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Is VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT - Free Report) debuted on 04/24/2012, and offers 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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Van Eck. MOAT has been able to amass assets over $13.32 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index.
The Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index tracks the overall performance of the 20 most attractively priced companies with sustainable competitive advantages.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.47% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.31%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For MOAT, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 24.8% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc (HII) accounts for about 2.95% of the fund's total assets, followed by United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) and Estee Lauder Cos Inc/the (EL).
MOAT's top 10 holdings account for about 26.83% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF return is roughly 3.48% so far, and was up about 13.31% over the last 12 months (as of 01/27/2026). MOAT has traded between $76.53 $107.67 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 15.78% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 56 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) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $766.12 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $853.57 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
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?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT - Free Report) debuted on 04/24/2012, and offers 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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Van Eck. MOAT has been able to amass assets over $13.32 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index.
The Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index tracks the overall performance of the 20 most attractively priced companies with sustainable competitive advantages.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.47% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.31%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For MOAT, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 24.8% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc (HII) accounts for about 2.95% of the fund's total assets, followed by United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) and Estee Lauder Cos Inc/the (EL).
MOAT's top 10 holdings account for about 26.83% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF return is roughly 3.48% so far, and was up about 13.31% over the last 12 months (as of 01/27/2026). MOAT has traded between $76.53 $107.67 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 15.78% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 56 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) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $766.12 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $853.57 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
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.