ETF.com Award Nominations Now Open

(Nominations for the 2020 ETF.com Awards accepted here)

We’re excited to announce that it’s ETF Awards season again! Nominations are now open for the ETF.com Awards, which recognize the best in the industry in the year that just ended: 2020. We would like your help in selecting our winners.

This year’s awards will take on a new shape and feel. We will announce the winners at a virtual event on Tuesday, April 20, 5-7 p.m. ET, open to anyone who wants to attend, at no cost.   

Some of the highlights of the 2020 ETF.com Awards include speakers such as Reggie Browne, 2019’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner, 2020’s as-yet-to-be-named Lifetime Achievement Awardee, as well as a special keynote speaker. There will also be live music, networking opportunities and breakout sessions to choose from at the end of the award presentations. (You can register for free here).

You’ll notice that this year—and from now on—the ETF.com Awards will comprise a leaner list of nominations. That's due to two main reasons.  

First, we want to focus on product innovation itself, and award the ETFs and issuers that have broken new ground and improved investor access the most in the past year. Secondly, we want to focus on the categories that have resonated most with industry participants, ensuring that the nominations and, more importantly, the voting process, truly capture excellence in the industry. 

Please take a look at the award categories, and help nominate the products, people and companies that you believe stood out in 2020.

Here are the Award categories, methodology and Awards Selection Committee:

ETF.com Awards 2020

(Note: The full description of each award’s criteria is contained in the nomination survey here.)

1. Lifetime Achievement

2. ETF of the Year

3. Best New ETF

4. Best New U.S. Equity ETF

5. Best New International/Global Equity ETF

6. Best New U.S. Fixed Income ETF

7. Best New International/Global Fixed Income ETF

8. Best New ESG ETF

9. Best New Smart Beta or Factor ETF

10. Best New Active ETF

11. Best Thematic ETF of the Year

12. New ETF Ticker of the Year

13. ETF Issuer of the Year

14. New ETF Issuer of the Year

15. Index Provider of the Year

16. Index of the Year

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 begins with open nominations, which start today, Jan. 21, 2021, and close Feb. 28, 2021. Interested parties are invited to submit nominations via the publicly available survey form. Self-nominations are accepted. Nominators may nominate in as many categories as they like. You cannot win if you are not nominated, and no nominations will be 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—reviews nominations. Nominations are screened for eligibility (appropriate timing and category). If more than five unique entries are received in the nomination process, the members of the Nominating Committee will rank their top five, resulting in a final slate for each category. Votes will be resolved on a majority basis, and ties broken where possible with head-to-head runoff votes. If ties cannot be broken, more than five finalists are allowed. The Nominating Committee will complete its work by March 10, 2021. The nominees will be published on ETF.com.

Step 3
Winners among these finalists will be 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 will recuse themselves from voting in any category in which they or their firms appear as finalists. Ties will be decided where possible with head-to-head runoff votes. Voting will be complete by March 15, 2021, but results will be kept confidential until they are announced at the ETF.com Awards ceremony on Tuesday evening, April 20, during a virtual event that you sign up for here.

2020 Awards Selection Committee

Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence 

John Davi, Astoria Advisors 

Jillian DelSignore, Lakefront Advisory

Blair DuQuesnay, Ritholtz Wealth Management

Deborah Fuhr, ETFGI 

Nate Geraci, ETF Prime/ETF Store

Lois Gregson, FactSet

Ben Johnson, Morningstar

Elisabeth Kashner, FactSet 

Ben Lavine, 3D/L Capital Management

Todd Rosenbluth, CFRA 

Shana Sissel, Spotlight Asset Group

Remember that a product, person or company cannot win if they are not nominated, which we have made easy to do here.

You can reach Drew Voros at [email protected]