Agreed! I'd pay up to maybe .90 for that (which I do for PRBLX) but 1.32 is too much.
Also noted this fund has only been around for 5-ish years so it's really thrived as growth funds thrived. Let's see how it handles the ext GFC before getting too excited..

If the fund has little turnover (a good thing), then what do they do that requires a 1.32% ER (not a good thing)?

@BenWP @davidrmoran
I noted, too; that the M* chart indicates price and NAV.
The M* function for "performance" is reported to include all distributions, as is the the case with Stockcharts. I did not attempt a performance compare at M*.
David mentioned the 3 year period for these two, which is linked next. The returns for this period are very close.
3 year chart of the two

BWP,
Something strange here.
3y $10k growth (not price) for DSENX is $10k to $15,893, 4/9/16 to 4/8.
Moat reached $16,332. Same period, from $10k.
I cannot understand your graph or how you got it, but it is marvelous.
Ah, ah, okay, yours is price. Wild that there is such a price delta even so. Never do price. I want to know only growth w reinvestments.

@BenWP- Well, if you can't be as cool as Catch, you can be cool with links.

Very easy to do:
1) • type in your link title: VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF
2) • use your mouse to "select" (highlight) that title.
3) • Go up to the top of your post where it says B, I, U, S, etc. Go out to the next-to-last icon on that line- the one that looks sort of like a paramecium. Click on that gizmo.
4) • A small box will appear. Just paste that horrendously long URL directly into that box.
5) • Now your Link title is colored blue, and looks like this: VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF
See, you can be much cooler than that grumpy guy who posts all those links every day!

Here's an ungodly long link from a M* chart, showing that MOAT's cumulative performance over DSENX is about 20% for last 3 years. The 5 year period, not shown here, is similarly favorable for MOAT. I wish I could be as cool as @catch22 with my chart.
http://quotes.morningstar.com/chart/etf/chart.action?t=MOAT&region=usa&&dataParams={"zoomKey":7,"version":"US","showNav":true,"mainSettingId":"main","navSettingId":"nav","benchmarkSettingId":"benchmark","sliderBgSettingId":"sliderBg","volumeSettingId":"volume","id":"F00000O2CJ|F00000QBC0","type":"FE|FO","region":"USA","name":"ARCX:MOAT|XNAS:DSENX","qsType":"USA:MOAT|F00000QBC0","baseCurrency":"USD","defaultBenchmarks":["$FOCA$LB$$|Large Blend|CA]FE","XIUSA04G92|S&P 500 TR USD|XI"],"hideDividendMenu":false,"startDay":"04/09/2016","endDay":"04/08/2019","chartWidth":955}

Chuck Akre has been in my portfolio for decades. I've always searched for a backup fund due to his age, to no avail. I've watched his former analyst over at HFCSX but haven't been impressed. My original purchase in 2009 is up 300+ and I have sold portions as Akre's portfolio exceeded 15% of my total holdings. A good portion of my AKRIX is now house money. I wish I could meet the dude..... I also owned FBRVX once upon a time.

Hi @BenWP
Being curious about these noted investments, I've placed a chart next. I also added a SP1500 reference. The time frame of the chart is limited by inception dates, I presume. Also, Stockcharts reportedly includes all distributions.
Chart, Nov. 2013 to date

@MikeM and @davidmoran: I did overstate the performance figures for MOAT vs. DSENX. I relied on the "chart" function on M* which has cumulative performance. 3 years +22.76% for DSENX and +41.98% for MOAT, but the 5-year difference is not huge. MOAT made a very wise modification to its methodology after a bad 2015 when the fund wound up with a slew of energy companies at the wrong time. They doubled the number of stocks and abandoned the quarterly rejiggering of the whole portfolio, producing fine results. All-in-all, it's an endorsement of the M*'s wide-moat strategy with which I'm happy. I have advocated previously for MOAT here, but my voice has been drowned out by waves of postings and complaints about their frequency. For a few years I owned BFOR and MOAT, but the latter has left the former in the dust. The so-called GAARP fund from Barron's has really disappointed.

