BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

ETF Portfolio Builder

New

ETF Portfolio Builder

New

EMOTvsQDEFETF Comparison

ETF 1

EMOT

First Trust S&P 500 Economic Moat ETF

This fund is part of

US Large Cap

+1.18%

Full EMOT fund page

VS

ETF 2

QDEF

Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF

This fund is part of

US Multi-Factor

+0.61%

Full QDEF fund page

First Trust S&P 500 Economic Moat ETF (EMOT) belongs to the US Large Cap segment. Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF (QDEF) is part of the US Multi-Factor segment. EMOT's top 3 sector exposures are Technology, Consumer Non-Cyclicals and Consumer Cyclicals. In contrast, QDEF's top sector exposures are Technology, Finance and Healthcare. EMOT is more expensive with a Total Expense Ratio (TER) of 0.6%, versus 0.4% for QDEF. EMOT is up 9.75% year-to-date (YTD) with -$2M in YTD flows. QDEF performs better with 12.53% YTD performance, and +$2M in YTD flows. Run a side-by-side ETF comparison of EMOT and QDEF below, and assess how they stack up in performance, liquidity, risk, exposure, holdings, and more, helping you select the best ETF for your investments.

Find out how industry players manage ETF portfolios. Discover our library of Model portfolios

EMOT vs QDEF performance and flow charts

Performance

Cumulative Flows

Get all the metrics on this page, and more, through a reliable ETF data feed

Daily, global ETF data for advanced analysis or integration into apps (API), from our partner Trackinsight.

Data Services

Historic performance and flows

Data as of 09/16/2026

		1M	3M	YTD	1Y	3Y	5Y
Perf.	EMOT QDEF	-3.43%-0.51%	-1.53%+4.98%	+9.75%+12.53%	+9.98%+16.25%	n/a+70.53%	n/a+82.75%
Flows	EMOT QDEF	--$4M	+$1K-$11M	-$2M+$2M	-$2M+$10M	-+$16M	--$97M

Volatility and drawdown

		3M	1Y	3Y	5Y
Volatility	EMOT QDEF	+10.93%+8.24%	+11.74%+9.91%	n/a+12.04%	n/a+13.97%
Max drawdown	EMOT QDEF	-5.48%-2.46%	-9.30%-6.99%	n/a-14.47%	n/a-21.30%
Max drawdown duration	EMOT QDEF	38d14d	65d66d	n/a191d	n/a566d

Trading data

Create an account to view trading data

Join for free

	EMOT	QDEF
Last sale 9/17/2026 at 1:30 PM	$26.08	$89.93
Previous close 09/17/2026	$25.99	$90.46
Consolidated volume 09/17/2026
Average volume 30 days
Average discount or premium 30 days
Average Bid/Ask spread 30 days

Replication quality

Data as of August 31, 2026

1-year trailing difference

Create an account to view replication metrics

Join for free

Create an account to view replication quality

Join for free

	EMOT	QDEF
Tracking error
Tracking difference
1 year cumulative return difference
Best
Worst
Daily return difference
Average
Worst

Main metrics

Last update 9/17/2026 at 1:30 PM

Live

Closed

	EMOT	QDEF
Last price	$26.08	$89.93
1D performance	+0.36%	-0.58%
AuM	$2.60 M	$551.76 M
E/R	0.6%	0.4%

Characteristics

	EMOT	QDEF
Management strategy	Passive	Passive
Provider	First Trust	Northern Trust
Benchmark	S&P 500 Economic Moat Index	Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive Index
N° of holdings	50	133
Asset class	-	Equities
Trailing 12m distribution yield	Join	Join
Inception date	June 27, 2024	December 14, 2012
ESG	No	No

More EMOT data on Trackinsight

More QDEF data on Trackinsight

Exposure

Countries

EMOT

USA

97.89%

Other

2.11%

QDEF

USA

96.57%

Other

3.43%

Sectors

EMOT

Technology

33.51%

Consumer Non-Cycl.

15.61%

Consumer Cyclical.

15.24%

Healthcare

12.41%

Finance

8.42%

Consumer Services

8.33%

Other

6.48%

QDEF

Technology

39.07%

Finance

16.13%

Healthcare

10.34%

Consumer Non-Cycl.

9.59%

Other

24.86%

Diversification

EMOT

Total weight of top 15 holdings out of 15

33.61%

QDEF

Total weight of top 15 holdings out of 15

46.38%

Top 15 holdings

Data as of July 31, 2026

EMOT

Booking Holdings, Inc.

