The QuotedData Investors’ Choice Awards are back, with voting now well under way (cast your votes here). We have already explained how the awards work (see my colleague Matthew Read’s article here) and why we believe private investors should have the final say. This year, for the first time, we have added two new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) categories alongside our familiar investment company awards.

Unlike the nominees in the nine investment company categories, which have long been at the heart of QuotedData’s research and news output, some of these ETFs may be less familiar to readers. We therefore thought it would be worth taking a closer look at the nominees, explaining what each fund does and why our judges felt it deserved a place on the shortlist.

The range is striking. Our thematic nominees range from space exploration and defence technology to artificial intelligence (AI) and clean energy, while the BETA+ shortlist includes Japanese and US equities, global smaller companies and emerging market bonds.

Thematic ETFs: investing in the future

Thematic ETFs give investors exposure to specific trends or industries rather than conventional geographic markets. Most track an index, although these are often highly specialised and developed specifically for the ETF in partnership with an index provider.

Our four nominees capture some of the biggest investment themes of the past year.

VanEck Space Innovators UCITS ETF (JEDI)

The commercial space industry has captured investors’ attention, particularly following SpaceX’s blockbuster flotation in June. However, the opportunity for investors extends well beyond rocket launches to satellite communications, navigation, Earth observation and supporting technologies.

Launched in June 2022, JEDI was an early entrant to this market. It tracks an index of companies operating within the global space industry, including Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile and Planet Labs. The fund offers concentrated exposure to a relatively small group of companies, whose shares can be volatile, for an annual charge of 0.55%.

Our judges highlighted JEDI’s early-mover advantage, market-leading inflows as excitement built around the SpaceX IPO and its memorable ticker, which has undoubtedly helped it stand out.

Invesco Defence Innovation UCITS ETF (IDFN)

Defence has become an increasingly prominent investment theme in recent years as western governments reassess their military spending commitments. However, not all defence ETFs take the same approach.

IDFN concentrates on innovation, rather than simply providing exposure to established defence contractors. It tracks the S&P Kensho Global Future Defense Index, investing in companies developing the technologies that are shaping the future of military capabilities such as advanced weapons systems, autonomous technologies and other security-related equipment. IDFN is now coming up to two years old, having launched in October 2024; its annual charge is 0.35%.

Our judges were particularly impressed by IDFN’s performance over the past year (15.6% to 30 September), describing it as being “streets ahead” of its peers despite being one of the smaller funds in the category.

We explored what sets IDFN apart from broader defence ETFs with Invesco’s Matt Tagliani on ETF Intelligence by QuotedData in September (which you can watch here).

iShares AI Infrastructure UCITS ETF (AINF)

The AI investment boom began with enormous enthusiasm for the companies developing advanced chips and software. Increasingly, however, attention has turned to the infrastructure required to make those technologies work.

BlackRock’s AINF seeks to capture this opportunity by tracking an index of businesses involved in AI’s underlying infrastructure, including semiconductors, cloud computing and big data. The ETF launched in December 2024 and charges 0.35% annually. Its index uses an adjusted equal-weighting approach that limits the dominance of the largest companies. It has returned an eye-opening 78.8% over the past year.

Our judges praised BlackRock for identifying the infrastructure bottlenecks emerging from the AI buildout and offering an alternative to more conventional AI strategies.

L&G Clean Energy UCITS ETF (RENW)

Clean energy provides an interesting contrast to the themes of the other funds on the shortlist. Once one of the hottest areas of thematic investing, the sector fell out of favour as rising interest rates, project costs and disappointing earnings weighed on valuations. Although short-term electricity prices have risen in some markets, falling longer-term power price forecasts have also undermined the valuations of renewable energy assets.

The portfolio is geographically diversified, with around 35% invested in US companies, followed by Spain (10%), Germany (9%) and Japan (8%). This matters in a sector where regulatory frameworks, subsidies and energy policies can differ significantly between markets

More recently, the enormous electricity requirements of AI data centres have revived interest in power generation and supporting infrastructure. RENW tracks the Solactive Clean Energy Index, providing exposure to renewable energy companies and related technologies. Its annual charge of 0.49% is below that of several competing clean energy ETFs, while its 1-year return is an impressive 25.1%.

Our judges highlighted RENW’s competitive fee and market-leading performance over the past year, noting how rising electricity demand has breathed new life into an unloved sector.

Best BETA+ ETFs: can an active approach add value?

