CATEGORIES
INDUSTRY CHAMPION
This award recognises a high profile and influential individual who has championed growth capital or tax-efficient investment.
– Previous winners: Emma Jones MBE (2019), Jenny Tooth (2018), Mark Brownridge (2017), Sam Smith (2016), Kathryn Robertson (2015)
The winner of this award is announced on the night.
EXIT OF THE YEAR
Entries are welcomed for any type of exit strategy implemented since 6th April 2019. The judges will be assessing your success in a case study that highlights investment performance against initial strategy and targets, value added to the investee business, customer feedback, and overall impact.
– Previous winners: Parkwalk (2019), Par Equity (2018), YFM Equity Partners (2017), Beringea (2016), Parkwalk Advisors (2015)
MOST IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT
Sponsored by Adempi Associates
Based on an investment made in the past 12 months, the judges will be assessing the impact of the investment on the investee business, focusing on how funding has been deployed and how growth has been enabled by the fund manager during the investment term.
– Previous winners: Puma Private Equity (2019), Ingenious (2018), Oxford Capital (2017), Cyrus Investment Management (2016), Deepbridge Capital (2015)
INDUSTRY GAME CHANGER
Sponsored by MICAP
This award is open to any individual, company, product or platform provider that has demonstrably changed practice, perception or engagement in the tax-efficient investment industry.
– Previous winners: SeedLegals (2019), Seedrs (2018), Seedrs (2017), Syndicate Room (2016), Mercia Technologies (2015)
BEST INVESTMENT PLATFORM – FUNDS
Recognising fund managers investing capital into ambitious SMEs. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the past 12 months, assessing your success across volume of investment, user experience, product innovation, and business impact.
– Previous winners: Wealth Club (2019), Wealth Club (2018)
BEST INVESTMENT PLATFORM – COMPANIES
Recognising any type of investment platform, including angel networks and crowdfunding platforms. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the past 12 months, assessing your success across volume of investment, user experience, product innovation, and business impact.
– Previous winner: 24Haymarket (2019)
BEST SEIS INVESTMENT MANAGER
Open to any investment manager specialising in Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the past 12 months, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.
– Previous winners: Deepbridge Capital (2019), Capital (2018), Daedalus Partners (2017), Symvan Capital (2016), Daedalus Partners (2015)
BEST AIM PORTFOLIO SERVICE
Open to wealth management and stockbroking firms offering discretionary AIM portfolio investment management services. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service in the last financial year, assessing your success across investee selection, portfolio performance, investment volume and inflows, efforts to champion the AIM market, customer feedback, and overall business impact.
– Previous winners: Guinness Asset Management (2019), Close Brothers Asset Management (2018)
BEST BR INVESTMENT MANAGER – Listed
Sponsored by Libris
Open to any investment manager specialising in AIM investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the past 12 months, assessing your success across investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.
– Previous winners: TIME Investments (2019), Octopus Investments (2018)
BEST BR INVESTMENT MANAGER – Unlisted
Sponsored by Libris
Open to any investment manager specialising in non AIM based investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the past 12 months, assessing your success across investee selection, investment volume and performance, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.
– Previous winners: Triple Point (2019), TIME Investments (2018)
BEST EIS INVESTMENT MANAGER
Open to any investment manager specialising in Enterprise Investment Schemes. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the past 12 months, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.
– Previous winners: MMC Ventures (2019), Calculus Capital (2018), Mercia Fund Managers (2017), Calculus Capital (2016), MMC Ventures (2015)
BEST VCT INVESTMENT MANAGER
Open to any investment manager specialising in Venture Capital Trusts. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the past 12 months, assessing your success across investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.
– Previous winners: Octopus Investments (2019), Octopus Investments (2018)
FINANCIAL ADVISER OF THE YEAR
Open to individual financial advisers who support clients to engage with and benefit from the growth investment industry. The judges will assess performance based on overall impact, including education and advisory services, applying expertise that adds value, promoting compliance and tax-efficiency, overcoming challenges, customer feedback, and business impact.
– Previous winners: Adrian Murphy (2019), Stephen Jones (2018), Dennis Hall, Yellowtail Financial Planning (2017), Jonothan McColgan, Combined Financial Strategies (2016), Carl Lamb, Almary Green (2015)
WEALTH MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Recognising wealth management companies that actively promote alternative investments. The judges will assess performance over the last 12 months based on overall impact, including education and advisory services, applying expertise that adds value, overcoming challenges, customer feedback, and business impact.
– Previous winners: Ascot Wealth Management (2019), Barclays Wealth (2018), UBS (2017), UBS (2016), Barclays Wealth (2015)
GROWTH CHAMPION OF THE YEAR
Our highest accolade for SMEs using investment strategies to grow and scale-up. Judges will be looking for an outstanding use of growth capital, demonstrating how it has created sustainable growth and significant scale, as well as the impact beyond investment.
Please note: there is a minimum turnover of £2m required in the last financial year to qualify to enter this category.
– Previous winners: Gousto (2019), Thoughtonomy (2018), All Good (2017), EveSleep (2016)
GROWTH INVESTOR OF THE YEAR
Our highest accolade for investment providers, this award recognises outstanding investment managers demonstrating the best investment performance, the best product and service developments, and the best ‘impact beyond investment’ on customers and the wider business community.
– Previous winners: Parkwalk (2019), Albion Capital (2018), MMC Ventures (2017), Octopus Investments (2016), Octopus Investments (2015)
MINDFUL INVESTOR OF THE YEAR
The Mindful Investor of the Year award is an important award, designed to honour an investor who takes an inclusive and supportive approach, being mindful of their practices and policies and how they impact their own team and the teams they invest in. With particular attention paid to the five pillars of mindful investment: Communication, Health, Equality, Connections, and Knowledge.
INDUSTRY RISING STAR
Open to all new entrants to the investment community. Judges will be looking for a company less than 2 years old that has successfully entered the market, rising to the challenge of sustainable growth, customer experience, employee engagement and corporate social responsibility to emerge as a future star of the industry.
– Previous winner: EMV Capital (2019)
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Mainspring Fund Services
Open to any team working within the growth investment community to deliver exceptional results. Whether your team is dedicated to business development, customer service, marketing, advisory or something completely different, the judges will be looking for the team that has gone above and beyond to support their customers and colleagues whilst succesfully delivering on their projects over the past 12 months.
– Previous winner: Octopus Investments (2019)
BEST NEW PRODUCT OR SERVICE (New)
Open to any growth investment provider that has introduced an innovative new product or service to the market in the past 12-24 months. The judges will assess the overall impact of the innovation based on its impact on funding volumes, value for investee companies, challenges overcome, customer feedback, and business growth impact.
BEST ACCELERATOR (New)
Entries are welcomed from any accelerator programme that has provided equity funding and support to early-stage businesses in the past 12-24 months. The judges will be assessing success based on investment performance, value added to the investee businesses, partner feedback, and overall impact.
CORPORATE INVESTOR OF THE YEAR (New)
Open to any corporate investor in early-stage companies. The judges will be looking at the performance of your activity over the past 12-24 months, assessing your success across investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, customer feedback, and overall impact on the investment recipients.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (New)
Entrants in all award categories are invited to nominate the individual (or team) within their own organisation that they believe has gone ‘above and beyond’ with their efforts to support clients, colleagues or portfolios through this year. The judges will assess the contribution based on supporting evidence provided by the nominee, and on overall impact.
