Moat

The Moat Portfolio holds US-listed companies with durable competitive advantages, what investors call an economic moat. Vested’s research team looks for four sources of advantage: network effects, where a service gets more useful as more people use it; strong brands, patents and licences; high switching costs that make it hard for customers to leave; and scale that smaller competitors cannot match. Holdings are spread across technology, financial services, communications, consumer and industrial companies, and each is weighted using a conviction score.

This portfolio may suit you if you prefer buying established, high-quality businesses and holding them for years, rather than backing a single theme or trend. It is a strategy portfolio, so the logic behind it stays the same even as holdings change. It suits long-term investors who want a spread across sectors. It is less suitable if you are looking for defensive holdings. Quality businesses still fall in a market decline, and Vested tags this portfolio as high risk.

Yes. Resident Indians can invest in the Moat Portfolio through Vested under the RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which currently allows you to remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year for overseas investments. You open a US investment account through Vested, complete a one-time KYC, and transfer money from your Indian bank account. The shares and ETFs are held in your own account in your name, not pooled in a fund, and you can sell and bring the money back to India whenever you want. Gains are taxable in India depending on how long you hold, so factor that into your planning.

Vested reviews every Managed Portfolio, including Moat, once a quarter. A review does not automatically lead to a rebalance. The portfolio is only changed if the research team concludes that the existing allocation no longer makes sense, for example when a company no longer fits the theme or when the weights have drifted away from what was intended. Managed Portfolios are non-discretionary, which means nothing is bought or sold in your account on its own. You are notified when a change is recommended and you decide whether to approve it. There are no brokerage or transaction charges on rebalancing trades.

Because identifying moats yourself means judging whether an advantage is real and lasting, which takes time and access to research most individual investors do not have. A Managed Portfolio does that groundwork for you: Vested’s research team decides which companies go in, how much weight each one gets, and when something should change. You still own the actual shares and ETFs in your own US account, so you can see exactly what you hold, and this is not a fund unit. It also helps with a problem most people run into on their own, which is quietly ending up with far too much money in one stock. You pay an annual advisory fee on the amount you invest, with no purchase fee, no brokerage on rebalancing trades and no exit load. None of this stops you buying individual US stocks on Vested as well, if you want to do both.

Quality companies often trade at high prices precisely because their strengths are widely recognised, which means they can fall when expectations reset even if the business is fine. Moats also erode: technology, regulation or a new competitor can weaken an advantage that looked solid. The portfolio holds equities across sectors, so it falls in a broad market decline. A quality tilt is not the same as downside protection. Judging conviction involves analyst judgement, which can be wrong. Vested tags it as high risk. Because the holdings are priced in US dollars, your returns in rupees also depend on how the rupee moves against the dollar over the period you stay invested.

There are five steps. First, sign up on Vested and complete your KYC, a one-time process to open your US investment account. Second, add money by remitting from your Indian bank account under the LRS route. Third, open the Moat Portfolio and read through its holdings, risk tag and fee before you commit. Fourth, invest the amount you want. You can start small and add to it over time, and there is no lock-in. Fifth, review it periodically and approve or decline any rebalancing recommendation you are sent. You can withdraw at any time without an exit load.