Morningstar’s Ben Johnson returned to this week’s ETF Prime podcast to hand out his annual ETF awards, marking his eighth year running with host Nate Geraci in reviewing the year’s biggest stories and standout funds.
Johnson’s awards come as the ETF industry wraps up what he called the “ETF Triple Crown.” The year saw record inflows of nearly $1.4 trillion, a record number of new launches approaching 1,100, and record trading volume.
Johnson, head of client solutions at Morningstar, emphasized that ETF assets now sit at $13.2 trillion, representing 37% of combined mutual fund and ETF assets. He predicts ETF assets will likely exceed mutual fund assets soon and that the number of ETFs will eclipse the number of mutual funds by early 2027.
Top ETF Awards and Trends
For ETF of the year, Johnson selected the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM), which has reached over $100 billion in assets with $33 billion in organic flows. He noted the fund has outgrown larger rivals like VOO organically despite being a relative newcomer.
Read More: SPYM Crosses $100 Billion in Record-Breaking Rally
Johnson’s favorite new ETF was the Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL ), which he jokingly called “boring” but pointed out it is the largest by assets of all 2025 launches at over $4 billion. The pick proved that low-cost staples still win despite a year filled with more exotic offerings.
In the ticker of the year category, Johnson admitted vanity in picking the Horizon Landmark ETF (BENJ ), which sounds like his name. He also highlighted the Baron First Principles ETF (RONB) as a nod to the firm’s founder Ron Baron, with the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF (BWOW) earning an honorable mention for cleverness.
For ETF issuer of the year, Johnson selected Vanguard. The firm launched 15 ETFs, the most since 2010, and took in $421 billion, representing one-third of all flows. In an “interpretive” pick, he highlighted advisors using 351 exchange transactions to convert separately managed account assets to ETFs.
Johnson named “ETF as a Share Class” as his story of the year. With 91 filers now seeking exemptive relief including Morningstar, he believes this will be viewed historically as the moment the industry officially recognized ETFs are legally mutual funds with better packaging.
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