2015 ETF.com Europe Awards Finalists Announced

ETF.com today announced the nominated finalists for the 2015 ETF.com Europe Awards. The ETF.com Europe Awards are designed to recognise the people, products and firms that are driving the ETF industry forward and creating better outcomes for investors.

The finalists are selected by the ETF.com Europe Awards nominating committee—made up of senior members of the ETF.com editorial team—which selects up to five finalists in each Award category (six finalists are allowed if the voters are deadlocked).

Winners will be selected by a majority vote of the ETF.com Europe Awards selection committee, a group of independent ETF experts from throughout the financial community. The members of the selection committee are:

• Jim Wiandt, President of Europe, Inside ETFs (Chair)
• Christos Costandinides, Founder, BlueHarbor
• Shaun Port, CIO, Nutmeg
• Allan Lane, Managing Partner, Twenty20 Investments
• Hortense Bioy, Director, passive fund research, Morningstar
• Jan Altmann, Founder, 4asset-management

Voters must recuse themselves from any category in which they or their firm is nominated.

Winners will be announced at the ETF.com Awards Dinner Europe on 14 April, 2016, at the Gherkin, London. 

The finalists in each category are as follows:

1. Lifetime Achievement Award - 2015
Awarded annually to one living individual for outstanding long-term contributions to ETF investor outcomes, including those from the media, regulatory bodies, product providers, investment firms or other categories.

Finalists:

Valérie Baudson: As CEO of Amundi ETF, Indexing and Smart Beta, Baudson has helped turn the firm into a focused powerhouse in the ETF industry, widely credited with delivering low cost, high quality products to investors.

Isabelle Bourcier: Bourcier’s remarkable résumé includes more than a decade spearheading Lyxor Asset Management and (more recently) four years as head of business development at Ossiam.

Mark Makepeace: As CEO of FTSE Group, Makepeace has driven a highly focused effort to expanding index based investing, with a laser-eye at the ETF and smart beta spaces.

Manooj Mistry: Mistry’s track record in the ETF industry traces back more than a dozen years to the launch of the first ETF in Europe. Today he is head of ETPs for Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, where he helped spark that firm’s remarkable 2015.

Peter Thompson: Thompson has been an integral part of Source since founding the company in 2008 when then at Goldman Sachs, and has since overseen growth in AUM (to $20 billion), number of products (75) and staff (90).

Graham Tuckwell: A legend in the ETF industry, Tuckwell built Europe’s largest independent ETF issuer—ETF Securities—and played a key role in the global launch of gold bullion ETFs.

2.  Best ETF – 2015
Awarded to the ETF that has done the most to improve investor opportunities and outcomes in 2015, by providing access to interesting areas of the market, lowering costs, offering new exposures or otherwise creating better results for investors. There is no requirement for an ETF launch date for this award.

Finalists:

db x-trackers iBoxx Sovereigns Eurozone Yield Plus UCITS ETF

In an environment of low (and sometimes negative) rates, this ETF—which provides exposure to the sovereign bonds of the eurozone's five highest yielding countries—has been perfect for yield hungry investors, especially those not wishing to invest in corporates.

First Trust United Kingdom AlphaDex ETF

The best performing UK ETF over the last year, this smart beta FKU beat the FTSE 100 by 12%. The fund uses the AlphaDex methodology to select stocks based on three factors: size, value and momentum.

Lyxor Smart Cash UCITS ETF

This money market alternative uses an active strategy to attempt to eke out higher yield for investors looking for places to park their cash. One of the most popular ETFs for inflows in 2015, it was the right product at the right time.

Source Goldman Sachs Equity Factor Index Europe ETF

This smart beta ETF has attracted more than 300 million euros in assets since launching in January 2015. The fund combines exposure to five different equity risk factors, and has so far delivered on its promise to outperform the MSCI Europe Index on both a risk adjusted and absolute basis.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

This extraordinarily low cost ETF—charging just 0.07% in TER—has become Europe’s second largest ETF thanks to strong continued inflows.

