Actively managed, dividend, and cryptocurrency ETFs dominate the list of nominees for the 2025 etf.com Awards, in a year that saw record-breaking investment levels and increased momentum in certain fund sectors. etf.com's editorial staff narrowed the field down from more than 700 nominations to create a competitive short list of just under 100.
This year's awards have six new categories, including Active ETF of the Year, one of this year's most popular categories. Nominees include dividend, fixed income, and categorized loan obligation (CLO) funds. The category is a complement to Best New Active ETF, which has six nominees: the BondBloxx Private Credit CLO ETF (PCMM), Calamos Laddered S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF (CPSL), Fidelity Yield Enhanced Equity ETF (FYEE), NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (QQQI), Roundhill S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF (XDTE), and the Vanguard Core Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VCRM).
But all eyes are on the ETF of the Year category, which Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst and awards judge Eric Balchunas described as a "tough choice."
"Strong nominee list this year," Balchunas tweeted. "Going to be a tough choice. ETF equiv [sic] of the 1994 Oscars- Pulp Fiction, Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump were all up for best picture."
Nominees in this category include spot bitcoin giant IBIT, the iShares Bitcoin Trust, which is favored to win by users on social media. IBIT is joined by VOO, Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF, which is just a few billion away from unseating SPY (the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) as the largest ETF in the world. Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ) also joins the nominees in the category, one of 2024's best-performing equity funds. The Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF (JAAA) rounds out nominations in this category.
The nominations exemplify a record year for exchange-traded funds, which had more than $1 trillion in inflows last year. Actively managed funds continued to see increased interest in 2024, even as passive investing continues to gain market share. All told, active funds pulled in 25% of total inflows last year.
ETF industry heavyweights comprise the list of Lifetime Achievement Award nominees. Appearing on the nomination list again is Bob Pisani, senior markets correspondent at CNBC, and Joanna Gallegos, co-founder and CEO of BondBloxx. Other nominees include Rob Arnott, partner and chairman of Research Affiliates; Bruce Bond, co-founder and CEO of Innovator Capital Management; and George Milling-Stanley, chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors.
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Cryptocurrency made its first big appearance in this year's awards with the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs at the start of 2024. The Cryptocurrency ETP category included Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), fellow spot bitcoin ETF behemoth IBIT (the iShares Bitcoin Trust), the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF (STCE), and the STKD Bitcoin & Gold ETF (BTGD).
Since launch, spot bitcoin ETFs have pulled in $30 billion in inflows in 2024, primarily through the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
Dividend ETFs also make multiple appearances on the short list as investors seek income-generation. Income ETFs represented roughly 10% of ETF nominees for the 2025 awards. Inflows in the fund type leaped in 2024, bringing in more than $30 billion, up from the $3 billion brought in by the asset class by the end of 2020.
Award winners will be announced at the in-person Awards gala April 23, 2024, at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City.
