BRF: VANECK BRAZIL SMALL-CAP ETF
What this ETF is trying to do
The VanEck Brazil Small-Cap ETF (BRF) focuses on smaller companies in Brazil. Instead of investing in the biggest famous companies, it spreads its money across 93 different holdings. This allows investors to get exposure to a variety of smaller Brazilian businesses.
What the numbers show
As of October 2, 2026, the share price was $16.79.
When looking at performance, it is important to distinguish between price return (how the share price moved) and total return (which includes the share price movement plus distributions).
• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return and total return are both 4.71%.
• One Year: The price return was 4.94%, but the total return was higher at 11.00%.
• Three Year: The price return was 5.47%, while the total return was 22.15%.
For a simple example, if you had invested $10,000 based on the estimated price from roughly one year ago ($16.00), the price-only return of 4.94% would mean your investment grew to approximately $10,494.
Income and distribution explanation
This ETF pays out cash to investors, known as distributions. It has a distribution yield of approximately 5.29%. However, these payments are "irregular," meaning they do not happen on a set schedule. In the last 12 months, there was only one payout.
It is important for beginners to remember that a high distribution yield alone can be misleading. It shows how much cash was paid out relative to the price, but it does not guarantee that the overall investment is growing.
NAV Erosion explanation
"NAV erosion" happens when the actual value of the fund's underlying assets drops over time. StockValueFinder uses an erosion-risk score to measure this.
This ETF has an erosion score of 94, which is labeled as "Stable / sideways." The erosion severity is rated as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag. This suggests the fund has not shown the patterns typically associated with severe value loss.
Top Holdings
The fund holds many companies. As of October 4, 2026, some of the top holdings include:
• Cyrela Brazil Realty SA: 3.61%
• Fleury SA: 3.39%
• Brava Energia SA: 2.85%
• Bradespar SA: 2.34%
• Cogna Educacao SA: 2.27%
Pros
• Positive Total Returns: The total returns over one and three years are higher than the price returns.
• Stability: The erosion-risk score indicates the fund is stable.
Cons
• Irregular Income: Distributions are not frequent or predictable.
• Lower Price Growth: The price return is significantly lower than the total return.
Beginner takeaway
The BRF ETF provides a way to invest in small Brazilian companies. While the share price has grown modestly, the total return is higher because of the cash distributions. Investors should be aware that the income payments are irregular and not guaranteed.
Top Holdings
Structured portfolio holdings supplied by the ETF data provider. These figures are not generated by the AI article.
| # | Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | n/a | n/a | 4.00% |
| 2 | CYRELA BRAZIL REALTY SA EMPREEND E PART | n/a | 3.61% |
| 3 | FLEURY SA | n/a | 3.39% |
| 4 | n/a | n/a | 3.02% |
| 5 | n/a | n/a | 2.89% |
| 6 | BRAVA ENERGIA SA ORDINARY SHARES | n/a | 2.85% |
| 7 | n/a | n/a | 2.71% |
| 8 | BRADESPAR SA PARTICIPATING PREFERRED | n/a | 2.34% |
| 9 | COGNAEDUCACAO SA | n/a | 2.27% |
| 10 | AUREN ENERGIA SA | n/a | 2.14% |