Methodology
ETF.com Award winners are selected in a three-part process designed to leverage the insights and opinions of leaders throughout the ETF industry
Step 1
The awards process began with open nominations, which started Dec. 4, 2019, and closed Jan. 4, 2020. Interested parties could submit nominations via the publicly available survey form. Self-nominations were accepted. Nominators could nominate in as many categories as they liked. You cannot win if you were not nominated, and no nominations were accepted after the deadline. There are no exceptions to these rules.
Step 2
Following the open nominations process, the ETF.com Awards Nominating Committee— made up of ETF.com editorial staff—reviewed nominations. Nominations were screened for eligibility (appropriate timing and category). If more than five unique entries were received in the nomination process, the members of the Nominating Committee force-ranked their top five, resulting in a final slate for each category. Votes were resolved on a majority basis, and ties broken where possible with head-to-head runoff votes. If ties could not be broken, more than five finalists were allowed. The Nominating Committee completed its work by Jan. 10, 2020. Shortly thereafter, the nominees were published on ETF.com.
Step 3
Winners among these finalists were selected by a majority vote of the ETF.com Awards Selection Committee, a group of independent ETF experts from throughout the ETF community. Committee members recused themselves from voting in any category in which they or their firms appeared as finalists. Ties were decided where possible with head-to-head runoff votes. Voting completed by Jan. 31, 2019, but results were kept confidential until their announcement on April 2, 2020.
2019 Awards Selection Committee: ETFs & Issuers
- Kim Arthur, Main Management
- Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence
- Ben Blaisdell, US Trust
- John Davi, Astoria Advisors
- Emily Doak, Charles Schwab Investment Advisory
- Debbie Fuhr, ETFGI
- Nate Geraci, ETF Prime/ETF Store
- Matt Hougan, Inside ETFs
- Ben Johnson, Morningstar
- Elisabeth Kashner, FactSet
- Ben Lavine, 3D Asset Management
- Tom Lydon, ETF Trends
- Tyler Mordy, Forstrong Global Asset Management
- Todd Rosenbluth, CFRA
- Dan Weiskopf, ETF Think Tank
2019 Awards: Service Providers
For 2019, we established a separate set of awards for service providers, with a distinct voting committee that includes one representative from each issuer and one representative from each listing exchange. The awards for the service providers completed voting in early February. The awards in this category include the following:
- Index Provider of the Year – 2019
- Index of the Year – 2019
- ETF Liquidity Provider of the Year – 2019
- ETF Custodian of the Year – 2019
- ETF Law Firm of the Year – 2019
- Best Online Broker for ETF-Focused Investors – 2019
- Best ETF Platform – 2019
- Best ETF Issuer Capital Markets Desk – 2019
- ETF Investor of the Year – 2019
2019 Award Winners
| LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD | ETF ISSUER OF THE YEAR |
| Reggie Browne | Innovator ETFs |
| ETF OF THE YEAR | NEW ETF ISSUER OF THE YEAR |
| Vanguard Total International Bond Index (BNDX) | Tidal ETF Services (SoFi) |
| BEST NEW ETF, BEST NEW U.S. EQUITY ETF, BEST NEW ESG ETF | MOST INNOVATIVE ETF ISSUER OF THE YEAR |
| iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF (SUSL) | ARK |
| MOST INNOVATIVE NEW ETF | BEST ETF ISSUER WEBSITE |
| Direxion MSCI USA Cyclicals Over Defensives ETF (RWCD) | iShares |
| BEST NEW INTERNATIONAL/GLOBAL EQUITY ETF | NEW ETF TICKER OF THE YEAR |
| Alpha Architect Freedom 100 Emerging Market ETF (FRDM) | Roundhill BITKRAFT Esports & Digital Entertainment ETF (NERD) |
| BEST NEW U.S. FIXED INCOME ETF | INDEX PROVIDER OF THE YEAR |
| Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility Inflation Hedge ETF (IVOL) | Solactive AG |
| BEST NEW INTERNATIONAL/GLOBAL FIXED INCOME ETF | INDEX OF THE YEAR |
| SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF (SPSK) | Life + Liberty Freedom 100 Emerging Markets Index |
| BEST NEW COMMODITY ETF | ETF LIQUIDITY PROVIDER OF THE YEAR |
| iPath Series B Carbon ETN (GRN) | Jane Street |
| BEST NEW ALTERNATIVES ETF | ETF CUSTODIAN OF THE YEAR |
| RPAR Risk Parity ETF (RPAR) | US Bank |
| BEST NEW ASSET ALLOCATION ETF | BEST ONLINE BROKER FOR ETF-FOCUSED INVESTORS |
| Strategy Shares Newfound/ReSolve Robust Momentum ETF (ROMO) | Charles Schwab |
| BEST NEW SMART BETA OR FACTOR ETF | BEST ETF PLATFORM |
| GraniteShares XOUT US Large Cap ETF (XOUT) | Charles Schwab |
| BEST NEW ACTIVE ETF | BEST INDEX PROVIDER WEBSITE |
| Avantis U.S. Equity ETF (AVUS) | Alpha Architect |
| THEMATIC ETF OF THE YEAR | BEST ETF ISSUER CAPITAL MARKETS DESK |
| Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU) | iShares |
| PEOPLE’S CHOICE | ETF INVESTOR OF THE YEAR |
| ProShares S&P Dividend Artistocrats Technology ETF (TDV) | CLS Investments |
| ETF HIDDEN GEM | ETF LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR |
| VanEck Vectors Green Bond ETF (GRNB) | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius |
