The commodities bull-run may have caused a stampede of institutions to enter or re-enter the base metals markets, but they don't have the long-standing pedigree of Barclays Capital (Barcap). Operating across liquid and illiquid metals markets, the maturity and breadth of Barcap's offering secured it this year's award for House of the Year, Base Metals.

"Barcap has always maintained a very high level of commitment to commodities," says Brian Olson, head of metals at Barclays Capital. "It's a core