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Introduction
Best Unit Trust Provider
Best Investment Trust Provider
Best Share Dealing Service
Best Discretionary Wealth Manager
Best Pension Provider
Best SIPP Provider
Best Cash ISA
Best Stocks and Shares ISA Provider
Best Property Finance Provider
Best Children’s Investment Provider
Best Savings Account
Best Derivatives Provider

Introduction
Over the past 12 to 18 months, investors and financial services providers have been weeping in equal measure. The stock markets have seen dramatic falls and the Bank of England has slashed the base rate to an all-time low.

But as we begin to emerge from what has been labelled the worst recession since the 1930s, there are some firms that have delivered a stellar performance.

During the summer we asked the readers of What Investment and users of www.whatinvestment.co.uk to nominate those companies that have consistently excelled among their respective peer groups in terms
of performance, cost efficiency and service – basically, those that have made or saved you the most money throughout these trying times.

These awards are highly valued by the companies that receive them, as they have been selected entirely by you, the readers of What Investment. There was no shortlist for you to choose from – the winners of these awards have been determined by which investment houses and service providers have made the greatest impression on our readership.

Indeed, several of this year’s winners have highlighted the fact that they feel it is particularly significant to have an award that has been voted for by, as one put it, ‘real people investing real money’.

Having counted all the votes we received, we can now unveil the winners. The three companies that came out on top in each category are listed in the box below, and over the following pages we profile each of the winners to highlight what it is that makes them stand out from their competitors and makes them worthy of a What Investment readers’ award.

In the event, five of last year’s winners have retained their titles this year, demonstrating the high level of consistency achieved by all our award winners.

We have also seen quite a few new names appearing in the results this year, showing that it is not impossible for the underdog to reach the podium.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you, the readership of What Investment, for taking the trouble to vote, and to commend the winners, and those placed second and third, for the high quality of the investments and services that they provide.

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Best Unit Trust Provider
Neptune Investment Management
Having lost out on the top spot last year, Neptune has powered ahead in the 2009 Readers’ Awards, taking the accolade of Best Unit Trust Provider.

Neptune has an enviable reputation within the investment industry for its ability to outperform. It focuses exclusively on fund management, and its active global sector approach to investment is the company’s differentiating factor, which it believes provides investors with the best opportunity for superior returns.

Neptune’s unique investment approach looks at the world primarily by global industry sector rather than by country or region. However, economic and national factors are taken into consideration and single region and country portfolios are offered alongside global funds.

As chief investment officer Robin Geffen observes, ‘Neptune’s investment philosophy is built on the premise that global companies dominate the areas in which they operate. As such, there is usually no more than a handful of companies in each area worth investing in. Once we have identified those global sectors with the best opportunities for growth, the team selects the best companies in those sectors, regardless of where they are based.’

Established during the bear market of 2002, Neptune is a relatively small ‘boutique’ operation, with assets under management of about £3.2 billion. Highly commended this year is 2008’s winner Invesco Perpetual, the largest manager of open-ended funds in the UK, while Fidelity International takes the commended position.

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Best Investment Trust Provider
Baillie Gifford
Baillie Gifford, which has been actively promoting investment trusts throughout this year, has been named Best Investment Trust Provider.

With many suggesting that investment trusts are becoming a thing of the past, Baillie Gifford argues that this isn’t the case and, in fact, many are poised to benefit from a market recovery.

Marketing director James Budden, says, ‘Investment trusts remain an excellent way for individuals to profit from equity investment, and today they are easily available via savings plans and online brokers.’

Baillie Gifford is one of the UK’s leading independently owned investment management firms, owned and run by 32 of its senior executives.

As a long-term investor with an affinity for growth, the firm believes that the possibilities available have seldom been greater. On winning the award, he enthuses, ‘Baillie Gifford is delighted to be named as What Investment’s investment trust group of the year. This accolade is especially sweet given that it is a consequence of a readership vote.

‘It is good to know that What Investment’s readers and subscribers are discerning in two ways. Firstly, they are supporters of investment trusts, and secondly, by choosing Baillie Gifford, they have recognised
the attractions of active conviction management in an environment where stockpicking can really count.’

