2025 etf.com Awards: An ETF Industry Celebration

etf.com is rolling out the red carpet this week as the ETF industry's version of the Oscars takes center stage Wednesday at the Tribeca Rooftop in New York City. The 2025 etf.com Awards will celebrate the most influential, innovative and impactful players shaping the global ETF landscape. 

I am honored to serve as a judge alongside a distinguished panel of industry leaders, including Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, Blue Ocean Global Wealth’s Marguerita Cheng, ETFGI’s Deborah Fuhr, FactSet’s Lois Gregson, 3D’s Ben Lavine and CFRA’s Aniket Ullal. 

With 18 categories, including six newly introduced this year, the awards spotlight the industry’s best and brightest. As I’m sure my fellow judges would agree, selecting this year’s winners was no easy feat. It was a true Herculean task.

ETF of the Year

Take “ETF of the Year,” for example. The nominees include:

• GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF (NVDL)
• iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
• Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF (JAAA)
• Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ)
• Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

NVDL returned 345% in 2024, while its assets grew from $220 million to nearly $5.4 billion! IBIT simply orchestrated the best launch in ETF history, taking in over $34 billion in a brand new category. JAAA was a breakout sensation, vacuuming up $11 billion and bringing the CLO ETF segment to life. NUKZ was a new entry from an indie issuer that quickly found an audience and rewarded them with a 40% return last year. Last, but certainly not least, all VOO did was obliterate the annual ETF inflow record, taking in a mind-boggling $116 billion. The prior record was just over $50 billion. 

You can see the judges’ dilemma in choosing a single winner.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Another especially challenging category is the “Lifetime Achievement Award,” which features an outstanding lineup of nominees:

• Rob Arnott, Partner & Chairman, Research Affiliates
• George Milling-Stanley, Chief Gold Strategist, State Street Global Advisors
• Bruce Bond, Co-founder & CEO, Innovator Capital Management
• Joanna Gallegos, Co-founder & COO, BondBloxx
• Bob Pisani, Senior Markets Correspondent, CNBC

This category honors “outstanding long-term contributions to ETF investor outcomes, whether from a position of media, regulation, product provider, investor or another category.” 

From a product innovation standpoint, Rob, George, Bruce and Joanna have all been directly involved with pioneering new investment approaches and/or entire ETF categories. Rob is known as the “Godfather of Smart Beta.” George is referred to as the “Godfather of Gold ETFs.” Bruce led the creation of the now highly popular defined outcome, or buffer, ETFs. Joanna spearheaded the launch of an innovative bond ETF issuer that is slicing and dicing fixed income in ways not previously done. Bob has made it his mission for decades to educate investors on all of this ETF innovation that is occurring, with a particular gift of distilling complex topics in a way that anyone can understand. 

While I am only scratching the surface of what these five individuals have brought to the industry, it’s crystal clear that all are highly deserving of this award.

New Award Categories

In addition to the usual mainstay awards, this year features six new categories, including “Crypto ETP of the Year.” To nobody’s surprise, this might be my favorite category, and the competition is every bit as stout:  

• Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)
• Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC)
• iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
• Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF (STCE)
• STKD Bitcoin & Gold ETF (BTGD)

I previously noted IBIT’s historic success, but it is impossible to ignore Bitwise’s focus on crypto education or Grayscale paving a regulatory path for every other spot crypto ETF issuer. STCE is a unique entry given its low-cost equity-based exposure to the digital asset ecosystem. BTGD brought a “return stacking” approach to bitcoin ETFs, combining “digital gold” with physical gold. Perhaps no single segment has captured the industry’s spirit of innovation quite like crypto-related ETFs.

With categories reflecting both mainstay and emerging trends, along with a rigorous selection process for nominees and winners, the etf.com Awards are the benchmark for excellence in the ETF space. As I stroll down the red carpet on Wednesday, I will feel extremely grateful to participate in an industry that doesn’t just champion innovation but celebrates it.

Check out the full list of nominees here.