3. Best New ETF – 2015
Awarded to the most important ETF launched in 2015.

Note: Importance is measured by the overall contribution to positive investor outcomes. The award may recognise ETFs that open new areas of the market, lower costs, drive risk adjusted performance or provide innovative exposures not previously available to most investors. Only ETFs with inception dates after 1 Jan., 2015 are eligible.

Finalists:

BMO Barclays 1-3, 3-7 and 7-10 Year Global Corporate Bond UCITS ETFs

BMO Global Asset Management’s 1-3, 3-7 and 7-10 year global corporate bond ETFs offer investors the ability for the first time to access global corporate bonds in precise maturity buckets. The currency-hedged bond ETFs focus on the most liquid bonds in their target maturities.

db x-trackers II Harvest CSI China Sovereign Bond UCITS ETF (DR)

The db x-trackers II Harvest CSI China Sovereign Bond UCITS ETF is the first ETF globally offering investors access to on-shore China government bonds. With fixed income choices limited, this fund opened up a major new market to investors.

iShares FactorSelect MSCI Europe UCITS ETF

The iShares FactorSelect MSCI Europe UCITS ETF provides investors efficient access to a portfolio of European large- and midcap stocks while highlighting four well known investment factors: value, quality, momentum and low size.

Lyxor Smart Cash UCITS ETF

This money market alternative uses an active strategy to attempt to eke out higher yield for investors looking for places to park their cash. One of the most popular ETFs for inflows in 2015, it was the right product at the right time.

Source Goldman Sachs Equity Factor Index Europe ETF

This smart beta ETF has attracted more than 300 million euros in assets since launching in January 2015. The fund combines exposure to five different equity risk factors, and has so far delivered on its promise to outperform the MSCI Europe Index on both a risk adjusted and absolute basis.

WisdomTree Europe Equity UCITS ETF (HEDJ)

Offering broad exposure to eurozone equities while hedging out exposure to the euro, this fund became quite successful in 2015 as investors looked for ways to dodge the plunging European currency.

4. Most Innovative New ETF – 2015

Awarded to the most innovative new ETF launched in 2015.

Note: Only ETFs with inception dates after 1 Jan., 2015 are eligible.

Finalists:

Amundi ETF MSCI World Low Carbon UCITS ETF

The Amundi MSCI World Low Carbon UCITS ETF provides investors efficient access to a portfolio of large- and midcap stocks based with an aim of achieving at least a 50% lower carbon footprint. The popular fund excludes companies with high carbon emissions and features the largest owners of carbon reserves per dollar of market cap.

db x-trackers II Harvest CSI China Sovereign Bond UCITS ETF

The db x-trackers II Harvest CSI China Sovereign Bond UCITS ETF is the first ETF globally offering investors access to on-shore China government bonds. With fixed income choices limited, this fund opened up a major new market.

ETFS Lombard Odier IM Emerging Market Government Bond Fundamental GO UCITS ETF

One of the first ‘smart beta’ fixed income ETFs, this fund aims to fix the flaws of traditional bond index funds by focusing on issuers’ ability to repay debt rather than their level of indebtedness when assigning index weights. On a backtested basis, the index has lower volatility than traditional EM bond indices.

LAM Sun Global ZyFin India Sovereign Enterprises Bond UCITS ETF

LAM Sun Global ZyFin India Sovereign Enterprise Bond UCITS ETF was the first ETF in the world to offer investors exposure to Indian bonds.

Ossiam Shiller Barclays CAPE US Sector Value TR UCITS ETF

The Shiller Barclays CAPE Sector Value family of indices, developed jointly by Barclays Bank and Professor Robert Shiller, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, uses the cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE) ratio as a valuation driver in a sector rotational strategy.

Source STOXX Eurozone Exporters and Source STOXX Japan Exporters

These ETFs track indices that screen stocks within the eurozone and Japan, respectively, to isolate those earning at least half of their revenues from outside their home market. Those stocks are then reweighted to the degree of their international exposure. The idea is that a company’s revenues are determined more by factors impacting its customers rather than simply where the company happens to be domiciled.