This year’s highly commended company is Alliance Trust, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management was commended by What Investment readers.

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Best Share Dealing Service
Halifax Share Dealing
What Investment readers have voted Halifax Share Dealing as the winner in this category, and managing director Sue Concannon couldn’t be more happy that the hard work behind the scenes has started to pay off.

She says, ‘Customers tell us that it’s the ease of use, good value and quality of service they receive that encourages them to use Halifax Share Dealing. Our business is based on the principles of meeting the highest possible standards of customer service and offering the best value for money - we have never charged joining, inactivity or management fees.

‘We make sure that our product offering is straightforward and easy to understand, keeping a close eye on the products and services our customers want, providing the tools to make informed choices in relation to their investments. Our online Research Centre gives our customers a wide range of market information, from analysis tools to UK broker views.’

And the provider doesn’t stop at share dealing services. ‘We also offer self-select stocks and shares ISAs, contracts for difference and SIPPs, along with a market-leading self-select funds ISA, which offers a choice of more than 400 funds with no initial purchase charge,’ Concannon explains. ‘We were the first to give customers a regular investment scheme, grouping orders together and passing the savings on to customers – Halifax ShareBuilder is still one of our most popular products.’

The highly commended accolade goes to Hargreaves Lansdown, while our poll also acknowledged the levels of service provided by The Share Centre.

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Best Discretionary Wealth Manager
Close Asset Management
The winner of this category in last year’s awards, Close Asset Management, has remained consistently competitive among its peers, offering investors an excellent level of service.

The business has been established in some markets for over 40 years and aims to be innovative in its product and service offering, always on the lookout for new ways of working to distinguish itself from its competitors, while delivering superior asset management solutions to investors.

Close Asset Management prides itself on its approach to wealth management, which is governed by a commitment to personal client service. Stuart Dyer, head of UK distribution at Close Asset Management, says, ‘This award demonstrates that our investment process and philosophy is delivering returns that investors are happy with, and the high regard investors have of the overall service that they receive from us.’

He adds, ‘After all, investment returns without a good level of service are only half a job in our eyes.’

St James’s Place was highly commended in this year’s poll, and Cheviot Asset Management, a manager that has never before appeared as a What Investment Readers’ Awards finalist, took the commended position.

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Best Pension Provider
Canada Life
As a company, Canada Life strives to put the customer at the centre of what they do, so it comes as no surprise that you voted this company worthy of this award.

Canada Life, a wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, began operations in the UK in 1903 and looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals and companies alike.

On winning the award, Peter Gould, annuity development manager at Canada Life, says, ‘We spend a significant amount of time developing our processes and reducing the time it takes to produce the end result. We can now turn around an annuity application in three weeks, and it is a nice acknowledgement that we has been recognised by the end customer.’

The provider consistently appears at or near the top of the annuity tables, and is commended for its
range of flexible options such as the Annuity Growth Account. Gould adds, ‘We are in a good position for annuity products, and if a client cannot get a product from us, it will be pretty difficult to get one anywhere else.

‘We are now in the process of postcoding our annuity offerings, so those people living in areas that traditionally have low life spans could get a better income.’

Highly commended this year is Standard Life, while Scottish Widows has been commended.

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Best SIPP Provider
Hargreaves Lansdown
Once again, Hargreaves Lansdown scored a landslide victory in the category for Best SIPP Provider, and the group couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. Pensions analyst, Laith Khalaf, comments, ‘We are immensely proud to receive the Best SIPP Provider award from What Investment readers for the third year running, so thank you to all who voted for us. This award is particularly important to us because it is voted for by readers who actually use our service.’

Hargreaves Lansdown prides itself on its online service and is particularly happy with the success of the ‘X-ray’ tool. ‘This allows our clients to see at a glance what percentage of their portfolio is invested in which sectors and which countries, complete with a map of the world showing the distribution of their investments,’ adds Khalaf.

