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Markets Score 15 Neutral

ETF.com Unveils 2026 ETF Award Winners Amid Industry Recognition Season

Mar 09, 2026 10:54 UTC
SPY, QQQ, XLK
Long term

ETF.com has named the top-performing and most innovative exchange-traded funds in the 2026 awards, highlighting strong performers across technology and financial sectors. The winners include SPY, QQQ, and XLK, reflecting investor preference for broad-market and sector-specific exposure.

  • SPY, QQQ, and XLK were recognized in the 2026 ETF Awards for performance and liquidity.
  • SPY holds $487 billion in AUM, the largest ETF in the U.S.
  • QQQ recorded $219 billion in AUM and averaged 68 million daily shares traded.
  • XLK posted a 22.3% return in 2025, outperforming the S&P 500 by 8.2 percentage points.
  • The top three award-winning ETFs collectively manage over $900 billion in assets.
  • Innovation in ESG and sector-specific strategies was a key criterion in the evaluation.

ETF.com has officially announced the recipients of the 2026 ETF Awards, recognizing funds that demonstrated exceptional performance, liquidity, and innovation over the prior fiscal year. The awards spotlighted ETFs with robust inflows, low expense ratios, and strong tracking accuracy, reinforcing investor confidence in established and emerging strategies. Among the standout recipients were SPY, the largest U.S. equity ETF with $487 billion in assets under management, and QQQ, the technology-focused fund tracking the Nasdaq-100 with $219 billion in AUM. XLK, the technology sector ETF, earned accolades for its consistent outperformance, posting a 22.3% annual return in 2025, significantly outpacing the S&P 500’s 14.1% gain. These funds also led in trading volume, with QQQ averaging over 68 million shares daily and SPY surpassing 100 million. The awards underscored the growing dominance of passive strategies in the ETF landscape, with the top three funds collectively representing more than $900 billion in assets. The recognition also highlighted innovation in ESG integration, with one new entrant in the financials sector achieving $3.2 billion in net inflows within its first 18 months. While the awards do not directly influence market prices, they serve as a benchmark for fund quality and can enhance investor awareness. The results may indirectly drive capital flows toward high-rated ETFs, particularly among retail and institutional allocators focused on transparency and efficiency.

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