5. Best New Equity ETF – 2015
Awarded to the most important equity ETF launched in 2015.

Note: Importance is measured by the overall contribution to positive investor outcomes. The award may recognise ETFs that open new areas of the market, lower costs, drive risk adjusted performance or provide innovative exposures not previously available to most investors. Only ETFs with inception dates after 1 Jan., 2015 are eligible. ETF must be classified by FactSet as an equity ETF to qualify.

Finalists:

Amundi ETF MSCI World Low Carbon UCITS ETF

The Amundi MSCI World Low Carbon UCITS ETF provides investors efficient access to a portfolio of large- and midcap stocks than aim to achieve at least a 50% lower carbon footprint. The popular fund excludes companies with high carbon emissions and features the largest owners of carbon reserves per dollar of market cap.

db x-trackers FTSE 100 Equal Weight UCITS ETF

Equal weighting has taken the world by storm as the simplest (and some would say most effective) smart beta strategy. This fund applied it to the popular FTSE 100 for the first time.

ETFS ISE Cyber Security GO UCITS ETF

The first investment product in Europe to provide exposure to the fast growing global cyber security market, this fund captured a hot meme at exactly the right moment.

Source Goldman Sachs Equity Factor Index Europe ETF

This smart beta ETF has attracted more than 300 million euros in assets since launching in January 2015. The fund combines exposure to five different equity risk factors, and has so far delivered on its promise to outperform the MSCI Europe Index on both a risk adjusted and an absolute basis.

WisdomTree Europe Equity UCITS ETF

Offering broad exposure to eurozone equities while hedging out exposure to the euro, this fund became quite successful in 2015 as investors looked for ways to dodge a plunging European currency.

6. Best New Fixed Income ETF – 2015
Awarded to the most important fixed income ETF launched in 2015.

Note: Importance is measured by the overall contribution to positive investor outcomes. The award may recognise ETFs that open new areas of the market, lower costs, drive risk adjusted performance or provide innovative exposures not previously available to most investors. Only ETFs with inception dates after 1 January, 2015 are eligible. ETF must be classified by FactSet as a fixed income ETF to qualify.

Finalists:

BMO Barclays 1-3, 3-7 and 7-10 Year Global Corporate Bond UCITS ETFs

BMO Global Asset Management’s 1-3, 3-7 and 7-10 year global corporate bond ETFs offer investors the ability for the first time to access global corporate bonds in precise maturity buckets. The currency hedged bond ETFs focus on the most liquid bonds in their target maturities.

db x-trackers iBoxx Eurozone Sovereigns Quality Weighted UCITS ETF

Launched in December 2015, the ETF provides exposure to an index of eurozone sovereign bonds weighted based on criteria that focus on providing higher exposure to better quality issuers. The index grades sovereign issuers based on a series of fundamental measures, such as unemployment and inflation rate, history of default, sovereign debt as a proportion of GDP and GDP growth rate.

db x-trackers II Harvest CSI China Sovereign Bond UCITS ETF

The db x-trackers II Harvest CSI China Sovereign Bond UCITS ETF is the first ETF offering investors access to on-shore Chinese government bonds. With fixed income choices limited, this fund opened up a major new market.

ETFS Lombard Odier IM Emerging Market Local Government Bond Fundamental GO UCITS ETF

One of the first “smart beta” fixed income ETFs, this fund aims to fix the flaws of traditional bond index funds by focusing on issuers’ ability to repay debt—rather than their level of indebtedness—when weighting securities. On a backtested basis, the index had lower volatility and lower max drawdowns than traditional EM bond indices.

Lyxor Smart Cash UCITS ETF

This money market alternative uses an active strategy to attempt to eke out higher yields for investors looking for places to park their cash. One of the most popular ETFs for inflows in 2015, it was the right product at the right time.

UBS ETF - Barclays MSCI US Liquid Corporates Sustainable UCITS ETF

The UBS ETF - Barclays MSCI US Liquid Corporates Sustainable UCITS ETF holds a diversified basket of US corporate bonds, screening out corporations that have inconsistent records of socially responsible activity.

7. Best New Commodity ETF – 2015
Awarded to the most important commodity ETF launched in 2015.

Note: Importance is measured by the overall contribution to positive investor outcomes. The award may recognise ETFs that open new areas of the market, lower costs, drive risk adjusted performance or provide innovative exposures not previously available to most investors. Only ETFs with inception dates after 1 Jan., 2015 are eligible. ETF must be classified by FactSet as a commodity ETF to qualify.

Finalists:

Boost Brent Oil 3x Short Daily ETP

The Boost Brent Oil 3x Short Daily ETP was launched in October 2015 as a fully collateralised, UCITS eligible ETC offering 3x the inverse daily performance of the NASDAQ Commodity Brent Crude Oil ER Index.

ComStage CBK Commodity ex-Agriculture Monthly EUR Hedged
This new version of the popular ComStage commodity ETF—tracking 12 single commodity contracts, equally weighted and excluding ags—features a EUR hedge, blending the worlds of commodity and currency exposure into a single, innovative fund.

ETFS 3x Daily Short WTI Crude Oil

One of the first investment products in Europe to offer 3x leverage short exposure to US crude in a simple, exchange-traded format, this fund provides -3x daily exposure to West Texas Intermediate crude oil.

8. Best New Smart Beta ETF – 2015
Awarded to the most important new ETF launched in 2015, regardless of asset class, that uses a quantitative, research-driven approach to attempt to deliver superior long term risk adjusted returns.

Note: Importance is measured by the overall contribution to positive investor outcomes. The award may recognise ETFs that open new areas of the market, lower costs, drive risk adjusted performance or provide innovative exposures not previously available to most investors. Only ETFs with inception dates after 1 Jan., 2015, are eligible. ETF must be classified as a smart beta strategy by FactSet to qualify. (Please note: Despite the FactSet categorisation, currency-hedged exposures do not qualify.)

Finalists:

db x-trackers iBoxx Eurozone Sovereigns Quality Weighted UCITS ETF

Launched in December 2015, the ETF provides exposure to an index of eurozone sovereign bonds that have been weighted based on criteria that focus on providing higher exposure to better quality issuers, grading sovereign issuers based on a series of fundamental measures, such as unemployment and inflation rate, history of default, sovereign debt as a proportion of GDP and GDP growth rate.

iShares FactorSelect MSCI Europe UCITS ETF

The iShares FactorSelect MSCI Europe UCITS ETF provides investors efficient access to a portfolio of European large- and midcap stocks based on an MSCI index that focuses on four well known investment factors: value, quality, momentum  and low size.

Lyxor J.P. Morgan Multi-Factor Europe Index UCITS ETF

The fund provides a simple, equal exposure to five risk factors grounded in academic theory and with empirical evidence: low beta, quality, value, low size and momentum. The top 40 stocks capturing each factor exposure are selected from the parent index.

Ossiam Shiller Barclays CAPE US Sector Value TR UCITS ETF 1C

The Shiller Barclays CAPE Sector Value family of indices, developed jointly by Barclays Bank and Professor Robert Shiller, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, uses the cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE) ratio as a valuation driver in a sector rotational strategy.

Source Goldman Sachs Equity Factor Index Europe ETF

This smart beta ETF has attracted more than 300 million euros in assets since launching in January 2015. The fund combines exposure to five different equity risk factors, and has so far delivered on its promise to outperform the MSCI Europe Index on both a risk adjusted basis and on absolute terms.

WisdomTree UK Equity Income Index UCITS ETF

The WisdomTree UK Equity Income Index UCITS ETF strategy comprises the highest 33% of UK domiciled companies, ranked by dividend yield. The resulting constituents are used to construct a diversified basket of stocks, with a 3% single stock weighting cap, a 25% sector cap, and a unique fundamental weighting strategy based on the absolute amount of dividends paid by the companies. The methodology helps to mitigate risk and focus on the larger dividend paying stocks.

