A look back into the investing landscape of the past year reveals that the most successful asset managers and fund managers were those who adopted nimble, defensive, and diversified strategies while positioning themselves for longer-term themes such artificial intelligence ( AI ), energy transition, and growth markets.

Such a stance was in response to the heightened uncertainty and volatility in the market, which has spurred investors to prefer liquid, flexible, and diversified portfolios. Managers navigated the unpredictable environment by keeping higher cash levels when needed, actively rotating sectors, and not being too heavily committed to single-country or single-themed bets.

In Japan, which proved a growth market in 2024, both in terms of equity market performance and economic momentum, Nikko Asset Management focused on investing heavily in undervalued stocks relative to their fundamentals for its core active equity fund.

This investment strategy, which is also applicable in other Asian markets, gave the fund manager the nimbleness and resilience to overweight the portfolio with growth stocks when the market is bullish, and quickly switch to overweight in value stocks when the market turns bearish.

For equity investing in general, managers whose strategies outperformed their benchmarks had a heavy allocation to US equities, which saw an explosive growth in technology stocks, particularly the “Magnificent Seven” ( Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta ).

Equity investing was driven by strong growth in AI infrastructure and demand for data centre GPUs ( graphic processing units ), strong earnings and cash flow of the Magnificent Seven, as well as their market dominance and pricing power.

“For equity investing overall, for the funds to outperform their benchmark in 2024, they should have allocations to US stocks, overweight on US tech stocks, especially AI chips, utilities or power – this is related to data centres, also nuclear power stations,” says an analyst. “Those themes provided strong growth in 2024 with Nividia alone posting more than 120% growth in stock price, while AI-focused more than doubled in terms of growth.”

Outperforming benchmarks

In Asia, allocations to fixed income, particularly investment-grade corporate and sovereign bonds, accounted prominently for the investment strategies that outperformed their benchmark in the past year.

Asia credit, particularly corporate and government bonds, still presented a solid growth story for investors despite the challenging market conditions.

BOCHK Asset Management, for example, outperformed the benchmark for its All-Weather Global Opportunity fixed income fund by employing a barbell strategy to balance the portfolio to minimize exposure to interest rate fluctuations while capturing potential capital appreciation.

On the other hand, the China offshore asset management market, which has been dominated by Chinese asset managers’ offshore entities, faced a challenging environment last year amid intensifying geopolitical tensions and market volatility.

These external pressures have led to a shift in investment behaviour, particularly among global institutional clients that traditionally allocated capital through the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor ( QFII ) framework. Many of these investors have grown more cautious, especially when channelling funds through asset managers with Chinese background. This has led to some firms losing business while others struggle to retain client confidence.

In contrast, some asset managers have taken proactive steps to restructure their strategies and product offerings to align with the evolving market developments. In fact, there are notable examples of asset managers who have achieved growth despite the headwinds, leveraging strong distribution channels for products like money market funds. However, industry experts remain divided on whether these success stories signal the emergence of a sustainable trend or are temporary wins amid a broader transitional phase. 

It is in this context that we announce the winners of the Investors and Fund Manager Awards 2025, as well as the Asset Management Company of the Year Awards 2025, as part of The Asset Triple A Sustainable Investing Awards for Institutional Investor, ETF, and Asset Servicing Providers 2025.

FUND MANAGERS OF THE YEAR

ASIA

Hedge Fund Manager of the Year

Fixed Income – Hedge Fund

John Stover, Tribeca

John Stover is the portfolio manager of the Tribeca Asia Credit Strategy, which pursues an actively managed long-short approach to investing in the Asia-Pacific credit market. In 2024, the fund posted a return of 17.28%, outperforming Asia high-yield bonds’ 15.09% and investment-grade bonds’ 3.68%, with total AUM of US$56.5 million and a remarkable Sharpe Ratio of 2.9.

Since inception, the fund has returned 73.8% on a gross basis, compared to -3.82% for Asia high-yield bonds and 9.63% for Asia investment-grade bonds.

Fixed Income Manager of the Year

Global Emerging Market Debt Team led by Sid Dahiya

Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund – Aberdeen

The Global Emerging Market Debt Team capitalizes on the growth of emerging markets by investing in a range of corporate and government bonds. The portfolio stipulates a minimum portion of 15% in sustainable investment to emphasize ESG considerations.

In 2024, the fund outperformed the benchmark by earning a return of 7.29%, with total AUM of US$979.5 million, and a Sharpe Ratio close to 2.

Multi-Asset Fund Manager of the Year

BOCHK All Weather Global Opportunities Fund

BOCHK Asset Management Limited

In 2024, the BOCHK All Weather Global Opportunities Fund outperformed benchmark with a 23% growth in AUM to more than US$23 billion. The fund relied on the team’s agility to capture  opportunities around US stocks and the nimbleness to recalibrate asset holdings based on macroeconomic changes. It had a Sharpe Ratio close to 2.

