyond investment management will also be given credit. Details of programs and how they successfully delivered for clients, and client testimonials, will both be given credit.

Key criteria include:

• Clear evidence that client objectives were met through risk-adjusted performance
• Quality of tax, estate, and other services to meet the needs of HNW/UHNW clients
• Top quality client service demonstrated through client testimonials
  

To recognize the most outstanding private bank, recognizing the firm that has delivered exceptional risk-adjusted returns, client service and investment servicing. For the performance component, firms should provide return statistics for a range of anonymized client portfolios. Judges will credit both performance over the past year and longer-term performance. Evidence or examples of excellent client service beyond investment management will also be given credit. Details of programs and how they successfully delivered for clients, and client testimonials, will both be given credit.

Key criteria include:

Clear evidence that client objectives were met through risk-adjusted performance

Quality of tax, estate, and other services to meet the needs of HNW/UHNW clients

Top quality client service demonstrated through client testimonials

This award aims to recognize the top private banking firm over the judging period (the 12 months to July 31, 2024) across a range of client services, including investments, consultancy, philanthropy, tax support, and estate planning.

Key criteria include:

Clear evidence that client investment needs have been met through service and performance

Breadth of quality services provided to HNW/family office clients

Positive client feedback via testimonials

Commercial success and business growth

This award is designed to reward a private bank that has demonstrated exceptional policies and procedures when it comes to its investment due diligence and sourcing. Submissions should demonstrate the due diligence steps taken to review a range of different asset classes and new investment opportunities, including funds and direct deals. Details of technological innovation that has helped deliver positive outcomes should be evidenced in the submission, as well as any proprietary product development or sourcing.

Key criteria include:

Demonstration of high quality investment due diligence processes at a private bank.

Evidence of DD procedures contributing positively to long-term risk-adjusted performance

Evidence that a positive DD culture exists throughout the firm

This award is designed to reward the private bank that has stood out from the crowd in terms of its long-term risk adjusted performance. Family offices should provide long-term return statistics, alongside an explanation of how the family office’s investment philosophy has driven this performance.

Key criteria include:

Positive long-term performance statistics (minimum three years - credit given for five years plus) for a range of client types or objectives

Can be based on internal model portfolio(s) or anonymized client portfolio(s).

Explanation of how the firm’s investment philosophy has led to such outcomes

This award recognizes the private bank, family office or investment provider with outstanding achievements that improve tax outcomes for clients in the year to July 31, 2024. This could include superior advice or outstanding development or deployment of tools and services with a measurable impact.

Key criteria include:

Up to three case studies outlining a client's specific needs or objectives, detailing how those needs were identified and served

Quantification of the benefits for clients or client segments, as well as demonstration of thought leadership for future tools and services

This award recognizes the manager or investment research professional who made the biggest difference to their clients over the 12 months to July 31, 2024 through their research prowess, due diligence skills and/or leadership.

Candidates should provide evidence of the value they delivered to clients, such as exceptional investment results, examples of how due diligence skill led to a positive client outcome or leadership decisions that benefited clients.

Key criteria include:

• Manager or investment research professional at a wealth manager, private bank, or family office who was active in the 12 months to July 31, 2024.
• Demonstrable positive impact on client outcomes