Morgan Stanley took top honors in Institutional Investor's Alpha magazine's first-ever hedge fund survey as the top overall prime broker in the industry. In addition, the magazine also noted that Morgan Stanley took the top spot when dealing with what it called the Hedge Fund 100, the world's 100 most demanding hedge funds.

More than 600 hedge fund management firms around the world, managing nearly US$675bn, or 70 percent of industry assets, voted in the survey. Of these firms, 550 run single-manager funds and almost 100 manage funds of hedge funds.

"The hedge funds we polled say they prize client service above all else, followed by operations, reporting and technology, and securities lending," the editors wrote. "Morgan Stanley finishes at or near the top in all of those categories."

First Place Finishes
#1 Prime Broker Overall
#1 Prime Broker Among Hedge Fund 100
#1 Business Consulting
#1 Capital Introduction
#1 Client Services
#1 Reporting and Technology
#1 Securities Lending