Methodology

About the FOW Asia Pacific Awards

The FOW Asia Pacific Awards recognises the best and brightest innovations in the derivatives industry. The awards are arranged into five categories:

  • Banks, Brokers, Props, Buyside
  • Technology
  • Exchange & Clearing
  • Voting Based
  • Individual

Some of the awards will be decided by a specialist panel of experts from across the region, with the rest decided by a survey of subscribers and other stakeholders which can be voted on through our dedicated survey.

The Chief Executive of the Year and Lifetime Achievement awards are selected by our editorial team. If you would like to put someone forward for consideration, please do so through our submission portal, and explain in the comments box why you are nominating the individual for the award.

Entry Criteria

  1. The period under consideration is 1 May 2024 – 30 April 2025. All entries must focus on this period.  Growth or notable achievements should focus on this period. Events outside this period will be considered ancillary to the entry by judges.
  2. 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.
  3. All entries must be in English and completed by the awards deadline - 11 July 2025, 11:59 pm (HKT).
  4. The word count for each awards entry is a maximum of 750 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 750 word entry.
  5. 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 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. 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.

How to craft a winning entry

  1. Highlight key achievements: Focus on your most significant accomplishments and their impact.
  2. Provide supporting evidence: Include data, case studies, or testimonials to support your entry.
  3. Be clear and concise: Ensure your entry is easy to read and understand.

Grading criteria

5 points - Excellent

The question has been answered and tailored to the related award, the flow of the answer is clear, concise and easily understandable, data and examples provided are relevant and on point.

4 points - Above Average

The question has been answered, data and examples provided are relevant, but language is fragmented, and clarity of the answer is affected.

3 points - Average

Only around 2/3 of the question have been answered and the data and examples provided are not that clear and on point; language is fragmented, and clarity of the answer is affected.

2 points - Below Average

Less than half of the question have been answered and data and examples provided do not meet the standard expected to support the submission; language is fragmented, and clarity of the answer is affected.

1 point - Poor

The response is clearly the result of copy-paste from a corporate website, it hasn’t been thought through and adapted to the specific category/award, and/or the answer is not specific and targeted to the award's criteria, not reflecting the specifics of the category.