Launched on 04/24/2012, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT Quick QuoteMOAT - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

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

Managed by Van Eck, MOAT has amassed assets over $11.46 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. 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

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

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.46%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.30%.

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 Information Technology sector, which is about 28.2% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Veeva Systems Inc (VEEV) accounts for about 3.4% of total assets, followed by Airbnb Inc (ABNB) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 4.06% so far this year and was up about 7.97% in the last one year (as of 10/06/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $94.29 and $115.14

The fund has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 15.39% for the trailing three-year period, which makes MOAT a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 57 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 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $895.11 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1060.66 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.