Launched last month, the new ETF combines the best of two worlds – exposure to companies with long-term competitive advantages (“moats”) as well as ESG.

VanEck launched in October the VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (CBOE: MOTE), a sustainable addition to its lineup of “moat” investing ETFs. Investors can hope to get exposure to US companies that have the advantages of being attractively priced, have competitive moats, and are screened for ESG risks. (BusinessWire)

VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (CBOE: MOTE)

The ETF has a net expense ratio of 0.49%.

It tracks the Morningstar® US Sustainability Moat Focus IndexSM (MSUSSMGU). The index is a rules-based index intended to offer exposure to attractively priced U.S. companies with long-term competitive advantages, according to Morningstar, that have been screened for ESG risks.

“Our flagship VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT) has been well-received by the investor and advisor marketplaces since its inception in 2012. In order to meet growing demand for more sophisticated ESG investing approaches, we’re very pleased to be introducing MOTE, a natural progression of both our moat and ESG-focused efforts,” said Brandon Rakszawski, Senior ETF Product Manager. “ESG risks are, after all, business risks. Being able to focus on U.S. companies with both sizable moats and reduced ESG concerns relative to their peers makes MOTE a potentially powerful addition to a core equity portfolio.”

The ETF holds 60 stocks including Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), ETF issuer BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), and American Express (NYSE:AXP).

“The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index’s unique combination of forward-looking equity research and ESG screening offers investors a U.S. equity strategy that seeks to provide investors with attractive risk-adjusted returns while mitigating ESG risks,” added Rakszawski.

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