Personally, I think transparency is overrated (how many people read their fund's quarterly disclosures, let alone check the holdings day by day?).
Nevertheless, I'm unclear on what your concern is. Currently, no funds, not even actively managed ETFs, disclose their holdings more than daily. Authorized participant (AP) trading is based on portfolio composition files and indicative values, not on knowing exactly what's in the fund. So even now, ISTM AP trades are based on imperfect indicative values.
As far as passively managed ETFs go, some don't even disclose their holdings except monthly (and even then, with a lag). Again, what APs are buying and selling is based on portfolio composition files (baskets) which do not match what is in the fund (especially for index funds that use sampling to track their benchmark index and may be using the baskets to tweak their holdings).
Maybe (actually I'm sure) I need to think this through some more. Still, I've always felt that transparency is not the big deal that ETF proponents make it out to be.
M*, The Most Over- and Undersold Benefits of ETFs
Related M* video: Are ETFs Overrated?

FYI: Akre Focus Fund (AKREX) takes buy-and-hold investing to heart, often holding the same small group of stocks for years at a time.
The $9.8 billion mutual fund, which was up more than 19% in the first quarter of this year, currently has 22 holdings that the fund managers believe compound shareholder capital at above-average rates of return. Investments are made based on four criteria, says John Neff, one of the fund’s portfolio managers.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-funds-long-time-frame-forever-11554688920
M* Snapshot AKREX:
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/akrex/quote.html

FYI: In "The Active Dangers of Passive Investing," on a website serving financial advisors called Advisor Perspectives, guest columnist Vitaly Katsenelson writes:
"If you own the S&P 500 (or long-term bonds), you implicitly think one of several things is true: 1) Interest rates have a zero or insignificant probability of going up; 2) I'll be able to get out in time; or 3) I have a life-sized statue of John Bogle in my living room, and I have a very, very, very long time horizon."
Purchasing long-term investment assets requires trust. Doing so involves handing over a valuable possession--that is, money--with no guarantee that the sum will be returned in full (as expressed in real terms), except for certain inflation-protected securities. Investing is an act of faith.
However, as Katsenelson suggests, views differ. Your reason for owning long-term assets may not match mine.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/922789/whats-your-investment-faith.html

FYI: After a three-month rally that’s added more than $800 billion to the value of FAANG stocks, individual investors have decided it’s time to cash out of the high-flying names.
Retail clients at brokerage TD Ameritrade increased their overall exposure to equity markets for a second consecutive month in March, yet they sold shares of Amazon Inc., Facebook Inc., Netflix Inc. and Apple Inc. All four members of the so-called FAANG cohort -- which also includes Google parent Alphabet Inc. -- have gained at least 35 percent since stocks bottomed on Christmas Eve, one-and-a-half times the S&P 500’s return.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.fa-mag.com/news/faang-s--800-billion-rally-has-mom-and-pop-calling-it-quits-44227.html?print

@BenWP, I don't follow MOAT but I've seen it mentioned (very little) here at MFO in the past. A quick glance in M* shows it to be a pretty nice fund. But, "clocked' DSENX? In 2018 maybe. But in any case, both strategies seem successful in comparison to the S&P 500 and large value or Large blend overall. What I do like about it is it is heaviest HC and Tech, both sectors I think are worth overweighting long term. Thanks for the tip.
DSENX
YTD 18.3
1Y 12.7
3Y 16.7
5Y 14.4
MOAT
YTD 15.9
1Y 16.2
3Y 17.8
5Y 11.9

Recent discussion here decried the absence of online Category Kings on the WSJ site. Today the compilations appeared in the "Investing in Funds" monthly section, albeit with only 5 entries per category. Hiding at #2 in Multicap Core we find the Van Eck Morningstar Wide-Moat OEF, MWMZX. Don't rush out to buy it unless you have $1M or can avoid the restricted status. I wonder why it exists and why the WSJ can't do a better job of bringing us funds we can actually buy. The leading performing fund this month is a Fidelity fund almost no one can access. The Van Eck OEF appears to be a clone of the very successful MOAT ETF that I have mentioned here before. MOAT has outperformed the SPY over 3 and 5 year periods and it has also clocked the favorites of a couple of board members, DSEEX and DSENX over almost any time period.
I have not researched this comparison, but my conclusions are that the M* wide-moat strategy is by far the most successful of those affiliated with an investment publication. I looked at Barron's BFOR, the MotleyFool funds, the ValueLine funds, and Eddy Effenbien's Crossing Wall Street. There must be others I don't know of. The MOAT ETF strategy has spawned MOTI, DURA, and GOAT, although the latter three have not attracted many investors. I'd suggest the global GOAT to any member who is reeling from poor NCAA bracket choices. BTW, am I indeed the only MFO discussant to own MOAT? For the record, I also hold DSENX and CAPE.