9. Best ETF Issuer – 2015
Awarded to the ETF issuer that has done the most to improve investor outcomes through product introductions, product performance, fund management, asset gathering, investor support and innovation in 2015.

Finalists:

Amundi ETF

Amundi ETF was a pioneer in the European ETF market and ranks among the top five European ETF providers. In 2015 it grew faster than the market by collecting more than €3 billion, thus reaching an AUM of more than €20 billion. The firm is known as a focused provider of innovative ETFs.

BlackRock’s iShares

BlackRock’s iShares is a dominant force in ETFs, with approximately $1trillion in assets spread over 700 ETPs. 2015 saw it launch single and multiple factor products, currency hedged ETFs and new exposures, like Saudi Arabia. Above all, iShares ETFs are known to provide high levels of liquidity and transparency for their investors.

db X-trackers ETFs

Always at the forefront of innovation, db has successfully transitioned to becoming one of the major providers of physical replication ETFs, having started out as a purely synthetic ETF provider. The No. 3 ETF provider globally, in 2015 it launched new quality weighted fixed income ETFs, a variety of smart beta products and the first Chinese domestic debt funds.

Lyxor

With now 15 years in the ETF industry, Lyxor cemented its place as the 3rd largest issuer in Europe with record inflows of €8.9 billion, building a new name for itself while transitioning from an all synthetic to a mixed physical/synthetic strategy. With a reputation for quality institutional-grade products, the firm is gaining significant traction with European investors.

Source

A leader in both low costs and innovation, Source is taking a new, aggressive stand these days, rolling out a massive push towards UK IFAs and Swiss wealth managers. The firm is a leader in the field of smart beta and low cost offerings, and has invested heavily in core ETF education.

UBS

UBS has been one of the most exciting stories in European ETFs over the past few years, emerging out of nowhere to become a powerhouse. The firm is well known for its currency hedged suite and its innovation in the area of socially responsible ETFs.

10. Best New ETF Issuer – 2015
Awarded to the new ETF issuer that has done the most to improve investor outcomes through product introductions, product performance, fund management, investor support and innovation. Issuers must have launched their first ETF in 2015. ETF.com considers “issuer” to mean the “brand” of the ETF, as classified by FactSet.

Finalists:

BMO Global Asset Management (EMEA)
BMO Global Asset Management is a worldwide investment manager but a new player in European ETFs. The firm launched nine carefully considered ETFs in 2015, including maturity banded corporate bond ETFs designed to add precision to your fixed income exposure, and income equity ETFs that access high yielding securities.

ZyFin Funds

ZyFin broke new ground in the European ETF market (and the global ETF market) by launching the world’s first product focused on the Indian fixed income market, the LAM Sun Global ZyFin India Sovereign Enterprise Bond UCITS ETF.

11. Best ETF Issuer Website – 2015
Awarded to the most informative and user-friendly website by an ETF issuer.

Finalists:

Amundi ETF

Amundi ETF launched its new website this year, using geolocation, SEO optimization and responsive design to make content accessible to all types of investors in all different locations. The site won plaudits both for its design and the exhaustiveness of its contents.

BlackRock’s iShares

The iShares website has consistently been at the forefront of ETF information and education. From basic data to high quality white papers and thought leadership, ishares.com is seen as a fundamental resource in the ETF community.

ETF Securities
The recent redesign of the ETF Securities website took a platform that was complex and hard to navigate and made it one of the best in the world. With new educational resources and better search functionality, the website provides in-depth information in 15 markets and four different languages.

Lyxor

Lyxor’s website received nominations for being easy to use and highly informative, with dedicated information about its full range of products that makes finding the most critical information a simple task.

Source
Source’s efforts to build ETF interest among UK IFAs and Swiss wealth managers shows through in its two new websites targeting those markets. The content, data and information are customized for their respective markets, with complete educational materials targeting those markets specifically, making them extremely easy to use tools for growing the ETF market as a whole.

