## [# 2026 ETF.com Award Nominees: U.S. Equity](/sections/equity/2026-etfcom-award-nominees-us-equity) # 2026 ETF.com Award Nominees: U.S. Equity The U.S. Equity ETF category saw **482 new launches** in 2025, pulling in **$18.2B in first-year flows**. The category held **1,764 funds** with **$8.25T in total assets** and **$570B in flows1**. Two themes dominated in 2025: the continued challenge of mega-cap concentration (and creative solutions to address it), and the expansion of active management into new territory. Our nominees reflect both trends. [![ETF.com](/sites/default/files/styles/author_image_icon/public/2023-12/etf.com_400x400.png?itok=LO34LQE1)](/contributors/etfcom-staff) [By ETF.com Staff](/contributors/etfcom-staff) Jan 07, 2026 Edited by: ETF.com Staff [ + Follow ](/etf/login) Share Email LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-article_page_302x26'); }); Loading ### The Nominees TickerFund NameAUMYTD FlowsER[**GRNJ**](https://www.etf.com/GRNJ)Fundstrat Granny Shots US Small- & Mid-Cap ETF$192M$183M0.75%[**VUSV**](https://www.etf.com/VUSV)Vanguard Wellington U.S. Value Active ETF$40M$27M0.30%[**DSPY**](https://www.etf.com/DSPY)Tema S&P 500 Historical Weight ETF Strategy$790M$735M0.18%[**TRUT**](https://www.etf.com/TRUT)VanEck Technology TruSector ETF$55M$54M0.13%[**XDIV**](https://www.etf.com/XDIV)Roundhill S&P 500 No Dividend Target ETF$25M$24M0.08%--- ### [**GRNJ**](https://www.etf.com/GRNJ) - Fundstrat Granny Shots US Small- & Mid-Cap ETF **Launched:** November 2025 | **ER:** 0.75% | **AUM:** $192M | **Issuer:** Fundstrat Capital **Investment Strategy:** An actively managed fund with a focus on long-term capital appreciation within U.S. small- and mi-caps, GRNJ combines top-down fundamental and bottom-up quantitative research when selecting stocks for inclusion. Stocks held meet at least two of the seven themes that the PMs have identified, including seasonality, PMI recovery, global labor suppliers, energy/cyber security, and more. - **Merit:** High - Brings proven research framework to the SMID cap category - **Position:** Strong - GRNY’s success gives instant credibility - **Utility:** Good - Established strategy familiarity in large-caps make this an easier sell to clients - **Power:** TBD - Depends if GRNY alpha persists **Why it’s nominated:** When a strategy works, extending it makes sense. Tom Lee’s [GRNY](https://www.etf.com/GRNY) franchise has been one of the great ETF success stories of the past year — $3.6B in AUM and +30% returns in Year 1. GRNJ extends that proven research framework into the underserved SMID cap space, applying Fundstrat’s thematic macro research with quantitative screening to identify companies aligned with multiple investment themes. “Tom Lee for small caps” is an easy pitch, especially given GRNY's performance. --- ### [**VUSV**](https://www.etf.com/VUSV) - Vanguard Wellington U.S. Value Active ETF **Launched:** November 2025 | **ER:** 0.30% | **AUM:** $40M | **Issuer:** Vanguard / Wellington **Investment Strategy:** VUSV seeks long-term capital appreciation through its investment in large- and mid-cap value stocks. Notably, VUSV uses fundamental stock selection to curate its portfolio as opposed to an indexed approach. - **Merit:** Very High - Vanguard + Wellington active equity is landmark - **Position:** First-mover - historic for both firms - **Utility:** Excellent - “Vanguard active value” needs no explanation - **Power:** Very High - Opens major new ETF frontier **Why it’s nominated:** This is a landmark product. Vanguard’s first-ever ETF run by bottom-up stock pickers represents a major philosophical shift for the firm. VUSV opens an entirely new frontier for the world’s second-largest asset manager. The strategy reflects Wellington’s portion of the $24B Windsor Fund (running since 1958) – albeit with different investment outcomes than VWNDX – with PM David Palmer bringing decades of value experience. The AUM is modest so far, but the significance isn’t about day-one flows; it’s about what this signals for Vanguard’s ETF future. --- ### [**DSPY**](https://www.etf.com/DSPY) - Tema S&P 500 Historical Weight ETF Strategy **Launched:** April 2025 | **ER:** 0.18% | **AUM:** $790M | **Issuer:** Tema ETFs **Investment Strategy:** The strategy seeks to reflect the S&P 500 Index while reducing individual company concentrations. Individual stock weights in DSPY are determined using historical