FinanceAsia, AsianInvestor and Corporate Treasurer's team of journalists enjoyed great success at the 7th annual State Street Institutional Press Awards for Asia Pacific, winning four of nine available categories and receiving a further four Highly Commended awards for their work.
The prestigious awards recognise the leading financial news publications in the regions, particularly when it comes to investment and regulation. Entries are anonymously assessed by the panel of judges.
Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, the managing editor of FinanceAsia and its sister publications AsianInvestor and Corporate Treasurer, won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Institutional Journalism.
Alison also received the top gong in the FinTech category for her incisive look at the expansion plans of two Chinese payment titans in "Breaking the code: Behind Alipay's & WeChat's overseas push" and she was Highly Commended in the Investment sector for her article on how Hong Kong's property tycoons were finally unlocking value.
In addition, she was Highly Commended for her work on Alternatives following her report on the investment opportunities presented by data centres.
The judges wrote that they: "were impressed with her breadth of experience in, and deep understanding of institutional journalism, her quality of writing, commitment to accurate reporting and development of fledgeling reporters in Asia Pacific".
In her acceptance speech, she paid tribute to the superb support provided by FinanceAsia's and AsianInvestor's sub-editors led by William Kemble-Díaz and thanked Haymarket's brilliant design team.
Our sister publications were also in the winner's enclosure.
Richard Newell was once again recognised for his sterling work and named the winner in the ESG (environmental, social and governance) section for his work on family offices and impact investing. He was also Highly Commended for Investor Services for an article in our February/March AsianInvestor edition on how asset owners need to better invest in their cyber defences.
Ernest Chan was named Best Newcomer for his cover story in the August/September edition of AsianInvestor magazine, focusing on the key headaches facing institutional investors across the Asia-Pacific region and how they are best responding to them.
Richard Morrow won the Best Editorial Comment award with the judges acknowledging the importance of his article on how Asia-Pacific asset owners need to engage with ESG if they wish to maintain or improve their investment returns in the long-term. Morrow was also Highly Commended for his cover story in AsianInvestor April/May 2018 on how Asia's institutional investors are engaging with ESG, and for the magazine's June/July cover story about how the MSCI Index inclusion of China A-shares will shape how institutional investors across the world approach the country, written with support from Jolie Ho and Joe Marsh.
Meanwhile, Jolie Ho gained a Highly Commended award for Pensions, due to her article in our September/October magazine that looked at China's need to modernise its pension system.
In addition, Joe Marsh was Highly Commended for Regulation for a web story on how the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission's sanction of rating agency Moody's could hurt China's capital markets. His argument proved in vain, however: Moody's appeal against the sanction was dismissed in September by Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal.
ONGOING SUCCESS
Corporate Treasurer was also recognised, with Larissa Ku gaining a Highly Commended award for FinTech and Suhas Bhat being Highly Commended as Best Newcomer.
"It continues to be very gratifying to see our financial publications being acknowledged for their commitment to insightful journalism in what continue to be competitive times for the media industry," said Daniel Flatt, editorial director of Haymarket Financial Media. "We are delighted that our journalist teams are gaining the recognition they rightfully deserve for their hard work."
The State Street Institutional Press Awards, now in their 7th year in the Asia-Pacific region, are decided by an independent panel of six judges from journalism, publishing, academia and non-profit bodies with investing expertise.
Copies of the submitted stories for the winners of all categories can be found at the homepage of the 2018 State Street Institutional Press Awards for Asia Pacific.
AWARD WINNERS IN SUMMARY
Award for Outstanding Contribution to Institutional Journalism
Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, FinanceAsia
Pensions Issues
Highly Commended: Jolie Ho, Asian Investor
Alternatives
Highly Commended: Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, FinanceAsia
Regulation
Highly Commended: Joe Marsh, AsianInvestor
FinTech
Winner: Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, FinanceAsia
Highly Commended: Larissa Ku, Corporate Treasurer
ESG
Winner: Richard Newell, AsianInvestor
Highly Commended: Richard Morrow, AsianInvestor
Investment
Highly Commended: Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, FinanceAsia
Richard Morrow, AsianInvestor
Investor Services
Highly Commended: Richard Newell, AsianInvestor
Best Newcomer
Winner: Ernest Chan, AsianInvestor
Highly Commended: Suhas Bhat, Corporate Treasurer
Best Editorial Comment
Winner: Richard Morrow, AsianInvestor
