Time to enter the 2021 PDI Global Awards

Private debt’s most-coveted accolades are back and with notable additions. Participants can now enter seven new categories as part of an enlarged offering.

The 2021 Private Debt Investor Global Awards are back, bigger than ever and have new categories for private debt’s universe of investors, managers and advisers to enter. The awards nomination process starts today with our call for nomination submissions via the official form.

The latest edition of the asset class’s most-coveted awards now include senior, junior and speciality finance categories in Asia-Pacific as well as responsible investor awards across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and globally.

Asia-Pacific receives greater recognition of its growing influence, both as a source of investor capital and its attractiveness for capital deployment. The responsible investment categories have been introduced in reflection of the surge in activity on both the environmental and social fronts, with carbon cutting and social impact initiatives notable among investors and managers.

These awards are added to the long-standing categories that have made up PDI’s annual awards for many years. For the full list of awards, see below. In total, the 2021 PDI Global Awards comprise 54 awards. Last year’s awards attracted a record number of votes and, given the high level of enquiries for this year’s awards, we are expecting to receive even more nominations this time around.

In the last year, PDI has witnessed investor allocations soar as the asset class has become more popular than ever (see our Global Investor 30 ranking for evidence of this). Senior debt has become the most popular strategy as LPs seek out the safest part of the capital structure in response to a volatile economic backdrop.

With higher standards in ESG and technology advances being weaved into the most effective strategies, we expect to see a generation of organisations best able to grapple with today’s challenging times emerge as winners.

The key dates to know:

Wednesday 3 November 2021: call for submissions

Friday 19 November 2021: deadline for submissions

Monday 6 December 2021: voting launches

Friday 7 January 2022: voting closes

Tuesday 1 March 2022: winners announced

The deadline for submissions is 19 November after which senior team members from PDI will consider these alongside our field research and outreach to trusted industry leaders to construct the strongest possible shortlists of nominations for each. Each shortlist comprises four candidates. Submissions are not a prerequisite for entry but are useful for aiding selection committees with their choices. Once determined, voting for the awards will be launched on 6 December. You will have the chance to determine which investors, managers, advisers and individuals deserve to be crowned for their efforts in the past 12-month period. Voting closes on 7 January next year and the winners will be announced on 1 March.

Full guidance on how to enter the awards may be found here.

Our awards categories are as follows:

  1. Lender of the year, Asia-Pacific
2. Senior lender of the year, Asia-Pacific
3. Junior lender of the year, Asia-Pacific
4. Distressed debt & special situations investor of the year, Asia-Pacific
5. Real estate debt fund manager of the year, Asia-Pacific
6. Infrastructure debt fund manager of the year, Asia-Pacific
7. Specialty finance lender of the year, Asia-Pacific
8. Responsible investor of the year, Asia-Pacific
9. Fundraising of the year, Asia-Pacific
10. Law firm of the year, Asia-Pacific
11. Advisory & placement firm of the year, Asia-Pacific
12. Deal of the year, Asia-Pacific
13. Investor of the year, Asia-Pacific
14. Lender of the year, Americas
15. Senior lender of the year, Americas
16. Junior lender of the year, Americas
17. Lower mid-market lender of the year, Americas
18. BDC of the year, Americas
19. Distressed debt & special situations investor of the year, Americas
20. CLO manager of the year, Americas
21. Infrastructure debt fund manager of the year, Americas
22. Responsible investor of the year, Americas
23. Real estate debt manager of the year, Americas
24. Deal of the year, Americas
25. Fundraising of the year, Americas
26. Investor of the year, Americas
27. Law firm of the year, Americas
28. Advisory & placement firm of the year, Americas
29. Specialty finance lender of the year, Americas
30. Fund financier of the year, Americas
31. Lender of the year, Europe
32. Senior lender of the year, Europe
33. Junior lender of the year, Europe
34. Lower mid-market lender of the year, Europe
35. Distressed debt & special situations investor of the year, Europe
36. CLO manager of the year, Europe
37. Infrastructure debt fund manager of the year, Europe
38. Real estate debt manager of the year, Europe
39. Responsible investor of the year, Europe
40. Deal of the year, Europe
41. Fundraising of the year, Europe
42. Investor of the year, Europe
43. Law firm of the year, Europe
44. Advisory & placement firm of the year, Europe
45. Speciality finance lender of the Year, Europe
46. SME lender of the year, Europe
47. Global newcomer of the year
48. Global fund manager of the year
49. Global sponsored deal of the year
50. Global CLO of the year
51. Global distressed debt & special situations manager of the year
52. Global fundraising of the year
53. Global responsible investor of the year
54. Global LP/Investor adviser of the year