CHINA OFFSHORE

Equity

Chengshui Wan, Global Value Chain Investment Corporation Limited

Golden Eagle Global Trends Fund

Chengshui Wan is the portfolio manager of the flagship Golden Eagle Global Trends Fund, which has a long-term vision of capitalizing on growth in tech and innovation. The fund outstripped its benchmarks and grew its AUM by almost half to US$127 million.

JAPAN

Equity

Norihiko Kamada, Nikko Asset Management

Core Active Equity Strategy

Norihiko Kamada, the chief portfolio manager of the Research Active Management team, oversees the Core Active Equity Strategy with a keen view of undervalued stocks. Its AUM reached US$978 billion with Sharpe Ratio close to 2.

PHILIPPINES

Equity

Dionill Jamill, ATR Asset Management

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund

Dionill Jamil, the portfolio manager covers various sectors including power, utilities, infrastructure, cement, property, banks and conglomerates.

TAIWAN

Equity

David Hsu, Capital Investment Trust Corporation

Capital Potential Income Multi-Asset Fund TWD

David Hsu, specializing in macroeconomic trends and US stocks, is the portfolio manager of the Capital Potential Income Multi-Asset Fund TWD, which focuses on promising stocks in developed markets, high-yield bonds, convertible bonds and preferred stocks. The fund outperformed its benchmark and generated a 22.8% annual return, with the Sharpe Ratio nearing 1. It recorded NT$40.8 billion ( US$1.26 billion ) in AUM to become the largest multi-asset fund issued by a Taiwanese asset management firm.

INVESTORS OF THE YEAR

PENSION FUND – ASIA

National Pension Service ( Korea )

The National Pension Fund posted a 14.4% ( preliminary ) increase in AUM over the first 11 months of 2024 from a year ago to 1,1852 trillion won ( US$8.26 trillion ). The fund generated a cumulative investment income of 711.6 trillion won as of November 2024, on the strong backing of global investment and strategic diversification to alternative assets. 

PENSION FUND – TAIWAN

Private School Faculties Service Pension Fund

The Private School Faculties Service Pension Fund ( PSFS ) diversified the portfolio with multiple equity and bond funds across a variety of themes to maximize the potential of overseas markets. It grew its AUM by 27.65% to NT$92.7 billion ( US$2.85 billion ) in 2024, with the aggressive portfolio posting a robust return of 18.66% to outperform the benchmark.

The fund has directed constant effort to ESG development, including active research on ESG investment trends and exploration of an ESG evaluation framework.

ESG ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES OF THE YEAR

ESG Asset Management Company of the Year – Asia

Fidelity Investment

Fidelity International’s ESG funds cut through market uncertainties and volatility to pursue robust growth in 2024. Its AUM reached US$925.7 billion as of September 2024, up 29% year-on-year, with the ESG Target sustainable strategies managing assets totalling US$26.03 billion. The firm bolstered its ESG team to 34 dedicated sustainable investing professionals and 128 investment professionals across Asia. The team actively engaged with clients, global policymakers and industry groups for an extensive and in-depth knowledge exchange, to consolidate ESG integration in decision-making.

ESG Asset Management Company of the Year – Japan

Nikko Asset Management

Nikko Asset Management is a devoted and unwavering ESG enabler as it works closely with clients on ESG strategy optimization based on extensive discussions without compromising on returns and efficiency.

Its Japanese equity strategy is anchored on climate change mitigation. Its portfolio achieved an approximate 50% financed emissions reduction compared to that of TOPIX, paired with an intra-sector data comparison tool on the domestic and global level.

The social-themed Japanese Equity Human Capital Empowerment Strategy seeks to recognize companies that value human capital investment. Stock selection is based on human resources investment efficiency, labour share and prudence of management forecasts, which ultimately enhance the companies’ performance and return.

ESG Asset Management Company of the Year – Taiwan

Cathay Securities Investment Trust

Cathay Securities Investment Trust stepped up efforts to bring ESG investments to the limelight. The patented Carbon Price Simulation Analysis predicts stock performance on a variety of carbon data spanning the period from 2030 and 2100, to help companies better manage their ESG strategies.

The firm continues to market its flagship Cathay MSCI Taiwan ESG Sustainability High Dividend ETF to broaden the appeal of sustainable investing. The ETF scaled new heights as the largest high-dividend and ESG fund in the region, with a 45% growth in AUM and 39% increase in the number of beneficiaries.

ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES OF THE YEAR 

ASIA

Nikko Asset Management

In addition to its strength in the Japanese market, Nikko Asset Management also displayed strong capabilities in launching and managing well-performing funds in Asia ex-Japan, particularly in Singapore and Korea. It also maintained its focus on ESG investing at a time when this thematic was not as popular among investors.

CHINA

China Asset Management –  Overall Winner

As one of the largest asset managers in China, China Asset Management continued to grow its AUM by almost 40% despite volatility in the market, serving the largest client base consisting of more than 229 million retail investors and 300,000 institutional investors. It continues to be the dominant player in China especially in mutual funds.

Ping An Asset Management – Insurance

 As the second largest asset manager in China, Ping An Asset Management continues to provide steady returns for insurance assets, leveraging the good performance of the country's bond market in 2024.

Taikang Asset Management – Pension Fund

Taikang Asset Management managed to provide an annualized return higher than industry average in 2024. The company continues to be the leading asset manager for pension funds in China, recording a 24% business growth.

JAPAN

Nikko Asset Management

Nikko Asset Management focused on investing heavily in undervalued stocks relative to their fundamentals for their core active equity fund, giving the firm the nimbleness and resilience to overweight its portfolio with growth stocks when the market is bullish and quickly switch to overweight in value stocks when the market turns bearish.

MALAYSIA

Principal Asset Management Berhad

Principal Asset Management demonstrated resilience in the face of challenging market conditions, recording a 9.6% growth in AUM by leveraging its digital platforms and retaining institutional clients through excellent servicing.

PHILIPPINES

BDO Trust and Investments Group – Winner

BDO Trust’s total AUM grew by 19% to 271 billion pesos ( US$4.85 billion ) in 2024 from its previous growth of 11% as a result of strong flows to its retail business and a stable institutional client base, resulting from consistent fund performance and a strong brand. BDO Trust remains the undisputed leader in the local trust and investments industry with 22.6% market share and trust AUM of 1.668 trillion ( US$28.84 billion ) as of December 31 2024.

BPI Wealth – Highly Commended

BPI Wealth expanded its client base by 76.8% to 1,085,968 as of December 31 2024, including institutional clients, high-net-worth individuals, and mass affluent clients. During the year, the firm made enhancements to its digital account opening platform e-Invest, enabling the firm to provide best-in-class experience by removing friction and creating a seamless and straight-through onboarding that is uniquely designed to simplify wealth management, especially for new investors.

TAIWAN 

Cathay Securities Investment Trust – Winner

​Although already the largest asset manager in Taiwan in terms of AUM, Cathay Securities Investment Trust still grew its business by a remarkable 39% to reach US$68.02 billion in 2024. With a 17.3% market share, the company has consistently ranked No. 1 in Taiwan for total AUM. In 2024, Cathay Securities Investment distinguished itself through strategic product innovation, a strong focus on thematic and ESG-orientated ETFs, and significant growth in AUM.

Capital Investment Trust Corporation – Highly Commended

Capital Investment Trust Corporation more than doubled its AUM to NT$1.22 trillion ( US$38.1 billion ) as of as of December 31 2024, setting an industry record. In terms of fund performance, many of its funds delivered outstanding performance during the year and ranked the highest among peers.

THAILAND

Kasikorn Asset Management – Winner

​In 2024, Kasikorn Asset Management ( KAsset ) distinguished itself through several initiatives, particularly its strategic alliance with J.P. Morgan Asset Management ( JPMAM ) to combine JPMAM's global investment expertise with KAsset's strong local presence. Although the Thai market was flat in 2024, KAsset managed to maintain the largest market share of 21.1% or US$35.1 billion in AUM as of December 2024 while its mutual fund business grew by 14%.

Krungsri Asset Management – Highly Commended

​In 2024, Krungsri Asset Management Company Limited ( Krungsri AM ) distinguished itself as a leading asset manager in Thailand through a combination of industry accolades, product innovation, and a strong commitment to sustainability. Kungsri AM also grew its client accounts by 48% through enhanced access to its online channels.

VIETNAM 

SSI Asset Management

SSI Asset Management solidified its position as a leading asset manager in Vietnam by delivering strong returns, expanding investor access, and upholding high ESG standards. Although the local stock market suffered ​record-high outflows of foreign capital in 2024, SSI AM’s AUM grew by 6%, compared to -3% in 2023 and 1% in 2022, showing the company’s recovery after the economic instability of the last two years.

GLOBAL 

Barings – Fixed Income

The Barings Global High Yield Bond Fund has delivered a strong performance, outperforming its reference benchmark since its inception on April 30 2012 in terms of total returns and risk-adjusted returns. The fund's AUM rose from US$2.6 billion at the start of 2024 to over US$4.2 billion at year-end.

Please check out the full list of winners for Fund Management and Investors Awards and Asset Management Awards. 

To learn more about these awards please go here.