The FOW International Awards 2018 are now open for entry.

The awards recognise the best and brightest innovations in the derivatives industry in a range of categories.

All details on the awards as well as hints and tips of entry can be found below. 

Entries will be accepted up to Friday 21 September. We will be announcing the shortlist in mid-October.

Winners will be unveiled at the FOW International Awards Gala Dinner on December 4 in London. 

For all enquiries please e-mail awards@globalinvestorgroup.com  

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ENTRY FORM

About the awards

The judging process

The FOW International Awards are judged by a panel of industry experts drawn from across the market in a range of disciplines.

The FOW editorial team draws up the shortlist based on eligible entries and then sends out the awards for review by the judges.

Each judge then rates the awards in order of their preference and the results are calculated on a point-based system.

To ensure the integrity of the awards process, Global Investor has no influence in the judge’s decisions.

Award Categories

Full details

EXCHANGES AND CCPs

GLOBAL EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR

This award is decided from the winners of the regional exchange awards and does not require a direct entry – please enter into the exchange of the year category.

EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR

• US and Canada

• South America

• Europe

• Asia-Pacific

• Middle East and Africa

The winner in each continental subcategory will be an exchange that has set itself apart from its peers during the year. The exchange will be a pioneer in the local and global markets and be able to demonstrate tangible innovations such as new contract launches or technology upgrades that set it apart from its rivals during the year.

BEST TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION BY AN EXCHANGE

The winner in each continental subcategory will be an exchange that has introduced a new technology during the entry period that has brought something new to the market or automated a process in an innovative way.

CLEARING HOUSE OF THE YEAR

• The Americas

• Europe

• APAC and MEA

The winner in each continental subcategory will be required to demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. This could include volume growth or the development of new facilities or services.

US OPTIONS EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be required to demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period in the field of options trading in the US. This could include innovative new contracts, growth in market share or the development of new facilities or services.

BEST NEW EXCHANGE OR TRADING PLATFORM

The winner of this global award will be an exchange or trading platform launched during the period that has provided the market with a new or innovative product or products. It will have established a good reputation within the market and generated solid trading volumes since its launch.

MOST INNOVATIVE NEW CONTRACT LAUNCH BY AN EXCHANGE

• Equities and equity indexes

• Commodities

• Interest rates

• Currency

The winner of each sub-category will be an exchange or trading venue that has launched a contract that filled a market need in a novel and innovative way. Contract performance will be taken into account but will not be the sole basis of the judges’ decision.

PROP TRADERS’ EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR 

Voted for by prop traders’ – does not require entry

FCM’S EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR 

Voted for by FCMs – does not require entry

EXCHANGE DEAL OF THE YEAR

This category is awarded to an exchange that has completed the most innovative or influential deal over the judging period. This category is decided by the judges and does not require entry.

SEF OF THE YEAR

The winner of this award will be a swap execution facility that has set itself apart from its peers during the year. Judges will be asked to consider innovation, market share growth and client outreach in particular. 

TRADE REPOSITORY OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will a trade repository that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. This could include client facing innovations, growth in market share or the development of new facilities or services.

BANKS, BROKERS AND FCMS

BANK OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a bank that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. Innovations include new product launches, new services, technology investments or new approaches to client service.

IDB OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be an interdealer broker that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. Innovations include new product launches, new services, technology investments or new approaches to client service.

NON-BANK FCM OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a non-bank FCM that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. Innovations include new product launches, new services, technology investments or new approaches to client service.

MARKET MAKER OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a market maker that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. Innovations include technology investments or new approaches to existing processes.

PROP TRADERS’ CLEARING FIRM OF THE YEAR

Voted for by prop traders – does not require entry

PROPRIETARY TRADING FIRM OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a market maker that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. Innovations include new product launches, new services, technology investments or new approaches to client service.

TECHNOLOGY

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT

• Trade reconciliation

• Blockchain

• Post trade

• Risk management

• Trading and execution

• Connectivity

• Collateral management

• Market data

• Market surveillance

• Regulatory reporting

The winners in each of these subcategories will be technology companies that have launched new products or made significant enhancements to existing products during the judging period that solved a problem creatively, opened up new possibilities, or changed the way participants approach the market.

TRADING SYSTEM OF THE YEAR

Buy-side

Sell-side

The winner in each of these subcategories will offer a front-to-back office trading system to the global market that stands out from its rivals for exceptional quality of service, product offering and customer service. 

BEST INNOVATION BY AN ISV - REGULATORY CHANGE

The winner of this category will have introduced a new product or service during the judging period that is designed to meet the regulatory reform sweeping the market.

PROP TRADERS’ ISV OF THE YEAR

Voted for by prop traders’ – does not require entry

PERSONAL

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

Rules and tips

The period under consideration is 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. All entries must focus on this period. For new products, the product or product enhancement must have been made available in the market during this period and should be clearly stated.  

For other entries, growth or notable achievements should focus on this period. Events outside this period will be considered ancillary to the entry by judges.

Entries will only be accepted for the categories you are entering. You may enter multiple categories and the same entry may be submitted to multiple categories but you should consider the need to impress judges in that specific category when submitting your award so tailoring multiple entries of the same product or entity to each award category may be more successful than a copy and paste job.

All entries must be in English and submitted to awards@globalinvestorgroup.com by the awards deadline. The deadline is Friday 21 September.

The word count for each awards entry is a maximum of 500 words, please do not exceed this. Additional information such as press releases or brochures may be submitted but the core of the entry that will be considered by judges will be the 500 word entry.

Focus on specific and tangible achievements or innovations. The judges are asked to consider these and are required to support their decision with references to innovations or achievements. A 500 word history of the firm may make for interesting reading but will not give the judges enough information to make an award. Remember you are being judged on achievements during the period. In categories other than the Best New Product awards, this may relate to products or innovations launched outside the judging period but the growth or contract wins that you are highlighting should be during the period.

Be specific. Don’t say, "we had significant volume growth during the period"; say "we had volume growth of x%". Don’t say, "we launched a number of new initiatives"; say "we launched x,y and z and this is why they matter".

Client recommendations and comments can be submitted. FOW will respect the confidentiality of clients cited in the documents when requested.

The judges’ decision is final. The judges will be named upon publication of the shortlist, however it will not be indicated which awards they are judging. Regardless, any attempts to influence the judges will result in immediate disqualification.

You may nominate a firm that is not your firm for an award. Please indicate that on the entry form and we will follow up with them for an entry.