Outstanding Achievement Winners of
Best Practice Financial Services Awards 2009 named

The first round winners of the Best Practice Financial Services Awards 2009, the inaugural industry competition jointly organized by Benchmark Magazine and Best Practice Management Magazine, has now been announced.

Three winners for each of the 8 company categories that are open for nomination, were named Outstanding Achievement Awardees, and will be entered as the finalists for the final round award, which is now underway.

The final round winners, to be christened the Best-in-Class winner of each category, will be unveiled at the Awards Presentation Gala Dinner on August 28, 2009 at the Conrad Hong Kong.  The prestigious dinner, which is heralded as an industry highlight, will also name the winner of the three individual categories—Career Achievement Award and The Most Influential Person of the Year 2009, and The Most Favourite Personality of the Year 2009.  A special company award “Company of the Year 2009” will also be awarded to the organization that received the most “Best-in-Class” awards this year.

“It is most encouraging to see the influx of nominations even in our very first year. This enthusiasm shows positive signs on how financial services companies are adopting Best Practices in their core strategies by setting stronger benchmarks and processes.  Entry standards have been higher than expected, and picking the Outstanding Achievement winners had not been an easy task.  The selection of the “Best-in-Class” winners will be more daunting for most final round judges”, says Elsa Pau, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Benchmark.

WINNERS – INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDEES – COMPANY CATEGORIES

About Best Practice Financial Services Award
The inaugural provides financial services organisations the chance to enhance their standing within the industry as leaders of fair practice and stand out from the rest.

The competition answers to recent Government and regulator calls for better commitment to education, openness and ethical business practices and goes further than any other set of financial services awards by assessing individual and company performance across a number of criteria.

The competition has altogether 11 categories. Two are individual categories and the remaining nine are Company categories. Although the competition is targeted at the financial services sector, individuals who are essential to the sector but do not work in it are also encouraged to apply. The first 10 categories are open for nomination. The last category, called Company of the Year 2009, will be awarded to the company that has won the most number of nominations as determined by a panel of judges.  A special category, called the “Favourite Personality of the Year 2009”, will see the editors of both publications selecting an individual whose contributions to both the industry and the Hong Kong community has been especially significant.

About Benchmark Magazine
Founded in 1996, Benchmark is Hong Kong’s leading personal finance and investment magazine, and it is bilingual in English and Chinese. Unlike any other financial magazines, it is planned, researched and written by financial professionals that work with real clients who are serious about investing and managing their own finances. The publication provides readers with independent and insightful investment information and ideas. The four sections of Benchmark include personal investing, personal finance, mutual fund and MPF listings, and lifestyle. Benchmark is also an industry conference provider and facilitates industry awards such as the Most Extraordinary Women in Finance, Best Practice Financial Services Award and Investment Fund Award.

About Best Practice Management
Best Practice Management is a publisher, marketer and conference organizer. The company is a pioneer in handing out awards to companies from various sectors who implement best practices, and has been receiving enormous support since 2000 in categories such as Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Experience Management, Employee Involvement, Enterprise Governance, Process Innovation, Technology Deployment, Leadership by Example and more. The company has produced more than 90 awards over the last 9 years since its business inception.