The team at a New York City-based fund firm is adding a pair of funds to a six-fund, passively managed suite that accounts for about $15.6 billion (16.9 percent) of the firm's $92.5-billion in AUM (as of February 29).

Peter Liao VanEck Portfolio Manager, Head of Equity ETFs

Last Thursday, Brandon Rakszawski, director of product management at VanEck [profile], and Andrew Lane, director of equity research index strategies at Morningstar, unveiled the launch of the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat Growth ETF (MGRO on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.) and the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat Value ETF (MVAL). Both new ETFs are series of the VanEck ETF Trust.

MVAL and MGRO come with the same expense ratio, 49 basis points, which bakes in a 15bps fee waiver promised through February 1, 2025. As of yesterday, MGRO had $754,000 in AUM, while MVAL had $761,000.

Van Eck Associates Corporation serves as administrator and investment advisor to MVAL and MGRO, while Morningstar, Inc. serves as index provider. The new funds' PM team includes: Peter Liao, portfolio manager; and Griffin Driscoll, deputy PM.

"These moat-focused ETFs allow investors to fine-tune their portfolios toward distinct style exposures, while maintaining a focus on valuations," Rakszawski states.

Lane puts the dual launch in the context of Morningstar's "successful long-term collaboration with VanEck."

"These two indexes harness the research insight of Morningstar equity analysts via a disciplined, repeatable construction methodology designed by Morningstar Indexes, the fastest growing index provider globally," Lane states.

VanEck's "moat-focused" funds are built around indexes that focus on Morningstar's ratings of companies' abilities "to fend off competition and maintain profitability into the future." The suite started back in 2012 and now includes (with the launch of MGRO and MVAL) seven ETFs and one traditional open-end mutual fund. The existing funds range from $15.03 billion in AUM (for the flagship MOAT) to $6.73 million in AUM each.

MVAL and MGRO's other service providers include: Dechert LLP as counsel; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent accounting firm; State Street Bank and Trust Company as custodian, fund accounting agent, securities lending agent, and transfer agent; and Van Eck Securities Corporation as distributor. 

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