cik0001137360-20230930
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PROSPECTUS |
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February
1, 2024 |
Inflation
Allocation ETF RAAX
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Principal
U.S. Listing Exchange for the Fund: NYSE Arca, Inc. |
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The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or passed
upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to
the contrary is a criminal offense. |
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800.826.2333 vaneck.com
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VANECK®
INFLATION ALLOCATION ETF |
INVESTMENT
OBJECTIVE
The
investment objective of VanEck® Inflation Allocation ETF (the “Fund”) is
long-term total return. In pursuing long-term total return, the Fund seeks to
maximize “real returns” (as defined below) while seeking to reduce downside risk
during sustained market declines.
FUND FEES AND
EXPENSES
The
following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy,
hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You
may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial
intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples
below.
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Shareholder
Fees
(fees
paid directly from your investment) |
None |
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses
that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your
investment)
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Management
Fee |
0.50 |
% |
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Other
Expenses |
0.11 |
% |
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Acquired
Fund Fees and Expenses(a) |
0.35 |
% |
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Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses(b) |
0.96 |
% |
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Fee
Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(b) |
-0.19 |
% |
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Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense
Reimbursement(b) |
0.77 |
% |
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(a)“Acquired Fund Fees
and Expenses” include fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a
result of investments in other investment companies, including funds which
invest exclusively in money market instruments. Because acquired fund fees and
expenses are not borne directly by the Fund, they will not be reflected in the
expense information in the Fund’s financial statements and the information
presented in the table will differ from that presented in the Fund’s financial
highlights included in the Fund’s reports to shareholders. Acquired fund fees
and expenses include fees and expenses associated with investments in investment
companies managed by Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation (the
“Adviser”) or its affiliates; the Adviser has agreed to waive the management fee
it charges to the Fund by any amount the Adviser or its affiliates collect as a
management fee from such investment company. Such waivers are included in “Fee
Waivers and Expense Reimbursement” above.
(b)The
Adviser has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses (inclusive of
any Subsidiary expenses) to the extent necessary to prevent the operating
expenses of the Fund (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, interest
expense, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses of the Fund) from
exceeding 0.55% of the Fund’s average daily net assets per year until at least
February 1,
2025. During such time, the expense limitation is expected to
continue until the Fund’s Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion
of such expense limitation.
EXPENSE
EXAMPLE
This
example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with
the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account
brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling Shares of the
Fund.
The example
assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and
then sell or hold all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example
also assumes that your investment has a 5% annual return and that the Fund’s
operating expenses remain the same (except that the example incorporates the fee
waivers and/or expense reimbursement arrangement for only the first year).
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions,
your costs would be:
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YEAR |
EXPENSES |
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1 |
$79 |
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3 |
$246 |
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5 |
$428 |
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10 |
$954 |
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PORTFOLIO
TURNOVER
The
Fund will pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and
sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover
will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which
are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, may
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 70% of the average value of its
portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT
STRATEGIES
The
Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve
its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, primarily in
exchange traded products that provide exposure to real assets through investment
in domestic and foreign equity and debt securities, master limited partnerships
(“MLPs”), and commodities, including ETFs and non-Investment Company Act of
1940, commodity pools or commodity trusts and exchange traded notes (“ETNs”)
(collectively, “ETPs”). Real assets include commodities (such as gold), real
estate, natural resources and infrastructure, as well as companies that own,
operate, or derive a significant portion of their value from real assets or the
production thereof. The investments held by the ETPs may include physical assets
and equity securities of companies of any market capitalization, debt securities
of any credit quality (including high-yield (or “junk”) securities), duration
and maturity and emerging market securities. The Fund seeks to maximize “real
returns” while seeking to reduce downside risk during sustained market declines.
“Real returns” are defined as total returns adjusted for the effects of
inflation.
The
Adviser uses a proprietary quantitatively driven investment process that
considers various inputs to guide asset allocation decisions and select real
asset investments (and to thereby select ETPs that provide exposure to those
real asset classes). The process uses various quantitative indicators to
generate allocation signals among real asset investments. These signals are used
as an input to guide which ETPs to allocate to.
