VanEck has some positive qualities, but it has started a pattern of launching and closing a number of relatively new exchange-traded funds over the past few years. The firm maintains its Below Average Parent rating as it charts a path forward.
Historically, VanEck has tended to stick with funds that were slow to grow, but closures have picked up in recent years. It shuttered more than a dozen of its ETFs, and many were just a few years old. Some of those include ETFs that focused on faddish themes that fizzled out.
Other new investments appear to be moving in a positive direction. It created a new lineup of actively managed sector ETFs for the US market and strategic-beta ETFs for the Australian market. Investment funds aside, it is also attempting to expand into the Canadian market and private assets.
VanEck’s core competencies in international stocks, emerging markets, and hard assets are among its largest and most important funds, and it has experienced people leading those efforts. Its investment teams have been more stable than similar firms, and its managers have a longer average tenure, which speaks to VanEck’s ability to retain talent. Key-manager risk is not a concern. VanEck’s managers use a team approach, and most of its actively managed funds have at least two managers. Manager ownership is also high. Most of VanEck’s managers have decently sized investments in its ETFs and mutual funds, particularly in the firm’s older and larger funds.
Note: This share class' Parent Pillar rating is analyst-driven, as its Branding Name, VanEck (Branding Name ID: BN00000AAG), is covered by Morningstar Manager Research.
United States