Bank of America, JPMorgan stay top in 2014 Extel awards

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch was named top pan-European equity brokerage for a second straight year at the annual Thomson Reuters Extel Awards on Tuesday, while JPMorgan Asset Management won best fund manager for the fifth year in a row.

The awards, which were handed out in a ceremony at London's Guild Hall, are significant badges of honor in the industry as they are based on the votes of thousands of industry insiders.

Strong votes can secure bragging rights for winning firms and, for highly rated individuals, can result in lucrative job offers and pay rises.

In a repeat of 2013's results, Bank of America Merrill Lynch scooped the prize for leading pan-European brokerage in equity and equity-linked research, ahead of 12-time winner UBS . Morgan Stanley remained in third place.

JPMorgan Asset Management was joined in the top three in the best fund manager category by Wellington Management and Fidelity Worldwide Investment, which last year placed fifth and fourth respectively.

Among individual prize winners was Andrew Wood of Sanford C. Bernstein, who for the eighth consecutive year took home the trophy for leading pan-European equity analyst.

JPMorgan Asset Management's Peter Lawrence reclaimed the title of top fund management individual from Philip Guest of UBS Global Asset Management, who came second.

HSBC's Niels Pecriaux climbed nine places to finish third in that category.

GLG Partners was for the second straight year named top hedge fund, with Tudor Capital in second. Moore Capital Management jumped from sixth to third.

The awards also cover companies' investor relations teams. Germany's Deutsche Telekom took the top spot, followed by Swiss drugmaker Roche and French media and telecoms group Vivendi .

The Extel awards are based on a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters between the end of March and early May. This year attracted a record level of participation, with more than 16,000 individuals from around 6,300 brokerages, fund managers, research houses and major European companies taking part.

WeConvene, a web-based platform that allows the investment community access to companies, said on Monday it had agreed to acquire Extel from Thomson Reuters in a deal expected to close by the end of June. No financial details were disclosed.

(Editing by David Holmes)

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