This is Tower's three win in the past seven years, claiming top honours in 2004 and 2005.

He says Tower isn't trying to do anything fancy or flash, rather it is doing the same thing over and over.

FundSource said Tower had a stable team of investment managers. Hildyard says although New Zealand equities manager Wayne Stetchman had left he had been in the role for 18 years.

While Paul Robertshawe is "the new boy on the block" taking over the role, he has been the understudy for nine years.

FundSource says the competition was tight this year with incumbent ING coming in a close second, followed by AXA in third position.

"Nomination for the FundSource Awards requires the fulfilment of a rigorous set of criteria, including a disciplined approach to investment management, the ability to retain skilled resources across various asset sectors and the ability to deliver consistent performance," FundSource says.

"The winners are then selected on their ability to deliver superior risk adjusted performance relative to their peers."

FundSource also gives sector awards in the various asset classes. ING, Tower and Guardian Trust featured in four, three and three sector categories respectively. Tyndall Investments also featured in three sectors as sub-manager of some Guardian Trust and Asteron funds.