Our second ETF category takes a different approach. Rather than targeting specific investment themes, the BETA+ nominees aim to improve on the returns available from conventional market exposure. All four are actively managed, but their methods vary, from using systematic models to identify attractive investments to fundamental research and manager judgement. What unites them is the ambition to deliver more than simple index tracking.

JPMorgan Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond Active UCITS ETF (JLOC)

Emerging market bonds have been among the stronger-performing areas of fixed income over the past year, particularly those denominated in local currencies.

Local currency bonds offer two potential sources of return: interest income and currency appreciation. JLOC seeks to capture both through active management, with JPMorgan selecting exposures rather than simply tracking a bond index. The fund charges 0.45% annually.

Our judges singled JLOC out for capitalising on attractive emerging market yields and favourable currency movements. The challenge will be sustaining that performance if the environment becomes less supportive.

Goldman Sachs Alpha Enhanced Japan Equity Active UCITS ETF (GQJY)

Japan has been one of the more interesting equity markets in recent years. Corporate governance reforms, pressure to improve shareholder returns and changes in company capital allocation have seen renewed interest from international investors and has created opportunities for funds such as GQJY.

The fund seeks to capitalise on these opportunities through a systematic investment process. Rather than relying solely on individual managers’ convictions, Goldman Sachs employs a proprietary quantitative model to identify Japanese companies with attractive characteristics and expected returns. The fund launched in May 2025 and charges 0.25% annually.

Our judges highlighted GQJY’s benchmark- and peer-beating performance in a strong Japanese equity market (29.6% versus 27.6% for its comparator), alongside the progress it has made in attracting assets and closing the gap with competitors.

Avantis Global Small Cap Value UCITS ETF (AVWS)

Globally, smaller companies have spent much of the past few years in the shadow of their larger counterparts, particularly the US technology giants. However, elevated large cap valuations have encouraged some investors to look further down the market capitalisation spectrum, including at AVWS.

Launched in September 2024, AVWS takes a systematic approach to investing in smaller companies across developed markets. It favours businesses trading at relatively attractive valuations while placing emphasis on profitability. The fund is highly diversified, with more than 1,800 holdings at the end of August, and charges 0.39% annually. A notable feature of the portfolio has been its substantial exposure to the energy sector, which has set it apart from the benchmark.

The fund’s performance has been impressive, with a 24.5% return over the year to 30 September, well-ahead of the 16.4% return of the MSCI World Small Cap Value Index.

Our judges highlighted Avantis’s success in bringing its established American investment approach to Europe, with its systematic stock selection helping the fund outperform as investors returned to smaller companies.

Fidelity US Equity Research Enhanced UCITS ETF (FUSR)

Fidelity takes a more established approach to active ETF investing. Launched in May 2020, FUSR was one of the earlier entrants to Europe’s active ETF market. It combines Fidelity’s fundamental company research with a portfolio designed to remain broadly representative of the US equity market.

Rather than making big bets against the benchmark, FUSR seeks to add value through stock selection, taking larger positions in companies Fidelity’s analysts favour and smaller positions in those they consider less attractive. These relatively modest overweights and underweights are designed to generate incremental outperformance. The ETF charges a modest 0.20% annually.

Our judges noted that Fidelity has historically attracted less attention than JPMorgan within the active ETF market, but praised FUSR’s strong inflows and benchmark outperformance. Over the year to 30 September 2026, the ETF returned 16.8% compared with 16.5% for the MSCI USA Index, demonstrating its ability to add incremental value while retaining broad market exposure.

The nominees at a glance, as at 30 September 2026

Source: justETF; Bloomberg; Marten & Co

Note: All performance figures are one-year total returns in sterling to 30 September 2026. The BETA+ comparators are JLOC – J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified (gross); GQJY – MSCI Japan IMI (net); AVWS – MSCI World Small Cap Value; and FUSR – MSCI USA (net). Comparator returns are indicative sterling conversions of US dollar index returns.

Now it’s over to you

As is clear from these shortlists, there is no single definition of a successful ETF. Some nominees have attracted attention by capturing emerging investment themes at an early stage, while others have distinguished themselves through performance, competitive charges or their ability to add value in established markets.

Strong returns are clearly important, but they are not the only consideration. Readers may also want to think about whether a fund offers genuinely distinctive exposure, whether its strategy is likely to remain relevant and whether its charges represent good value.

Our judges have considered the candidates and selected their shortlists. Now it is up to private investors to decide which ETFs deserve recognition.

Voting in the QuotedData Investors’ Choice Awards remains open until 31 October, with the winners announced on 27 November. There is also the chance to win £5,000 for the investor who does the best job of predicting the winners.

So, which ETFs deserve your vote?