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Is VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (MOTI) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 07/13/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (MOTI - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Van Eck. MOTI has been able to amass assets over $233.07 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the World ETFs. MOTI, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Global ex-US Moat Focus Index.
The Morningstar Global ex-US Moat Focus Index tracks the overall performance of 50 attractively priced companies outside the U.S. with sustainable competitive advantages.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for MOTI, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.07%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Brp Inc accounts for about 2.50% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nice Ltd (NICE - Free Report) and Sodexo Sa (SW).
MOTI's top 10 holdings account for about 22.02% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, MOTI has added about 6.68%, and was up about 12.55% in the last one year (as of 07/07/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $24.73 and $32.79.
The ETF has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 17.75% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 78 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $55.19 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $109.63 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.07% and VEA charges 0.05%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World ETFs.
Bottom Line
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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Is VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (MOTI) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 07/13/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (MOTI - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Van Eck. MOTI has been able to amass assets over $233.07 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the World ETFs. MOTI, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Global ex-US Moat Focus Index.
The Morningstar Global ex-US Moat Focus Index tracks the overall performance of 50 attractively priced companies outside the U.S. with sustainable competitive advantages.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for MOTI, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.07%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Brp Inc accounts for about 2.50% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nice Ltd (NICE - Free Report) and Sodexo Sa (SW).
MOTI's top 10 holdings account for about 22.02% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, MOTI has added about 6.68%, and was up about 12.55% in the last one year (as of 07/07/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $24.73 and $32.79.
The ETF has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 17.75% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 78 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $55.19 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $109.63 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.07% and VEA charges 0.05%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World ETFs.
Bottom Line
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.