Tradeweb: Best ETF Platform – For electronic platform Tradeweb, 2019 was a milestone year for European ETF trading. Adriano Pace, head of Equities (Europe) at the firm, says: “We saw total notional volume exceed EUR360 billion, up 43.5 per cent on the year before, while the number of institutional firms trading European ETFs on our platform grew by more than 10 per cent.”
London Stock Exchange Group: Best European Exchange for Listing ETFs – This year of many anniversaries for ETFs has seen London Stock Exchange Group celebrate its 20th anniversary in listing exchange traded products. Lida Eslami, head of business development for ETPs and IOB, explains that the first ETF in London was listed in 2000, focussed on the FTSE 100.
STOXX: Best European Index Provider – Qontigo´s index provider, STOXX had an extraordinary year in 2019, not least in its September merger with US-analytic firm Axioma to become Qontigo. The resulting company is majority owned by Deutsche Boerse and has the index capabilities of STOXX and DAX, as well as the analytical skills of Axioma.
Nikko Asset Management: Best Asia Equity ETF Provider – Phillip Yeo, Joint Global Head of ETF Business at Nikko AM, explains that over 2019, the firm saw assets under management in ETFs grow by 30 per cent, up to USD81 billion. Growth was organic and on the back of new assets flowing in, he says. “2019 was a good year for equities and markets as a whole, with organic growth but also the momentum of investors being interested in ETFs and looking for no hassle exposure to the markets.”
Optiver: Best European Liquidity Provider/Market Maker – Q&A with Andrew Meyer, Partner & Head of Delta 1, Optiver.
Invesco: Best US Equity ETF Provider – Invesco Asset Management won Best US equity ETF provider for 2019, a year that was, Chris Mellor, Head of Equity and Commodity ETF Product Management, Invesco, says: ‘the best year ever’. The firm raised around USD11 billion in net new assets, pushing it up the rankings in Europe to number three.
State Street Global Services: Best ETF Fund Administrator & Best European Smart Beta ETF Provider – Ciarán Fitzpatrick, head of ETF servicing for Europe for State Street, explains that the firm supports 67 per cent of the European market for ETFs, 84 per cent of those registered in Ireland and 47 per cent of those registered in Luxembourg, the two largest domiciles in Europe for ETFs.
2019 was an extraordinary year for ETFs, with a huge up-swing in their popularity, but no-one predicted the early 2020 down-swing as coronavirus-led panic flooded through the financial markets. The ETF industry globally sailed into 2020, the 30th anniversary of the origin of ETFs globally, the 20th anniversary of European ETFs and the 10th anniversary of the ETF Express Awards, completely unaware of the drama lying ahead.
Read all about the winners in the ETF Express 2020 European awards, a year that marks the 10th anniversary of our awards, the 30th birthday of ETFs overall, and the 20th birthday of European ETFs.
Hoya Capital Real Estate: Most Successful & Innovative ETF Launch – Alex Pettee (pictured), President and Director of Research & ETFs for Hoya Capital Real Estate, explains that the Hoya Capital Housing 100, the underlying index for the newly-launched HOMZ ETF, is designed to be the new benchmark for the performance of the entire US housing industry.