First State Investments, the Australian-owned fund manager with £95bn under management, has quietly built a stellar reputation in emerging-markets equities in recent years, on the back of strong performance.

Its narrow margin - 0.16 of a point - over the Asian-focused powerhouse of rival Aberdeen Asset Management in our judges' scoring will be a particularly sweet victory, landing it the title of Financial News' Emerging Markets Investment Management Firm of the Year 2012.