For the third year in a row, hedge funds named Morgan Stanley top prime broker, according to the 2007 Alpha Awards from Alpha magazine. In its third annual survey, Alpha asked nearly 1,000 hedge funds, with an estimated US$1.4tn under management, to rate their prime brokers, among others, in 10 different areas.

"Morgan Stanley's dominance this year is clear," the editors wrote, noting that Morgan Stanley Prime Brokerage "dominates in nearly every aspect of service that underlies the overall Alpha Awards ranking."

In addition to top prime broker, Morgan Stanley took the top spot in nine categories, second in the other. The first-place finishes include:

• Business Consulting
• Capital Introductions
• Client Service
• Financing
• Global Fixed Income
• Hedge Fund Expertise
• Operations
• Reporting and Reporting Technology
• Trading Technology

Morgan Stanley placed second for Securities Lending. The Firm did take the top spot in Euromoney's International Securities Finance 2007 Equity Lending Survey. Last year, the survey ranked the Firm first in four out of 10 categories, second in four as well.

"Client service remains crucial to the success of service providers, whatever the field, and proves a major determinant in how firms fare in the Alpha Awards," the editors noted. "Fund managers want to know that providers will stick with them through turbulent markets and that the firms they have chosen can adequately handle the growing complexity of their businesses and investment strategies."