The VanEck Agribusiness ETF (MOO – Free Report) was launched on 08/31/2007, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Materials – Agribusiness segment of the equity market.
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Materials – Agribusiness is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 9, placing it in bottom 44%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $571.60 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Materials – Agribusiness segment of the equity market. MOO seeks to match the performance of the MVIS Global Agribusiness Index before fees and expenses.
The MVIS Global Agribusiness Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in agri-chemicals, animal health and fertilizers, seeds and traits; farm/irrigation equipment and farm machinery; agricultural products, aquaculture and fishing, livestock plantations, and trading of agricultural products.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF’s expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.53%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.39%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Deere & Co (DE – Free Report) accounts for about 9.43% of total assets, followed by Corteva Inc (CTVA – Free Report) and Zoetis Inc (ZTS – Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 56.43% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, MOO return is roughly 0.62%, and is down about -11.13% in the last one year (as of 01/06/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $64.29 and $75.71.
The ETF has a beta of 0.92 and standard deviation of 17.91% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 59 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
VanEck Agribusiness ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, MOO is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Materials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
IShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF (VEGI – Free Report) tracks MSCI ACWI Select Agriculture Producers Investable Market Index. The fund has $87.15 million in assets. VEGI has an expense ratio of 0.39%.
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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