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Exchange-traded funds had one of their biggest years ever in 2025, with about $1.5 trillion in total fund inflows.
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Under-the-radar funds to consider in 2026 include MOAT, which targets companies that have a significant competitive advantage over their rivals.
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GDE may appeal to investors seeking both the benefits of the gold rally and exposure to popular large-cap U.S. equities in the same play.
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Interested in VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF? Here are five stocks we like better.
With net inflows of about $1.5 trillion for the year, 2025 was in some ways the biggest year ever for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). And with a massive and ever-growing field of funds available, the ETF space shows no signs of slowing or losing its appeal to investors in 2026.
While some investors consider whether some of the top-performing ETFs from 2025 will continue to shine this year, others might be looking for a fresh approach with the start of the new year. Here are three ETFs that could see a strong advantage in 2026.
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The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (BATS: MOAT) has a unique focus in that it targets an index of so-called “wide moat” firms—those with competitive advantages over their rivals that are sizable and should therefore give them a sustained leg up over those competitors going forward. A wide moat of this kind can take many forms, including overwhelming brand name recognition among customers, critical technological advantages, high costs of switching to a different provider, and so on.
Most wide moat firms have significant market values, and the large majority (more than 94%) of MOAT’s portfolio is large-cap stocks (or bigger). Within the category of wide moat stocks, MOAT attempts to identify and focus on those with the most compelling valuations.
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Of the 55 different positions in MOAT’s basket, information technology and industrials sectors are best represented, with top names including Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (NYSE: HII) and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS).
At an expense ratio of 0.47%, MOAT is not cheap. Its 1-year return of 15% has lagged the market slightly.
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However, if economic conditions worsen in 2026, investors might look to companies with a bulwark relative to their peers to remain strong in the face of turbulence.
An actively managed fund, the WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund (BATS: GDE) is a multi-asset ETF that holds both gold futures contracts and shares of large-cap U.S. equities.
