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Launched · SEC filings

VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF

SMOTCboeVanEckC

$41.17+0.56 (+1.38%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

C44/ 100

Rank 77 of 99 in US Multifactor

C44/100Rank 77 of 99inUS Multifactor
Intraday session: up, 79 prints from 40.61 to 41.17. Range 40.74 to 41.26. Use the arrow keys to read each point.40.7040.8040.9041.0010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.49%
Fund size
$324M
1Y total return
+14.8%
Yield · Last 12 months
1.23%
Holdings
111
Avg volume · 30D
21.6K sh
52W range
low $34.25high $41.37
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net SMOT Grade

C

Score 44 out of 100

Category
US Multifactor⁠
Rank
77 of 99
Six-pillar profile for SMOT. Scores out of 100: Cost 26, Risk 34, Mission 62, Tradability 56, Holdings 63, Durability 34. Strongest: Holdings (63). Weakest: Cost (26). Leans toward Holdings and Mission.

Score 44 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    D26 out of 100
    Rank 73 of 99

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    B62 out of 100
    Rank 72 of 87

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    D34 out of 100
    Rank 73 of 99

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    B56 out of 100
    Rank 35 of 99

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    B63 out of 100
    Rank 35 of 98

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    D34 out of 100
    Rank 79 of 99

Our read on SMOT

ETF.net Research

In short

CMorningstar's moat research, aimed down the cap ladder. SMOT tracks an index of small- and mid-cap companies flagged for durable competitive advantages, and buys them only when they screen as attractively valued.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index, an index of small- and mid-cap companies selected for sustainable competitive advantages and attractive valuations.

Why people hold it

  • Two screens, not one: companies must show a sustainable competitive advantage AND look attractively valued. Quality and value in a single published rulebook rather than a manager's hunch.vaneck.com
  • Takes the moat idea into small- and mid-cap territory, where wide-moat businesses are scarcer and less picked over than in the mega-cap crowd.vaneck.com
  • Roughly 120 US stocks: concentrated enough for the moat screen to actually show up in returns, broad enough that no single name dominates the portfolio.
  • Fully rules-based against a named, public benchmark (Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index), so you can read the methodology instead of guessing at it.

Worth knowing

  • The research costs money: 0.49% a year, well above plain factor workhorses like FNDX at 0.25% or VONV at 0.06%. You're paying for the moat screen.
  • Thinly traded compared with the giants of the US factor aisle, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads. Distributions arrive once or twice a year, not monthly.
  • Launched in 2022, so the live record is short, and in a crowded field of 100-plus US factor funds it lands in the lower half of our overall read.

SMOT Performance

Launched Oct 4, 2022

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
SMOT$11,478
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. SMOT $11,478. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for SMOT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodSMOT
Year to date+12.2%
1 month+8.4%
3 months+2.7%
1 year+14.8%
3 yearsper year+16.9%
5 yearsFund is under 5 years oldper yearNo data
10 yearsFund is under 10 years oldper yearNo data

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for SMOT
YearReturn barSMOT
2026 YTD+12.2%
2025+6.4%
2024+10.7%
2023+17.3%
2022+5.4%

History from Oct 6, 2022

SMOT in the news

SMOT Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Oct 30, 2026.
1.23%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.50Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.50 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Annual

Distribution history

2022–2026

One bar per payment. 4 payments from 2022 to 2026 YTD. Dec 19, 2022 $0.06; Dec 18, 2023 $0.21; Dec 23, 2024 $0.41; Dec 22, 2025 $0.50. Use the arrow keys to read each point.20222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 22, 2025Dec 26, 2025$0.50
Dec 23, 2024Dec 24, 2024$0.41
Dec 18, 2023Dec 22, 2023$0.21
Dec 19, 2022Dec 23, 2022$0.06

$10,000 in SMOT 3 years ago paid $405 in dividends.

SMOT Risk

Risk pillarD34 out of 100Rank 73 of 99 in US Multifactor
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
16.1%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.78
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−23.4%
48 months · trough Apr 2025
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
1.11
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

SMOT Cost

Compare SMOT and VYM

Overpaying vs VYM, tied cheapest in US Multifactor

$8,943

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • SMOT 0.49%

    $9,792

  • VYM 0.04% Tied cheapest

    $849

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • SMOT 0.49%
  • VYM 0.04%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$2K$4K$6K$8K$10K051015202530SMOT $9,792VYM $849

Year by year

YearSMOTVYMOverpaying
10$883$73$810
20$3,394$288$3,106
30$9,792$849$8,943

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