average weights, resulting in DSPY offering exposure to the middle ground between [SPY](https://www.etf.com/SPY) and [RSP](https://www.etf.com/RSP). - **Merit:** Very High - Genuinely novel approach to concentration - **Position:** First-mover on historical weighting concept - **Utility:** Good - “S&P but less Mag-7 heavy” resonates - **Power:** High - Concentration concerns aren’t going away **Why it’s nominated:** Concentration concerns aren’t going away, and DSPY offers a genuinely novel solution with the first weighting innovation since RSP (Equal Weight) launched in 2003. DSPY uses 35-year historical average weights by index position instead of current market cap weights. This approach constrains the concentration of the largest holdings, resulting in 10 holdings at 22% (vs. 39% for SPY, 2% for RSP). It’s a clever middle ground for investors worried about Mag-7 concentration but unwilling to go full equal-weight. The inflows prove advisors are looking for exactly this kind of tool. --- ### [**TRUT**](https://www.etf.com/TRUT) - VanEck Technology TruSector ETF **Launched:** August 2025 | **ER:** 0.13% | **AUM:** $55M | **Issuer:** VanEck **Investment Strategy:** An actively managed fund, TRUT seeks long-term capital appreciation through its investment in information technology companies as well as gaining exposure through other ETFs or derivatives. The strategy screens for large-cap tech companies that demonstrate strong industry positioning and operating performance, as well as high growth. - **Merit:** High - Solves real tracking error problem - **Position:** Strong - Cleaner implementation compared to other sector strategies - **Utility:** Good - “True sector weight” addresses real advisor frustration - **Power:** Moderate - Tied to concentration dynamics **Why it’s nominated:** Traditional sector ETFs have a problem: RIC diversification rules force them to cap individual holdings at 25%, which means they systematically underweight the largest names in concentrated sectors like tech. TRUT solves this with a hybrid approach by holding individual equities plus targeted ETFs to maintain true market-cap exposure while staying RIC-compliant. This is the cleanest “hack” we’ve seen to the concentration problem. VanEck’s implementation is more elegant than sampling-based alternatives, and 0.13% is remarkably cheap for what you’re getting. --- ### [**XDIV**](https://www.etf.com/XDIV) - Roundhill S&P 500 No Dividend Target ETF **Launched:** July 2025 | **ER:** 0.08% | **AUM:** $25M | **Issuer:** Roundhill **Investment Strategy:** XDIV is actively managed and seeks to track the S&P 500's total returns while avoiding distribution payouts. It invests its assets in S&P 500 ETFs ([IVV](https://www.etf.com/IVV), [SPYM](https://www.etf.com/SPYM), [SPY](https://www.etf.com/SPY), [VOO](https://www.etf.com/VOO)), moving out of a position the day before the underlying ETF's ex-dividend date to avoid incurring distributions. - **Merit:** High - Genuinely novel tax strategy - **Position:** First-mover on no-distribution approach - **Utility:** Niche but clear use case (taxable accounts) - **Power:** Moderate - Depends on investor demand for tax management **Why it’s nominated:** The first ETF designed to eliminate distributions entirely, XDIV holds SPY, IVV, VOO, and SPYM but exits positions before ex-dividend dates to avoid receiving dividends. For tax-sensitive investors who want S&P 500 exposure without income events, this is a genuinely novel solution. Love it or hate it, this is real innovation. The tracking cost vs. tax benefit math will vary by investor, but the concept is sound and the execution is clever. --- 1. *All data sourced from FactSet as of 12/26/31.* For more information about the ETF.com awards process, [click here](https://www.etf.com/sections/features/best-etfs-2025-award-announcement-coming-soon). #### [CAST YOUR VOTE!](https://etf.com/etf/login?destination=/etf-awards-2026-voting) [ + Follow ](/etf/login) [ETF.com Staff](/contributors/etfcom-staff) etf.com is the single source for ETF intelligence. We provide real-time ETF news and analysis to educate investors and drive financial knowledge in… [View Bio](/contributors/etfcom-staff) Related Topics [Equity](http://www.etf.com/topics/equity) [U.S.](http://www.etf.com/topics/us) [Active Management](http://www.etf.com/topics/active-management) [Awards 2025](http://www.etf.com/topics/awards-2025)