Cboe Global Markets scores top prize for “Life is Better With Options” Integrated Marketing Campaign along with Best in Show Consumer
Bank of America dominates the competition with 27 trophies including Best in Show Corporate Image
Nuveen, Esquire Bank, and UNFCU also nab Best in Show trophies
NEW YORK (May 8, 2026) – Last night, a record audience of over 600 financial marketing, communications and media professionals from 140 companies gathered at the Ziegfeld Ballroom for the 32nd Annual Financial Communications Society (FCS) Portfolio Awards. At the black tie gala, the FCS also celebrated the five newest graduates of its new Marketing Scholars program, and announced total charitable donations to 30+ children’s charities over the past 12 months of $194,000.
From among the 246 award winning entries, the top prize, the Judges’ Choice Award, was won by Cboe Global Markets for its “Life is Better With Options” Integrated Marketing Campaign, created with agency partner tms. The campaign was selected by consensus from among the judging panel of 44 industry experts who each nominated their favorite from over 600 entries from a record 142 companies.
“Our global campaign comes as we continue to see record demand for options trading, and Cboe is grateful to be at the forefront of this growth as we work to enhance investor education and awareness of this important asset class,” said Megan Goett, Chief Marketing Officer at Cboe.
The “Best in Show” trophies* were won by:
BEST IN SHOW CONSUMER
- Cboe Global Markets
- tms
- Integrated Marketing
- “Life is Better With Options”
BEST IN SHOW BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
- Nuveen
- 72andSunny
- New Visual Identity 2025
BEST IN SHOW CORPORATE IMAGE
- Bank of America
- GroupeConnect
- Media Strategy
- “Bank of America x The Masters + Augusta National Women’s Amateur Tournaments 2025 – Media Strategy”
BEST IN SHOW CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- Esquire Bank
- Park & Battery
- Integrated Marketing
- “Champions of Social Justice”
BEST IN SHOW DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
- United Nations Federal Credit Union
- Barkas
- Integrated Marketing
- “For (y)our future”
Bank of America also won an additional 3 Gold trophies among a total haul of 27. Other big winners were Barclays (12 trophies, 3 Gold) and Prudential, along with PGIM (15 trophies combined, including 6 Gold). Notably, 4 Golds were won by BNY Wealth, Nuveen, and Cboe. In all, 46 firms won multiple trophies, while 44 others received one each.
Full list of this year’s winners by category can be viewed here: FCS Portfolio 32 Winners.
Winners are welcome to order additional copies of their trophies. Download the order form.
The awards were presented by six financial marketing executives:
- Greg Boosin, Chief Marketing Officer, Equitable
- Megan Goett, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Cboe Global Markets
- Julie Collins, Executive Director, Global Head of Marketing Distribution, Morgan Stanley
- Kathy Kavanaugh, CMO, SVP Brand and Individual Solutions Marketing, Lincoln Financial
- Ken Poliziani, Global Chief Marketing Officer, PGIM
- Micky Onvural, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, TIAA
“Financial marketing has never been more sophisticated or more creative, and the FCS is excited to recognize the best of the best,” said Kevin Windorf, CEO, Financial Communications Society.
Invesco’s Katy Brady from the FCS Executive Committee served as emcee and chaired the event along with fellow FCS Executive Committee Member Katie Weber of the Wall Street Journal | Barron’s Group. The 2026 FCS Race for Kids donation of $150,000 was announced by FCS Board Chair Tim Hart of 2112 Media. The FCS has donated an additional $44,000 to 29 children’s charities over the past 12 months, bringing the organization’s total donations since 2000 to over $3.2 million, benefiting more than 70 children’s charities.
FCS Board Vice Chair Tom Jago introduced the five graduates of the FCS Marketing Scholars program: Evan Butler, Abigail Cristofaro, Abbie Thi Kouch, Julia Morales, Juliana Tulio, each a senior at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. They were mentored by Anna Gutowski of White Spider Media; Chris Konowitz of Hearst Magazines; Ann Jacob of Bloomberg; Tad Fabiaschi of Business Insider; and Heather Netrosio of RBC Capital Markets.
The headline sponsors of the FCS Portfolio Gala were Goldcast (Gold), Fundamental Media (Silver), Mizuho (Silver) and Reuters (Bronze), State Street Investment Management/McCann (Bronze). The New York Times was the Judges’ Choice Award sponsor. The event was also sponsored by LinkedIn (cocktail reception), Front Office Sports (dinner), and Integreon (espresso martini bar).
Water & Wall served as Communications Agency of Record, and 2112 Communications was the Creative Agency of Record.
Note: the FCS Portfolio Employee Communications Awards will be celebrated on Tuesday, May 19, at the New York Yacht Club. Thirteen financial companies will be honored in five categories, plus there will be a Best in Show trophy.
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About the FCS Portfolio Awards
The Portfolio Awards competition recognizes creative excellence in marketing communications work from financial companies, with Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies awarded for Public Relations; Print & Digital Collateral; Annual Reports; Advertising in print, audio, television, out-of-home, direct mail, and multimedia; Digital Media including display/rich media, email, websites, web video, apps, and mobile; Social Media and Influencer Marketing; Branded Content with a Media Partner; External & Employee Communications; Events; and Visual Identity. Entries were received from financial services providers, including investment firms, credit card companies, investment banks, brokerages and exchanges, insurance companies, mutual funds, ETFs, hedge funds, accounting firms, clearing corporations and commercial banks. Competing separately for Portfolio Awards are “Financial Industry” participants, including agencies, media companies, and resource partners dedicated to financial services.
* Best in Show trophies are awarded based on the highest average scores of the FCS Portfolio Awards judging panel, which also awards the gold, silver and bronze awards in each category. This year’s panel comprised 44 senior executives from financial firms and communications agencies.