The
indicators used in the investment process may include, but are not limited to,
equity price trends, commodity price trends, volatility (the measure of
variation of returns for a given security or market index), and asset price
correlations. The Adviser anticipates that the quantitatively based investment
process will evolve over time and may incorporate additional indicators and/or
remove or modify existing indicators. The Adviser may adjust the Fund's
portfolio allocations, as needed, in response to
the
signal changes generated from the investment process. The Fund may engage in
active and frequent trading of portfolio securities.
The
Fund will invest in certain ETPs through the Subsidiary, an exempted limited
company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Subsidiary is wholly
owned and controlled by the Fund and is advised by the Adviser. The Fund’s
investment in the Subsidiary will generally not exceed 25% of the value of the
Fund’s total assets at each quarter-end of the Fund's fiscal year. The Fund's
investment in the Subsidiary, via the Subsidiary’s investment in ETPs, generally
provides the Fund with exposure to commodities and futures and derivatives of
commodities (“Commodities Instruments”) within the limits of the federal tax
laws, which limit the ability of investment companies like the Fund to invest
directly in such instruments. The Subsidiary has the same investment objective
as the Fund and will follow the same general investment policies and
restrictions except that, unlike the Fund, it may invest, via its investment in
ETPs, without limit in Commodities Instruments.
Except as noted, for purposes of this Prospectus, references to the
Fund’s investment strategies and risks include those of its Subsidiary. The Fund
complies with the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, governing
investment policies (Section 8) and capital structure and leverage (Section 18)
on an aggregate basis with the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will comply with the
Investment Company Act of 1940 provisions governing affiliate transactions and
custody of assets.
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING
IN THE FUND
Investors
in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price
of the Fund’s Shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in
the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk.
An investment
in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government
agency. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following
risks before investing in the Fund, each of which could significantly and
adversely affect the value of an investment in the Fund.
Fund of Funds Risk. The performance of the Fund is dependent on the performance of
the underlying funds. The Fund will be subject to the risks of the underlying
funds’ investments. The Fund will pay indirectly a proportional share of the
fees and expenses of the underlying funds in which it invests, including their
investment advisory and administration fees, while continuing to pay its own
management fee. As a result, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the
expenses of the underlying funds, absorbing duplicative levels of
fees.
Affiliated
Fund Risk. In
managing the Fund, the Adviser has the ability to select underlying funds which
it believes will achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The Adviser may be
subject to potential conflicts of interest in selecting underlying funds because
the Adviser may, due to its own financial interest or other business
considerations, have an incentive to invest in funds managed by the Adviser or
its affiliates rather than investing in funds managed or sponsored by
others.
U.S.
Treasury Securities Risk.
Direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury have historically involved little risk
of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, due to fluctuations in
interest rates, the market value of such securities may
vary.
Subsidiary
Investment Risk.
Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which
the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the
inability of the Fund to operate as intended and could negatively affect the
Fund and its shareholders. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and is not subject to the investor protections of the
Investment Company Act of 1940. Thus, the Fund, as an investor in the
Subsidiary, will not have all the protections offered to investors in registered
investment companies.
Commodity Regulatory Risk.
Changes in the laws or regulations of the United States or the Cayman Islands,
including any changes to applicable tax laws and regulations, could impair the
ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective and could increase the
operating expenses of the Fund or the Subsidiary. Based on the Fund’s and the
Subsidiary’s current investment strategies, the Fund and the Subsidiary are each
a “commodity pool” and the Adviser is considered a commodity pool operator with
respect to the Fund and the Subsidiary under the Commodity Exchange Act.
Accordingly, the Fund and the Adviser are subject to dual regulation by the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Compliance with both sets of regulations expose the Fund and the
Adviser to increased risk of non-compliance and could increase the Fund’s
expenses, adversely affecting the Fund’s total
return.
Tax
Risk (with respect to investments in the Subsidiary).
The Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income from certain qualifying
sources of income in order to qualify as a regulated investment company under
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Internal Revenue Service issued a revenue
ruling in December 2005, which concluded that income and gains from certain
commodity-linked derivatives are not qualifying income under Subchapter M of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a result, the Fund’s ability to invest
directly in commodity-linked futures contracts or swaps or in certain
exchange-traded trusts that hold commodities as part of its investment strategy
is limited by the requirement that it receive no more than ten percent (10%) of
its gross income from such investments. The Fund expects to invest its assets in
the Subsidiary, consistent with applicable law and the advice of counsel, in a
manner that should permit the Fund to treat income allocable from the Subsidiary
as qualifying income. The Internal Revenue Service has issued regulations that
treat a fund’s income inclusion with respect to an investment in a non-U.S.
company generating investment income as qualifying income only if there is a
current-year distribution out of the earnings and profits of the non-U.S.
company that are attributable to such income inclusion or if the income from the
Subsidiary is related to the Fund's business of investing. The Fund intends to
treat its income from the Subsidiary as qualifying income. There can be no
assurance that the Internal Revenue Service will not change its position with
respect to some or all of these issues or if the Internal Revenue Service did
so, that a court would not sustain the Internal Revenue Service’s position.
Furthermore, the tax treatment of the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary may
be adversely affected by future legislation, court decisions, future Internal
Revenue Service guidance or Treasury
regulations.
Real
Assets ETPs Risk.
The Fund may be subject to the following risks as a result of its investments in
Exchange Traded Products:
Commodities
Risk.
Commodities include, among other things, energy products, agricultural products,
industrial metals, precious metals and livestock. The commodities markets may
fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors, including overall market
movements, economic events and policies, changes in interest rates or inflation
rates, changes in monetary and exchange control programs, war, acts of
terrorism, natural disasters and technological developments. Variables such as
disease, drought, floods, weather, trade, embargoes, tariffs and other political
events, in particular, may have a larger impact on commodity prices than on
traditional securities. These additional variables may create additional
investment risks that subject an ETP’s investments to greater volatility than
investments in traditional securities. The prices of commodities can also
fluctuate widely due to supply and demand disruptions in major producing or
consuming regions. Because certain commodities may be produced in a limited
number of countries and may be controlled by a small number of producers,
political, economic and supply-related events in such countries could have a
disproportionate impact on the prices of such commodities. These factors may
affect the value of an ETP in varying ways, and different factors may cause the
value and the volatility of an ETP to move in inconsistent directions at
inconsistent rates.
Risk
of Investing in Gold.
Certain of the ETPs may focus their investments in gold. Investments related to
gold are considered speculative and are affected by a variety of factors. The
price of gold may fluctuate substantially over short periods of time, so an
ETP’s share price may be more volatile than other types of investments.
Fluctuation in the price of gold may be due to a number of factors, including
changes in inflation and changes in industrial and commercial demand for metals.
Additionally, increased environmental or labor costs may depress the value of
gold investments. In times of significant inflation or great economic
uncertainty, gold and other precious metals may outperform traditional
investments such as bonds and stocks. However, in times of stable economic
growth, traditional equity and debt investments could offer greater appreciation
potential and the value of gold may be adversely affected, which could in turn
affect an ETP’s returns.
Natural
Resources Companies Risk.
Certain of the ETPs may be sensitive to, and their performance may depend to a
greater extent on, the overall condition of the natural resources sector.
Investments in natural resources and natural resources companies, which include
companies engaged in agriculture, alternatives (e.g.,
water and alternative energy), energy, forest products and base, industrial and
precious metals, can be significantly affected by events relating to these
industries, including international political and economic developments,
embargoes, tariffs, inflation, weather and natural disasters, livestock
diseases, limits on exploration, rapid changes in the supply and demand for
natural resources and other factors. An
ETP’s
portfolio securities may experience substantial price fluctuations as a result
of these factors and may move independently of the trends of other operating
companies. Companies engaged in the industries listed above may be adversely
affected by changes in government policies and regulations, technological
advances and/or obsolescence, environmental damage claims, energy conservation
efforts, the success of exploration projects, limitations on the liquidity of
certain natural resources and commodities and competition from new market
entrants. Changes in general economic conditions, including commodity price
volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, rising
interest rates, prices of raw materials and other commodities, depletion of
resources and labor relations, could adversely affect an ETP’s portfolio
companies.