2.52%

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.

2.39%

Paychex, Inc.

2.34%

Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

2.33%

Microsoft Corp.

2.33%

HP, Inc.

2.30%

Mastercard, Inc.

2.26%

Adobe, Inc.

2.25%

Visa, Inc.

2.18%

Cencora, Inc.

2.16%

Eli Lilly & Co.

2.13%

Lockheed Martin Corp.

2.11%

Copart, Inc.

2.11%

Amazon.com, Inc.

2.11%

Fortinet, Inc.

2.09%

QDEF

Apple, Inc.

8.26%

NVIDIA Corp.

6.35%

Broadcom Inc.

4.64%

Microsoft Corp.

4.02%

AbbVie, Inc.

3.01%

Johnson & Johnson

2.74%

Alphabet, Inc.

2.42%

Procter & Gamble Co.

2.33%

Cisco Systems, Inc.

2.25%

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

2.09%

Philip Morris International, Inc.

2.06%

Alphabet, Inc.

1.96%

KLA Corp.

1.68%

Lam Research Corp.

1.35%

The TJX Cos., Inc.

1.21%

Frequently asked questions about EMOT and QDEF

How have the EMOT and QDEF ETFs performed in 2026?

As of September 16, 2026, EMOT is up 9.75% year-to-date (YTD), while QDEF has returned 12.53%. That puts QDEF better performer ahead so far this year.

Which ETF is attracting more investor money: EMOT or QDEF?

Year-to-date, the EMOT ETF saw -$2M in flows, compared to +$2M for QDEF.

Which ETF is more volatile: EMOT or QDEF?

Over the past year, EMOT had a volatility of 11.74%, while QDEF experienced 9.91%.

Which ETF is bigger: EMOT or QDEF?

As of September 16, 2026, EMOT holds $2.60 M in assets under management (AUM), while QDEF manages $551.76 M.

What sectors do the EMOT and QDEF ETFs invest in?

EMOT leans toward sectors like Technology, Consumer Non-Cyclicals and Consumer Cyclicals. Meanwhile, QDEF focuses on Technology, Finance and Healthcare.

What are the top holdings of the EMOT ETF and QDEF ETF?

EMOT top holdings include Booking Holdings, Inc., Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. and Paychex, Inc.. QDEF holds in its top three: Apple, Inc., NVIDIA Corp. and Broadcom Inc..

Which ETF is more diversified: EMOT or QDEF?

EMOT holds 50 securities with 33.61% of its assets in the top 15. QDEF has 134 securities and a top 15 weight of 46.38%.

ETF Central's Ultimate Guide to Dividend Investing, Part 4: Dividend Quality ETFs

July 16, 2024

QDEF

EMOTvsQDEFETF Comparison

First Trust S&P 500 Economic Moat ETF

Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF

EMOT vs QDEF performance and flow charts

Performance

Cumulative Flows

Get all the metrics on this page, and more, through a reliable ETF data feed

Countries

Sectors

Diversification

Top 15 holdings

How have the EMOT and QDEF ETFs performed in 2026?

As of September 16, 2026, EMOT is up 9.75% year-to-date (YTD), while QDEF has returned 12.53%. That puts QDEF better performer ahead so far this year.

Which ETF is attracting more investor money: EMOT or QDEF?

Year-to-date, the EMOT ETF saw -$2M in flows, compared to +$2M for QDEF.

Which ETF is more volatile: EMOT or QDEF?

Over the past year, EMOT had a volatility of 11.74%, while QDEF experienced 9.91%.

Which ETF is bigger: EMOT or QDEF?

As of September 16, 2026, EMOT holds $2.60 M in assets under management (AUM), while QDEF manages $551.76 M.

What sectors do the EMOT and QDEF ETFs invest in?

EMOT leans toward sectors like Technology, Consumer Non-Cyclicals and Consumer Cyclicals. Meanwhile, QDEF focuses on Technology, Finance and Healthcare.

What are the top holdings of the EMOT ETF and QDEF ETF?

EMOT top holdings include Booking Holdings, Inc., Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. and Paychex, Inc.. QDEF holds in its top three: Apple, Inc., NVIDIA Corp. and Broadcom Inc..

Which ETF is more diversified: EMOT or QDEF?

EMOT holds 50 securities with 33.61% of its assets in the top 15. QDEF has 134 securities and a top 15 weight of 46.38%.

ETF Central's Ultimate Guide to Dividend Investing, Part 4: Dividend Quality ETFs

Have you tried our ETF Compare tool?