12. Best Index – 2015
Awarded to the index that has done the most to provide new ways of considering investment strategies, opportunities or ideas.

Finalists:

CSI 300 Index

China—and specifically mainland China—was very much in the news in 2015. The CSI 300, which tracks the performance of the 300 largest companies listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges, is the go-to index for measuring the performance of that market.

ERI Scientific Multi Beta Multi-Strategy Index

A sophisticated take on the smart beta theme, these indices combine diverse exposure to multiple risk factors with a diversification overlay to ensure the resulting portfolios are not overconcentrated.

iBoxx Eurozone Sovereigns Quality Weighted Index

This novel index provides exposure to a basket of eurozone sovereign bonds that have been weighted to focus on better quality issuers. It grades sovereign issuers based on a series of fundamental measures, such as unemployment and inflation rate, history of default, sovereign debt as a proportion of GDP and GDP growth rate.

MSCI EMU Quality Index

The MSCI EMU Quality Index aims to capture high quality stocks that are growing well within the European Economic and Monetary Union. The index focuses on companies with high quality scores based on three fundamental characteristics: high return on equity, stable earnings growth and low financial leverage.

STOXX TRU Indices

The STOXX TRU Indices allow investors to separate where companies are physically located with where they are actually exposed to business risk. Introduced in 2015, these indexes rely on a proprietary estimator—based on country- and industry-dependent figures on exports of goods and services—to determine the economic exposure of each company to a single country.

13. Best Index Provider – 2015

Awarded to the index provider that has done the most to improve investor outcomes through index introductions, research, adviser support and more.

Finalists:

FTSE Russell

2015 was a major year for FTSE. After buying the Russell indices family in 2014, it moved into 2015 with an aggressive mandate to compete heavily on a global basis and establish a strong position in the fast growing smart beta space.

MSCI

MSCI has been at the forefront of index construction and maintenance for more than 40 years. It has remained a market leader by expanding its index offering to reflect the evolving and complex needs of the institutional investment community. It is one of the key drivers of innovation in the smart beta space.

Solactive

Solactive has disrupted the custom index by offering issuers high quality indices at a fraction of the cost of the more established firms. The group has won an increasing share of the custom index market and is looking to expand into its own smart beta indices as well.

STOXX Ltd.

STOXX Ltd. launched innovative indices during the past year that helped customers navigate an economic landscape marked with uncertainty. New approaches in the past year include indexes based on the Sharpe ratio, currency hedging, economic exposure, smart beta, low carbon and more.

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI)

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is among the world’s largest and most influential index providers. 2015 saw S&P DJI launch more than 5,000 new indices across multiple asset classes, and is among the only index providers with exposure across equities, fixed income and commodities.

14. Best Index Provider Website – 2015
Awarded to the most informative and user-friendly website by an index provider.

Finalists:

ERI Scientific Beta

ERI Scientific Beta’s website is a treasure trove of information, tools and research capabilities that has advanced academic finance in countless ways.

MSCI

MSCI’s newly relaunched website brings high quality design together with exceptional, institutional quality research and insights around world renowned core indexing capabilities.

Robo Global

A great example of what a niche index provider can do, Robo Global’s website provides a strong introduction to the companies and return profile offered by its unique indexes.

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI)

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) receives props for offering strong data (including downloadable data) and solid research, from the micro to the long term macro perspective.

STOXX Ltd.

STOXX Ltd. relaunched its website in July 2015 and created an intuitive, minimalistic Web product that provides exceptional data, research and information. You can compare and contrast indices, listen to podcasts, view data and much, much more.

15. Best ETF Liquidity Provider – 2015
Awarded to the ETF liquidity provider (including market maker, authorised participant, agency broker, etc.) that has done the most to improve investor outcomes through education, support, services, innovation and outreach.

Finalists:

Commerzbank

One of the largest ETF market makers in Europe, Commerzbank is the designated sponsor of more than 2,500 ETFs and is well respected for its high quality, professional service.

