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Is VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF (SMOT) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 10/04/2022, smart beta exchange traded fund VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF (SMOT - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend 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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $312.9 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US SML-MID CAP MOAT FOCUS ID before fees and expenses.
The Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index tracks the overall performance of small and mid-cap companies with sustainable competitive advantages and attractive valuations.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.49%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.28%.
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.
SMOT's heaviest allocation is in the Healthcare sector, which is about 24.2% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Iqvia Holdings Inc (IQV) accounts for about 1.81% of the fund's total assets, followed by Bio-techne Corp (TECH) and Cnh Industrial Nv (CNH).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.4% of SMOT's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 6.99% and is up about 8.42% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/17/2026), respectively. SMOT has traded between $34.37 and $41.27 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 17.15% for the trailing three-year period. With about 112 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $94.31 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF has $675.85 billion. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI 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 - All 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 SMID Moat ETF (SMOT) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 10/04/2022, smart beta exchange traded fund VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF (SMOT - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend 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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $312.9 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US SML-MID CAP MOAT FOCUS ID before fees and expenses.
The Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index tracks the overall performance of small and mid-cap companies with sustainable competitive advantages and attractive valuations.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.49%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.28%.
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.
SMOT's heaviest allocation is in the Healthcare sector, which is about 24.2% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Iqvia Holdings Inc (IQV) accounts for about 1.81% of the fund's total assets, followed by Bio-techne Corp (TECH) and Cnh Industrial Nv (CNH).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.4% of SMOT's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 6.99% and is up about 8.42% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/17/2026), respectively. SMOT has traded between $34.37 and $41.27 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 17.15% for the trailing three-year period. With about 112 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $94.31 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF has $675.85 billion. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI 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 - All 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.