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Should VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT - Free Report) was launched on 04/24/2012, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $7.59 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.46%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.11%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 26.80% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Kellogg Co (K - Free Report) accounts for about 2.92% of total assets, followed by Veeva Systems Inc (VEEV - Free Report) and Polaris Inc (PII - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 26.83% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

MOAT seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index before fees and expenses. The Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index tracks the overall performance of the 20 most attractively priced companies with sustainable competitive advantages.

The ETF return is roughly 12.39% so far this year and is down about -0.02% in the last one year (as of 04/11/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $58.77 and $76.13.

The ETF has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 21.11% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, MOAT is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $305.68 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $371.22 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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