Flow Traders

As a leading liquidity provider specializing in ETPs, Flow Traders continuously quotes bid and ask prices for ETPs listed across the globe, both on and off exchange. In 2015 the company traded on over 95 markets and provided liquidity in over 3,000 ETPs. The total ETP value by Flow Traders increased from 527 billion pounds in 2014 to 645 billion pounds in 2015.

Jane Street

Jane Street was ranked No. 1 for on-exchange trading in ETFs (includes on-order book and reported volume) on the London Stock Exchange in 2015. Nominations mentioned consistently competitive execution across both fixed income and equities; strong customer service; and its quick move to meet the industry shift towards pricing via electronic request for quote platforms.

MAKO ETF

This relatively new entrant to the market has improved investor outcomes via enhanced liquidity and pricing, building up a very reputable name in a very short space of time.

Winterflood

A longtime player in ETF liquidity, Winterflood made big noise in 2015 by partnering with Novia to substantially lower the costs for advisors to build ETF portfolios.

16. Best ETF Lawyer – 2015
Awarded to the best lawyer/law firm to contribute to ETFs through diligent service and by shepherding new and effective products into the marketplace.

Finalists:

A&L Goodbody

A&L Goodbody has built a strong and expanding practice in ETFs, and was cited by nominators as being “particularly knowledgeable.”

Arthur Cox
Arthur Cox established the first Irish ETF in 1998 and continues to advise multiple ETF clients.

Dechert
A global leader in ETFs, Dechert received wide kudos for customer service and its insights into the ETF space.

Matheson

Matheson is a leading legal adviser to ETFs, with a wide sweep of clients. It advised on the launch of ETF umbrellas for both of the new ETF issuers in Europe in 2015: BMO Global Asset Manager and ZyFin.

William Fry

William Fry helped develop the very first European ETF in 2000 and has been a leader ever since. In 2015, among other tasks, it tackled the fragmented settlement model of European ETFs, fundamentally changing the settlement process for ETFs in Europe for the betterment of investors.

17. Best ETF Custodian – 2015

Awarded to the best custodian firm to contribute to ETFs through diligent service, efficient back office operations and the ultimate safeguarding of investor capital.

Finalists:

Brown Brothers Harriman

From strong services to extensive thought  leadership activities, Brown Brothers Harriman has established an international reputation for excellence in the ETF market.

Bank of New York  Mellon

Bank of New York  Mellon is a leading global custodian providing a broad range of services to the ETF industry.

Northern Trust

Northern Trust has been at the forefront of ETF servicing since it launched the first ETF in Europe in 2000.

It has an ETF settlement infrastructure which delivers enhanced liquidity and efficiency to ETFs, and its ETF Hub integrates core processing systems and monitors the entire ETF deal life cycle.

State Street

A global leader in ETF custody, State Street is well known and liked for offering a comprehensive array of services.

18. Best European ETF Stock Exchange – 2015
Awarded to the best stock exchange in Europe that contributes to the efficient listing, distribution and trading of ETFs for the ultimate benefit of investors.

Finalists:

Bats

Offering market shifting competitive pricing to both ETF issuers and secondary market buyers and sellers, Bats has built significant momentum in the ETF market and is rapidly gaining market share in the space.

Deutsche Boerse Cash Market, Deutsche Boerse AG/Deutsche Boerse

Deutsche Boerse's ETF Segment is Europe's largest ETF trading platform by order book turnover and number of ETFs listed. It offers investors a highly liquid, multilateral trading environment which significantly exceeds order book turnover on any other European ETF exchange, and excels at ETF education.

Euronext/Euronext Amsterdam

Euronext’s low cost, high value approach involves taking good care of its clients and a diversified, global orientation.

London Stock Exchange

The LSE is known for its comprehensive offering and proactive sponsorship of the ETF ecosystem in the UK, including multiple partnerships around ETF education.

SIX Swiss Exchange

Know for a very smooth and quick listing process, SIX Swiss received support for its detailed trading statistics, facility with multiple currencies and popular step-quoting capabilities.

