Van Eck has filed paperwork with the SEC for a “Morningstar Wide Moat Research ETF.” The Market Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat Research ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index.

The Index is a rules-based, equal-weighted index intended to offer exposure to companies that the Index Provider determines have sustainable competitive advantages based on a proprietary methodology that considers quantitative and qualitative factors (“wide moat companies”). Wide moat companies are selected from the universe of companies represented in the Morningstar US Market Index, a broad market index representing 97% of U.S. market capitalization. Out of the companies in the Morningstar US Market Index that are determined to be wide moat companies, the Index Provider selects the top 20 companies as determined by the ratio of the Index Provider’s estimate of fair value to the stock price, which is calculated using a standardized, proprietary valuation model.

A Selection Committee makes the final determination of whether a company is a wide moat company. Only those companies with one or more of the identifiable competitive advantages, as determined by the Index Provider’s analysts and agreed to by the Selection Committee, are wide moat companies. The quantitative factors used to identify competitive advantages include historical returns on invested capital relative to cost of capital. The qualitative factors used to identify competitive advantages include costs of customers switching to competitors, internal cost advantages, intangible assets (e.g., intellectual property), network effects (i.e., whether products or services become more valuable as the number of customers grows) and efficient scale (i.e., whether the company effectively serves a limited market that potential rivals have little incentive to enter into).

The Index Provider’s analysts use a standardized, proprietary valuation model to assign fair values to Index constituents. The model has three distinct periods: the first five years, year six to perpetuity and perpetuity. For each period, the Index Provider estimates the issuer’s free cash flows and then calculates an enterprise value. The Index Provider then assigns each issuer a fair value by adjusting the enterprise value to account for other assets and liabilities.

As of November 30, 2011, the Index included 20 securities of companies with a market capitalization range of between approximately $1.3 billion to $167.9 billion and an average market capitalization of $45.7 billion.

Index constituents are weighted equally. The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly on the Monday following the third Friday of March, June, September, and December. If the Monday is a holiday, reconstitution and rebalancing occurs on the following Tuesday. Reconstitution is carried out after the day’s closing Index values have been determined.

They did not specify a ticker symbol or expense ratio in the initial filing.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Index is comprised of companies that Morningstar, Inc. (“Morningstar” or the “Index Provider”) determines have sustainable competitive advantages based on a proprietary methodology that considers quantitative and qualitative factors (“wide moat companies”). Wide moat companies are selected from the universe of companies represented in the Morningstar® US Market IndexSM, a broad market index representing 97% of U.S. market capitalization. Out of the companies in the Morningstar US Market Index that are determined to be wide moat companies, the Index Provider selects the top 20 companies as determined by the ratio of the Index Provider’s estimate of fair value to the stock price, which is calculated using a standardized, proprietary valuation model. As of November 30, 2011, the Index included 20 securities of companies with a market capitalization range of between approximately $1.3 billion to $167.9 billion and an average market capitalization of $45.7 billion. These amounts are subject to change. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and requires 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders before it can be changed.

The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Index. The Adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index before fees and expenses will be 95% or better. A figure of 100% would indicate perfect correlation.

The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund is concentrated in the following sectors: [  ].

For the complete filing click: HERE

NEW FILING