Fondsfrauen Award 2026
This year marks the eighth Fondsfrauen Awards. The awards recognize individuals and companies that stand out for their contributions to the industry and to greater gender diversity.
You can submit nominations until 6. September 2026 your nominations helping us shine a light on those who are shaping our industry with courage, inspiration, and vision. Colleagues, managers, companies . Self-nominations are welcome too.
The award ceremony takes place on 20. Oktober 2026from 6:00 PM at the Frankfurter Botschaft in Frankfurt.
Ein herzliches Dankeschön gilt unseren Sponsoren, die die diesjährigen Fondsfrauen Awards möglich machen: KPMG als Premiumsponsor und Deloitte als Goldsponsor.
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Categories
The Fondsfrauen Award is presented in the following categories:
Company of the Year
We are looking for the company in the asset management and financial sector that has been the most ambitious with the promotion of women in the past year. For example, through in-house programmes, targeted training, promotion of young talents, changed job advertisements, equal pay policies or a new corporate culture.
Woman of the Year
We want to recognize successful women for their outstanding achievements.
Women who demonstrate entrepreneurial success as top performers, e.g. sales increases, mergers or repositioning of companies, implementation of strategically important projects or similar.
Fund Manager of the Year (F)
We are looking for the Female Fund Manager of the Year. She should have competitive and excellent performance, whether in a mutual fund, ETF, managed mandates or other fund structures. She should have successfully launched an innovative strategy or generated sustainable inflows for it.
Role Model of the Year (M/F/D)
The nominees are role models who have made a strong contribution to the advancement of women in the past year.
Whether it is public appearances, articles, support at events, the introduction of special programmes in their own company or mentoring: we are looking for a person who takes their role as a role model seriously and actively contributes to promoting women and bringing them into leadership positions. Nominations are also open to people who can be an inspiration to the next generation and inspire more women to join our industry.
Rising Talent (F)
Young female talents are the managers of tomorrow. We therefore want to recognise women who have chosen a career in asset management and have already achieved success within their first five years of work. Whether they have shown assertiveness, shone through innovations or ways of improving their work area or shown commitment beyond their company. Nominations are especially open to talents from the areas of sales and portfolio management.
Nominations close on September 6, 2026. This year's winners will be announced in late October in Frankfurt am Main at the Fondsfrauen Award ceremony.
In media cooperation with
Jury
The jury consists of the founders of Fondsfrauen, as well as Maren Schmitz, Head of Asset Management at KPMG AG, the renowned professor Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, and the publisher of FONDS professionell, Hans Heuser. Together, we review all applications and determine the winners.
Find more about Fondsfrauen here.
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi
Holder of the Chair for General Business Administration and Corporate Governance at the University of Mannheim
Hans Heuser
Publisher of FONDS professionell & editor-in-chief of Institutional Money
Maren Schmitz
Head of Asset Management, KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Anne E. Connelly
Fondsfrauen
Anke Dembowski
Fondsfrauen
Manuela Fröhlich
Fondsfrauen
Review
On October 21, 2025, the seventh siebte Fondsfrauen Award took place in Frankfurt am Main. In an inspiring and festive atmosphere, outstanding pioneers and role models were honored for their passionate commitment to advancing gender diversity in asset management.
CACEIS was named Company of the Year . The company is strongly committed to creating a female-friendly workplace and promoting equality at the leadership level. With 50 percent women on the Executive Committee and 46 percent across the organization, CACEIS is well above the industry average
Carola Marx (DWS) received the award for Role Model of the YearShe is deeply dedicated to supporting female talent, guiding employees individually along their career paths, and creating initiatives that increase the visibility of women within the company.
Dr. Denisa Čumova (La Française) was honoured as Fund Manager of the Year . As a fund manager and team leader at La Française, she developed ADORA, a machine-learning-based strategy designed to mitigate return risks, which she continues to refine and enhance.
Nina Blachut (Union Investment) received the award for Rising Talent. As Head of Marketing, she leads a 15-member team and manages a seven-figure budget. Through data-driven strategies and modern working methods, she strengthens the company’s sales performance. In addition, she serves on the Diversity Council and is a member of the MD Advisory Panel.
Sina Meier (21Shares) was named Woman of the Year . She serves as Managing Director and Head of Switzerland, FraBeLux, and the Middle East at 21Shares. Under her leadership, the company has significantly expanded its assets under management and strengthened its international presence.
We extend our sincere thanks to our sponsors: KPMG, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Morningstar Deutschland and BiermannNeff AG for their valuable support.
After an inspiring evening full of remarkable stories and encounters, we look forward with excitement to next year’s celebration, when once again individuals and companies will be honored for their passion and commitment to greater diversity in the financial industry.
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