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Is VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT - Free Report) made its debut on 04/24/2012, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $14.38 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. MOAT is managed by Van Eck. 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.
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.47%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.84%.
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.
MOAT's heaviest allocation is in the Healthcare sector, which is about 19.80% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Us Bancorp (USB - Free Report) accounts for about 2.83% of total assets, followed by Charles Schwab Corp/the (SCHW - Free Report) and Equifax Inc (EFX - Free Report) .
MOAT's top 10 holdings account for about 26.86% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, MOAT has added roughly 2.62%, and was up about 24.96% in the last one year (as of 03/04/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $68.26 and $87.09.
MOAT has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 19.09% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $447.98 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $503.78 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend.
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 Wide Moat ETF (MOAT) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT - Free Report) made its debut on 04/24/2012, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $14.38 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. MOAT is managed by Van Eck. 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.
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.47%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.84%.
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.
MOAT's heaviest allocation is in the Healthcare sector, which is about 19.80% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Us Bancorp (USB - Free Report) accounts for about 2.83% of total assets, followed by Charles Schwab Corp/the (SCHW - Free Report) and Equifax Inc (EFX - Free Report) .
MOAT's top 10 holdings account for about 26.86% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, MOAT has added roughly 2.62%, and was up about 24.96% in the last one year (as of 03/04/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $68.26 and $87.09.
MOAT has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 19.09% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $447.98 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $503.78 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend.
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.