2023 was a year of growth again for this extraordinary industry with ETF data providers ETFGI reporting year-to-date net inflows of USD596.75 billion to end September, the second highest on record. Assets invested in the global ETFs industry have increased 11.3 per cent year-to-date in 2023, going from USD9.26 trillion at end of 2022 to USD10.31 trillion.
And it’s been a year of change as the all-powerful thematic ETF gently gave way to the rise of the active fund. The majority of ETF assets may still be in index-based funds, replicating major indices, but the active fund is in the spotlight as markets proved universally challenging.
Doug Yones, head of Exchange Trading Products at the New York Stock Exchange, kindly invited me to discuss the awards in a video interview before the announcement of the winners this year and confirmed that 70 per cent of the launches they have seen so far this year were in the actively managed sector as issuers and new issuers found new ways to use the ETF wrapper.
Financial services firm BBH also noted the trend, reporting that ETFs are no longer as synonymous with passive investing as they were in 2013. “Over the last three years we have seen an impressive 52 per cent annual growth rate bringing the active ETF space to USD342 billion AUM,” they reveal.
Within this special report, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi , comments that the three biggest ETF trends this year have been focused on active management, fixed income, and thematic investing. “Actively managed ETF supply and demand has skyrocketed. Adviser interest in these strategies has improved and leading asset managers have brought their best ideas to the ETF market,” he says.
Best ideas are also represented in a new type of winner in this year’s US awards. In Fairlead Strategies, winner of Best Mixed-Allocation ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn), we have our first fund of ETFs product, undoubtedly just the first in what is a growing part of the ETF industry. These awards also have that most active of ETF issuers, Ark Investment, winning Best Thematic ETF Issuer ($10bn+) for its disruptive innovation approach to investment.
We gave out The Editor’s Award this year, and it went to a firm that doesn’t yet have the ETF that it wants but surely will in the coming weeks or months. Grayscale Investments won the award for being remarkably resolute in its determination to launch a spot bitcoin ETF. Other firms in the ETF cryptocurrency space have thanked this firm and recognised all its hard work in moving the crypto ETF offering in the US forwards and winning the Editor’s Award demonstrates that we join in that sentiment.
Many congratulations to all our winners and read on to hear more about them in this Special Report.
Beverly Chandler,
Managing editor, ETF Express
Most Innovative ETF Issuer
Innovator ETFs
Best Overall ETF Liquidity Provider/Market Maker
Jane Street
Best Market Maker/Authorised Participant – Equity ETFs
Jane Street
Best Market Maker/Authorised Participant – Fixed Income ETFs
Jane Street
Best Market Maker/Authorised Participant – Commodity ETFs
Jane Street
Best US Exchange for Listing ETFs
The New York Stock Exchange
Best US Exchange for Trading ETFs
The New York Stock Exchange
Best US Index Overall Provider
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Best Index Provider – Equity ETFs
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Best Index Provider – Fixed Income ETFs
Bloomberg
Best Index Provider – Commodity ETFs
Bloomberg
Best Index Provider – ESG ETFs
Nasdaq
Best Index Provider – Emerging Markets ETFs
Nasdaq
Best Capital Markets Team
Capital Group
Best Institutional ETF Broker
Goldman Sachs
Best Retail ETF Broker
Fidelity
Best ETF Custodian
State Street Global Services
Best ETF Platform
Tidal Financial Group
Best ETF Distributor
ACA Foreside
Best ETF Back Office Tech Provider
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Best ETF Middle Office Tech Provider
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Best ETF Data Vendor
Bloomberg
Best ETF Research Provider
VettaFi
Best ETF Law Firm
Ropes & Gray
Best ETF Regulatory/Compliance Adviser
ACA Foreside
Best ETF Auditor
Cohen & Company
Best Overall ETF Administrator
State Street Global Services
Best ETF Administrator – Equity ETFs
State Street Global Services
Best ETF Administrator – Fixed Income ETFs
State Street Global Services
Best US White Label Platform
Tidal Financial Group
Best US Public Relations and Communications Firm
Craft & Capital
Best Cryptocurrency Index Provider
CoinDesk Indices
Best US Semi-Transparent Structure Provider
Blue Tractor Group LLC
Best Active ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
DoubleLine
Best Active ETF Issuer ($1bn-$10bn)
Capital Group
Best Active ETF Issuer ($10bn+)
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Best Leveraged & Inverse ETF Issuer ($100m+)
ProShares
Best Commodity ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
VanEck
Best Commodity ETF Issuer ($1bn-$10bn)
GraniteShares
Best Commodity ETF Issuer ($10bn+)
SPDR
Best Thematic ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
Fidelity
Best Thematic ETF Issuer ($1bn-$10bn)
Invesco
Best Thematic ETF Issuer ($10bn+)
Ark Investment
Best Emerging Markets Equity ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
Franklin Templeton
Best Emerging Markets Equity ETF Issuer ($1bn-$10bn)
Dimensional Fund Advisors
Best Emerging Markets Equity ETF Issuer ($10bn+)
Schwab Asset Management
Best ESG Equity ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
American Century/Avantis
Best ESG Equity ETF Issuer ($1bn-$5bn)
Exchange Traded Concepts
Best ESG Equity ETF Issuer ($5bn+)
iShares
Best International Equity ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
BNY Mellon
Best International Equity ETF Issuer ($1bn-$10bn)
Capital Group
Best International Equity ETF Issuer ($10bn+)
Schwab Asset Management
Best US Equity ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
Columbia Threadneedle Investments
Best US Equity ETF Issuer ($1bn-$5bn)
Capital Group
Best US Equity ETF Issuer ($5bn-$50bn)
Dimensional Fund Advisors
Best US Equity ETF Issuer ($50bn+)
Schwab Asset Management
Best ESG Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($100m+)
IndexIQ
Best International Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
Dimensional
Best International Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($1bn-$10bn)
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Best International Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($10bn+)
Invesco
Best US Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
BNY Mellon
Best US Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($1bn-$10bn)
Fidelity
Best US Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($10bn-$50bn)
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Best US Fixed Income ETF Issuer ($50bn+)
iShares
Best Mixed-Allocation ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
Fairlead Strategies
Best Mixed-Allocation ETF Issuer ($1bn+)
VanEck
Best Crypto Linked ETF Issuer
VanEck
Best Next Generation Internet ETF Issuer
Global X
Best Options Strategies ETF Issuer ($100m-$1bn)
Allianz Investment Management LLC
Best Options Strategies ETF Issuer ($1bn+)
Amplify ETFs
The Editor’s Award
Grayscale Investments
