Leading financial media outlet Benzinga hosted its annual Global Fintech Deal Day & AwardsThursday at Pier Sixty in New York City.

Here'sa look at the annual event and the 2022 award winners.

Benzinga Global Fintech Awards: Each year, Benzinga honors the top companies in the fintech sector that are building the future of financial services and capital markets.

In 2022, companies in each category were scored on the criteria of innovation, performance, functionality and impact.

Benzinga takes great pride in recognizing and honoring those who are propelling the fintech industry forward with new discoveries making finance just a little bit easier to navigate.

The 2022 Benzinga Global Fintech Award Winners: Here is a look at the companiesthat were selected winners by a panel of judges. Best Accelerator: Mastercard Start Path, a startup program from Mastercard Inc MA Best Alternative Investments Platform: Arrived Homes Best API: Even Financial Best Automated Trading Software: Alpaca Best Brokerage for Beginners: WolfPack Best Brokerage for Forex: IG Best Brokerage for Options Trading: OptionsAI Best Brokerage for Short Selling: TradeZero Best Brokerage for Trading Futures: NinjaTrader Best Canadian Brokerage: Questrade Best Crypto Exchange: Gemini Best Data Analysis Tool: Lagoon Best Day Trading Software: Interactive Brokers IBKR Best Financial Literacy Tool: MoneyLion ML Best Financial Planning Software: InvestCloud Financial Planning Best Financial Research Company: M Science Best InsurTech: LiquidX Best Investment Research Team: MooMoo Inc Best New Product: AlphaStream Best Paper Trading Platform: eToro Best Portfolio Tracker: Inovestor Best Robo-Advisor: Interactive Advisors Best Software for Longterm Cryptocurrency Investments: Parallel Finance Best Software for Swing Trading: Firstrade Best Software for Trading Cryptocurrency: Apex Crypto Best Trading Technology: DriveWealth Most Impactful Fintech Executive: Bill Capuzzi, Apex Most Influential Data Scientist: Matt Ober, ThirdPoint Most Innovative ETF Company: Rafferty Asset Management Most Innovative in Capital Markets: Symphony

The 2022 Benzinga Global Fintech Awards winner for the Lifetime Achievement award is Cathie Wood, CEO and founder of Ark Investment Management.

The Ark Invest portfolio includes the popularArk Innovation ETF ARKK , Ark Next Generation Internet ETF ARKW , Ark Fintech Innovation ETF ARKF , Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ARKQ and the Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF ARKX .

Photo via Shutterstock.