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| Best Prime broker: Goldman Sachs |
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| Also shortlisted: Citi and Deutsche Bank |
Until the credit crisis, Goldman Sachs was consistently in the top-two prime brokers that hedge funds used. When the crisis hit, however, funds looked to spread their counterparty credit risk by moving to four to five prime brokers, opening up the competitive landscape. Several years on, though, those prime brokers that invested to pick up the shared wallet have withdrawn, finding the costs too high and pressure on revenues too tough. In addition clients began to realize the inefficiencies of dealing with several prime brokers and began in 2010 to return to a smaller number. Within the two or three typically used, Goldman Sachs is consistently a choice. It wins this year’s best global prime broker award.
"We really benefit from having that historical strength," says Dean Backer, global head of sales and co-head of capital introduction in global prime services at Goldman Sachs. "We have a core platform that is tried and true, and we’ve been committed to prime brokerage for so long that, even with the changes in market conditions or regulation, we have just continued to build our consultancy and capital intro efforts and develop the platform."