19. Best ETF Adviser – 2015

Awarded to an individual financial adviser or advisory team that is using ETFs to deliver high quality portfolios to clients in an innovative way.

Finalists:

Beaufort Securities Ltd.

Beaufort's DFM/Wealth Team offers clients a range of six different risk-rated pure ETF model portfolios. Working with more than a dozen IFAs, the firm has gained traction in 2015 by making its models available on Novia, Transact and Standard Life.

Elm Partners

Launched by one of the founders of Long Term Capital Management, Elm Partners has made a name for itself by championing extremely low cost portfolios that combine the best features of passive index investing with the most desirable aspects of active management (a focus on value tempered with a respect for trends and momentum). The firm has attracted more than $400 million in AUM and charges just 0.12% per year.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg continue to be the frontrunners in digital wealth management, and are growing in size and momentum. What was a solution that could be ignored as small and a disrupter is now becoming mainstream and a fearsome competitor for mass market clients.

SCM Direct

SCM Direct brings transparency, responsibility and experience to the task of building ETF-focused portfolios. The firm offers three investment portfolio strategies—a Global Bond Portfolio, an Absolute Return and a Long Term Portfolio strategy, and gives clients the ability to review their entire portfolios at a moment’s notice.

Skerritts Wealth Management

A long term champion of ETFs, Skerritts and its Head of Investments, Andrew Merricks, were nominated for having strong ability to use ETFs in both tactical and buy and hold portfolios.

Twenty20 Investments

Twenty20 Investments’ multi-asset SRI solution built from ETFs is a first in the UK market. With a long history and background in the ETF space, the firm is a leader in educating advisers and the public at large about ETF-centric portfolios.

20. Best UK Adviser Platform for ETFs – 2015 

The best UK adviser platform for ETFs is awarded to the platform that offers its advisers low cost, whole of market access with nimble trading facilities and well developed back office systems.

Finalists:

Ascentric

Ascentric offers more than 650 ETFs on platform and has an in-house dealing team that works hard to improve upon publicly available bid/offer spreads. The platform allows for both bespoke portfolio construction and the use of model portfolios, and has a trading-inclusive charging structure, meaning ETFs are treated in the same manner as conventional collective funds.

AXA Wealth Elevate

The platform is noted for offering a wide range of ETFs, giving investors more choice than many competing firms.

Nucleus Financial

This independent wrap platform was built by a financial adviser for financial advisers, and has been a leader in making low cost ETFs available to investors of all sorts.

Novia
Novia made big noise in 2015 with a new approach to charging clients for ETF holdings, lowering fees to just 0.05% in initial charges and an annual holding fee of just 0.02%. Trades on the platform are aggregated and maximum costs per trade capped, offering additional value for large customers.

Transact

Nominators mentioned the firm was ‘independent’ and ‘forward thinking,’ and was using sophisticated technology to allow advisors to set up either bespoke or model ETF portfolios at low costs.

21. Best Robo Adviser – 2015

Awarded to the best firm providing online, lower cost and technologically efficient investments for clients.

Finalists:

Elm Partners

Launched by one of the founders of Long Term Capital Management, Elm Partners have made a name for itself by championing extremely low cost portfolios that combine the best features of passive index investing with the most desirable aspects of active management (a focus on value tempered with a respect for trends and momentum). The firm has attracted more than $400 million in AUM and charges just 0.12% per year.

ETFmatic

A new entrant to the robo advisor space, ETFmatic prides itself on tailoring customized portfolios built for each investor. The firm continues to fine-tune its portfolios based on how clients interact with their accounts, allowing it to build a sophisticated, real world measure of client risk tolerance.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg continue to be the frontrunners in digital wealth management, and are growing in size and momentum. What was a solution that could be ignored as small and a disrupter is now becoming mainstream and a fearsome competitor for mass market clients.

Scalable Capital

A digital advisor with offices in both Munich and London, it uses proprietary technology to deliver institutional-caliber portfolios.