But despite having scored a hat-trick, Khalaf insists that investors should expect more great stuff from Hargreaves Lansdown: ‘We will not be resting on our laurels – we would love to win this award for a fourth and fifth year in a row. In the coming year, we will continue to deliver market-leading tools to our clients, together with our regular investment updates and excellent customer service, both of which our clients tell us they find invaluable.’

To celebrate winning the award, and as an exclusive offer to What Investment readers, Hargreaves Lansdown will send a free bottle of champagne to any readers who set up a new HL Vantage SIPP before 20 October 2009, subject to the terms and minimums on the application form.

To apply, download a SIPP application form from the website www.h-l.co.uk/pensions/SIPP and write ‘What Investment Offer’ at the top to qualify for the champagne.

Retaining the highly commended status is Alliance Trust, while the commended award goes to Prudential.

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Best Cash ISA
Kent Reliance Building Society
Kent Reliance Building Society is another company that has frequented the top of the Readers’ Awards charts, having now won Best Cash ISA Provider three times in a row.

Deputy chief executive Rob Proctor comments, ‘Winning this award for the third time shows what consistent value building societies can offer. Our strategy is to be the most efficient ISA provider, and our ISAs should be available to anybody, investing from as little as £1.’

Kent reliance regularly appears in the best-buy performance tables and is often recognised by Moneyfacts as being one of the most consistent ISA providers.

With assets of over £2.3 billion, and with a branch and agency network throughout the county, Kent Reliance is committed to delivering a personal service, generous interest rates and solid financial expertise to its members.
Proctor adds, ‘Transparency and flexibility is very important to our customers and we pride ourselves on being able to transfer products within 14 days if customers wish to move from us. Similarly, we make sure our customers are kept informed of rate changes, an equally important factor in today’s climate.’

Nationwide has been highly commended in this category for the second year running, and Newcastle Building Society has been awarded commended status.

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Best Stocks and Shares ISA Provider
Alliance Trust Savings
Alliance Trust Savings has certainly been a popular name in this category, and is another company that has retained its title for the third year running.

Rob Burgess, managing director, comments, ‘It is always encouraging to receive business accolades, but we are particularly delighted to win this year’s ‘What Investment Best Stocks and Shares ISA award’ because it is voted for by the readers themselves.

‘The highest praise we can receive is when our customers tell us they are happy with our products and service and, what’s more, have taken the time to recommend us to friends or nominate us for an award like this.’

Following a difficult year for stock markets, Alliance Trust Savings is proud to have caught the attention of ISA investors, as Burgess points out: ‘This is the third year in a row that our ISA has come first, which we consider a fantastic achievement because ISAs are very popular among UK investors and because this last year has been so difficult for stock markets. Our clients have carried on trading through the recent ups and downs in the market, helped by the wide choice we offer of more than 4,000 investments, our clear, flat-fee charges and our innovative approach.

‘For instance, we have one of the most competitive fund supermarkets available as we rebate to clients any commission we receive. We are constantly looking for ways to provide our clients with greater choice as well as the ability to invest more easily.

‘Since the launch of its online service in 2007, Alliance Trust Savings has seen a transformation in its business, with almost 80 per cent of active trades now being carried out online. This is particularly amazing when you consider that only three years ago almost all of our clients sent in their trading instructions by post,’ Burgess concludes.

Invesco Perpetual received highly commended status and BlackRock was commended.

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Best Property Finance Provider
Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide has dominated this category for the past two years, and the 2009 award marks a hat-trick for the company. Andy McQueen, Nationwide mortgages director, enthuses, ‘We are delighted to learn that What Investment’s readers voted for Nationwide to receive the Best Property Finance award because it is a tangible measure of our success in providing quality, personal financial products for our members.’

Nationwide Building Society is one of the largest mortgage providers in the UK and, despite the turbulent markets of the past 18 months, has been committed to providing its customers with a top-notch service. Says McQueen, ‘We are dedicated to the provision of top-quality, competitive mortgages, accompanied by outstanding customer service provision. We have a national franchise within the UK and offer a wide range of fixed- and variable-rate mortgages. 