FYI: What a difference three months can make in the world of top-performing mutual-fund managers.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.wsj.com/articles/and-the-no-1-stock-fund-manager-is-11554689520?mod=article_inline

@johnN: The link below will take you to a December 2015 post that I made about my asset allocation. It seems, I was at this time just moving to about 20% cash, 30% income, 35% growth and income and 15% growth asset allocation. Prior to that, based upon my recollection, I was at about 15% cash, 25% income, 40% growth & income and 20% growth asset allocation. Most likely, I was at an asset allocation of about 10% cash, 20% income, 40% growth & income and 30% growth during the time span you inquired about (2009-2010).
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/24926/old-skeet-s-new-portfolio-asset-allocations-2016#latest
I'll keep looking and if I come up with something else I'll post it.
And, here is something else that I came up with that dates back to March of 2012 as how I went about adjusting my asset allocation. Perhaps, it will be of some interest.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/2501/a-system-i-use-to-adjust-my-asset-allocation#latest
As you can see through the years; and, as I have aged, I have reduced my allocation to equities and raised my allocation to income while cash has stayed about the same except when I was positioned for the 2009-2010 stock market rebound. Back then cash was at about 10%. One reason that I hold excess cash is that it provides me the opportunity to open special equity spiff positions form time-to-time should I feel this is warranted. This is something that I have done for a good number of years ... and, I still do form time-to-time. However, I did not put a spiff in play during the last market swoon (4th Quarter of 2018) as I was in the process of rebalancing and reconfiguring my portfolio. Howerver, I did leave myself +5% equity heavy during this last rebalance process to tactically overweighting equities from my newely established asset allocation of 20% Cash, 40% Income, 30% Gr & Inc and 10% Growth. With this, my Growth Area is now +5% heavy while my Cash Area is -5% light from their neutral positions due to this tactical overweight positioning in equities.

In addition, REITs are now somewhat more attractive to own outside of tax shelters, because they get a Section 199A 20% reduction in taxes. That is, whatever income they pass through, you get to deduct 20% of that. So if you're in the 22% tax bracket, you'll owe a net 17.6% (80% x 22%).
Still higher than the 15% cap gains rate, but not by very much. Something to consider if you're looking to generate income, or if you've already filled your IRA with bonds that are taxed at a higher rate.
http://www.2ndmarketcapital.com/reits/reit-benefits/ (quick and dirty summary)

...
(With nonretirement-account losses able to 'detax' any gains for years to come, I have been pondering recently, as I raise cashflow from both rollovers and Roths per ORP, whether the taxfree future of my Roths really matters.)

Different ways of viewing it for sure. In pure dollars and cents the linked article probably makes sense. Did 3 conversions. First & biggest in March ‘09. Motivation was primarily to reduce by at least 50% the RMDs that would be coming down the road in a few more years. (And there are years when the only distribution comes from the traditional.)
While they’re invested conservatively (like the traditional IRAs) I vowed never to keep a cash position in any of the Roths. That has probaby made the biggest difference in their outperformance. Also, I avoid holding newer untested funds in the Roths. Deserve a bit extra care.

I’m doing it all wrong.
First, I’ve allowed my Roths to outperform my Traditional IRAs over the years. Roths now comprise over 65% of IRA assets. Worse yet, if I need $10,000, I take $5,000 from the Traditional and $5,000 from the Roth. This leaves an immediate tax liability on $5,000 (instead of $10,000).
But always willing to learn something from the links board.

Interesting short read. The rally is fun while it lasts and certainly a relief after quarter four of last year. The two largest holdings in my portfolio each have about 50% in stocks with the balance in bonds and other diversifying stuff. Everything seemed to click for them in quarter one. RPGAX was at +9.1% and GDMZX was at +8.8%. (A head shake followed by a triple check of the end of quarter numbers confirmed that's what happened.) I can not imagine it will be smooth sailing for the entire balance of the year. But this was a welcome start....