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Deutsche Bank Shines At ETF.com Europe Awards
Matt Hougan
Updated
London – Deutsche Bank stole the spotlight at the second annual ETF.com Europe Awards Dinner, which took place on 14 April on the top floor of the iconic 30 St Mary Axe building, better known as “The Gherkin,” in central London.
The second annual ETF.com Europe Awards Dinner took place at the top of the iconic "Gherkin" building in central London
Deutsche Bank—one of the largest ETF issuers globally—netted four of the most prestigious awards, including Best ETF of 2015, Most Innovative New ETF of 2015, Best Issuer of 2015 (tied with Lyxor) and the Lifetime Achievement Award, granted to its long-standing executive and Head of ETFs and Passives for EMEA, Manooj Mistry.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Manooj Mistry of Deutsche Bank sees a bright future for European ETFs
Other high-profile winners included Lyxor’s share of the Best Issuer of 2015 award and MSCI’s second consecutive win for Best Index Provider.
In his acceptance speech, however, Mistry suggested that the biggest winner might be the industry itself … and by proxy the investors it serves. Noting that the European ETF industry seemed to have ended the war of words fought between physically replicated ETFs and synthetically replicated ETFs in recent years, he painted the picture of an industry poised for significant growth.
That’s certainly what it felt like in the room, with more than 100 people gathered in the glass-walled top floor of the Gherkin tower, with the lights of the city of London laid out below them.
The winners in each category were 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.
The winner:
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 park that firm’s remarkable 2015.
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.
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.
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 were eligible.
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.
insideETFs' President of Europe, Jim Wiandt, welcomes attendees to the dinner
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 were eligible.
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.
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 were eligible. ETF must have been classified by FactSet as an equity ETF to qualify.
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.
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 Jan., 2015 were eligible. ETF must have been classified by FactSet as a fixed income ETF to qualify.
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.
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 were eligible. ETF must have been classified by FactSet as a commodity ETF to qualify.
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.
More than 100 movers and shakers from the European ETF industry gathered to celebrate innovation in the space
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, were eligible. ETF must have been classified as a smart beta strategy by FactSet to qualify. (Please note: Despite the FactSet categorisation, currency-hedged exposures do not qualify.)
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.
9. Best ETF Issuer – 2015 (Tie) 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.
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 third largest issuer in Europe, with record inflows of 8.9 billion euros, 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.
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.
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.
11. Best ETF Issuer Website – 2015 Awarded to the most informative and user-friendly website by an ETF issuer.
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.
12. Best Index – 2015 Awarded to the index that has done the most to provide new ways of considering investment strategies, opportunities or ideas.
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.
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.
14. Best Index Provider Website – 2015 Awarded to the most informative and user-friendly website by an index provider.
MSCI
MSCI’s newly relaunched website brings high quality design together with exceptional, institutional quality research and insights around world renowned core indexing capabilities.
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.
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.
16. Best ETF Lawyer – 2015 (Tie) Awarded to the best lawyer/law firm to contribute to ETFs through diligent service and by shepherding new and effective products into the marketplace.
Dechert A global leader in ETFs, Dechert received wide kudos for customer service and its insights into the ETF space.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
21. Best Robo Adviser – 2015
Awarded to the best firm providing online, lower cost and technologically efficient investments for clients.
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.