‘Our long-standing prudent approach to lending decisions has ensured that the quality of our mortgage book has
been maintained.’

McQueen adds, ‘We continually review our mortgage range to ensure we offer a choice of products that will meet our members’ needs.  We believe that this, combined with our responsible approach to lending, has contributed strongly towards our being voted Best Property Finance provider.’

Highly commended in this category is Allied Irish Bank, with Abbey commended.

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Best Children’s Investment Provider
Witan Investment Services
Having been highly commended in last year’s awards, Witan has reached pole position this year, and it couldn’t be more pleased, comments marketing director James Frost. ‘At Witan we are absolutely thrilled to be voted the Best Children’s Investment Provider by readers of What Investment magazine.

‘This year actually marks the ten-year anniversary of Jump, Witan’s savings plan for children. Over the past decade we have seen Jump’s assets under management grow to around £50 million, invested on behalf of nearly 20,000 children.’

The success of Jump, according to Frost, is down to two important factors – the gallows humour in our advertising creative that has struck a chord with many parents and grandparents and, of course, the engine under the bonnet, Witan Investment Trust, which has consistently delivered solid returns for Jump investors.

And with the first beneficiaries of Child Trust Funds now reaching their seventh birthday and about to receive the second government voucher, Frost adds, ‘In 2008 we launched the Jump Child Trust Fund, which allows parents to invest the £250 government voucher that is given to each new-born baby.

‘The CTF has proved hugely popular, and it is pleasing to note that in Witan’s 101st year the trust now has more investors under the age of five than over the age of 70.’

Highly commended in this category is Baillie Gifford, while F&C Investments is commended for its Children’s Investment Plan and Child Trust Fund.

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Best Savings Account
Halifax
After what can only be described as a troubled year for the savings market, you have voted Halifax the winner in this category. Flavia Palacios Umana, head of savings products, comments, ‘We are delighted to have won this award. Our customers are very important to us, and to be recommended by them is a real honour.’

Halifax’s savings products regularly grace the best-buy tables and offer competitive rates when compared with others in the marketplace. With the Bank of England slashing rates to a historical low, it has been difficult for savers to find a suitable place for their money.

Palacios Umana adds, ‘Our colleagues pride themselves on service, and it is great to see that their hard work is appreciated.’

For over 150 years, Halifax has been helping its customers grow their savings, and today it is the largest savings provider in the UK.

The firm prides itself on still being able to offer customers a great choice of savings accounts, including those with guaranteed rates of interest and tax-free products.

Palacios Umana concludes, ‘It is important to think about saving for the future as you never know what’s around the corner.’

Alliance & Leicester, also new to this category, has been given highly commended status for its range of savings products and Newcastle Building Society has received the commended award.

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Best Derivatives Provider
IG Index
Walking away with this year’s award for Best Derivatives Provider is IG Index, Britain’s leading financial spread betting firm, offering prices on a huge range of indices, currencies, commodities and options, as well as thousands of individual shares.

Financial spread betting has grown exponentially in the past decade because it offers traders and investors a unique combination of flexibility, speed of execution and tax-free profits.

David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index, says, ‘We value winning this award. Over the past year, IG Index has launched innovative new products, including Bungee bets and Five Minute Binaries and hosts excellent educational resources on its website.’

He adds that an important point to look for in a spread betting provider is the range of markets. ‘When it comes to UK equities, for example, some firms only allow people to trade the constituents of the FTSE
350, whereas with us they can trade any company with a market cap of more
than £10 million.’

Priding itself on continuous improvement, 2009 saw IG Index develop the ability for investors to trade via the iPhone. Jones concludes, ‘Our real-web interface means you can deal as easily on your iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or iPod Touch as you can on your desktop, with no downloads necessary.

‘The software also makes the most of the iPhone’s unique functionality, enabling you to switch between landscape and portrait whenever you want for optimal screen layout. And the new iPhone 3GS’s ultra-fast wireless technology makes it even easier to browse markets and deal in real-time on PureDeal.’

City Index was highly commended in this category, while Cantor was awarded commended status.

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