VettaFi has been recognized as the Best U.S. Index Overall Provider at the ETF Express U.S. ETF Awards 2026, building on a standout year of index innovation, strategic acquisitions, and product milestone growth across the ETP landscape.

Index partnerships drive ETF asset milestones

“Winning best index provider is a huge honor that really reflects the hard work our team has put into becoming a unique index partner, not just an index provider,” said Dalton Easterwood, head of index product at VettaFi. “We’ve had an incredible 12 months expanding our index business. Seeing the industry recognize our growth and product innovation makes me proud of everything we’ve built together.”

Eric Klein, senior index product developer, and Nandhini Sridhar, index product developer, accepted the award on behalf of VettaFi at the ETF Express U.S. ETF Awards 2026 on October 22.

The industry recognition follows impressive momentum for ETFs linked to VettaFi indices. Following strong investor interest in disciplined valuation and fundamental screens, the VictoryShares Free Cash Flow ETF (VFLO) doubled its assets under management year to date, crossing $10 billion.

Similarly, Schwab’s suite of fundamental index strategies built on RAFI™ Indices benchmarks achieved record asset levels. Both the Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF (FNDX) and the Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF (FNDF) surged to $25 billion in assets. Meanwhile, the Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF (FNDE) climbed to $10 billion in total assets.

Strategic expansion and benchmark innovation

Beyond overall asset growth, VettaFi continues to bolster its offerings in key areas through targeted thematic exposures and strategic acquisitions, including the RAFI™ Fundamental Indices and the Global Listed Infrastructure Organisation (GLIO) family.

VettaFi also expanded its well-established expertise in energy and defense with the Range index family, which spans uranium, nuclear, and coal, as well as The SPADE® Defense Index.

Institutional collaborations and custom ETF frameworks

Additionally, VettaFi continues to develop custom index frameworks designed to help investors generate alpha and navigate evolving market conditions. The launch of the REX Drone ETF (DRNZ) established a unique concept as the market’s first pure-play drone ETF, providing focused exposure across autonomous technology and defense innovation.

Furthermore, institutional collaborations continue to modernize legacy industry frameworks. Through a partnership with Modelist, the ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL) executed a pivotal index switch, moving from holding underlying sector ETFs to directly selecting individual securities within VettaFi’s custom index frameworks.

Key takeaways

• VettaFi earned top honors as Best U.S. Index Overall Provider at the ETF Express U.S. ETF Awards 2026, reflecting major index expansion across core equity, defense, infrastructure, and energy benchmark offerings.
• Index-linked products achieved massive milestone growth, including the VictoryShares Free Cash Flow ETF (VFLO) reaching $10 billion in AUM after doubling assets year to date.
• Strategic partnerships and indexing enhancements expanded across major issuer suites, including Schwab’s RAFI fundamental strategies and ALPS’ equal sector weight implementation.

This article was originally published on ETF Trends on October 23rd, 2026.

VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for VFLO, FNDX, FNDF, FNDE, DRNZ, and EQL, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, VFLO, FNDX, FNDF, FNDE, DRNZ, and EQL are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of VFLO, FNDX, FNDF, FNDE, DRNZ, and EQL.