Risk
of Investing in MLPs.
MLP units may trade infrequently and in limited volume. Investments in MLPs
could also expose an ETP to volatility risk because units of MLPs may be subject
to more abrupt or erratic price movements than securities of larger or more
broadly based companies. Holders of MLP units are subject to certain risks
inherent in the structure of MLPs, including (i) tax risks, (ii) the limited
ability to elect or remove management or the general partner or managing member,
(iii) limited voting rights, (iv) conflicts of interest between the general
partner or managing member and its affiliates and the limited partners or
members, (v) dilution risks and risks related to the general partner’s right to
require unit-holders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price,
resulting from regulatory changes or other reasons and (vi) cash flow risks.
Holders of units of MLPs have more limited control rights and limited rights to
vote on matters affecting the MLP as compared to holders of stock of a
corporation. For example, MLP unit holders may not elect the general partner or
the directors of the general partner and the MLP unit holders have limited
ability to remove an MLP’s general partner. MLPs are controlled by their general
partners, which generally have conflicts of interest and limited fiduciary
duties to the MLP, which may permit the general partner to favor its own
interests over the MLPs. The amount of cash that each individual MLP can
distribute to its partners will depend on the amount of cash it generates from
operations, which will vary from quarter to quarter depending on factors
affecting the particular business lines of the MLP. Available cash will also
depend on the MLP's level of operating costs (including incentive distributions
to the general partner), level of capital expenditures, debt service
requirements, acquisition costs (if any), fluctuations in working capital needs
and other factors.
Some MLPs may be treated as “passive foreign investment companies”
or “controlled foreign corporations” corporations for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. The manner and extent of an ETP’s investments in MLPs may be limited
by its intention to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (which would increase the risk of tracking error), and any
such investments by the ETP may adversely affect the ability of the ETP to so
qualify. If any of the MLPs owned by an ETP were treated as entities other than
partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it could result in a
reduction of the value of an investment in the ETP.
Real
Estate Sector Risk.
Companies in the real estate sector include companies that invest in real
estate, such as real estate investment trusts and real estate management and
development companies. Companies that invest in real estate are subject to the
risks of owning real estate directly as well as to risks that relate
specifically to the way that such companies operate, including management risk
(such companies are dependent upon the management skills of a few key
individuals and may have limited financial resources). Adverse economic,
business or political developments affecting real estate could have a major
effect on the value of an ETP’s investments. Investing in real estate is subject
to such risks as decreases in real estate values, overbuilding, increased
competition and other risks related to local or general economic conditions,
increases in operating costs and property taxes, changes in zoning laws,
casualty or condemnation losses, possible environmental liabilities, regulatory
limitations on rent, possible lack of availability of mortgage financing, market
saturation, fluctuations in rental income and the value of underlying properties
and extended vacancies of properties. Certain real estate securities have a
relatively small market capitalization, which may tend to increase the
volatility of the market price of these securities. Real estate securities have
limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in
operating and financing a limited number of projects. Real estate securities are
also subject to heavy cash flow dependency and defaults by borrowers or
tenants.
Infrastructure
Risk.
Infrastructure-related companies are subject to a variety of factors that may
adversely affect their business or operations, including high interest costs,
costs associated with compliance with and changes in environmental and other
regulations, difficulty in raising capital, increased competition, and
uncertainty concerning the availability of fuel at reasonable prices.
Infrastructure-related securities may be issued by companies that are highly
leveraged, less creditworthy or financially distressed. These investments are
considered to be speculative and are subject to greater risk of loss, greater
sensitivity to interest rate and economic changes, valuation difficulties, and
potential illiquidity.
ETP-Related
Equity Securities Risk.
The value of the equity securities held by an ETP may fall due to general market
and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers
of securities held by an ETP participate, or factors relating to specific
issuers in which an ETP invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred
securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority in
right to a share of corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater
dividend risk than preferred securities or debt instruments. In addition, while
broad market measures of equity securities have historically generated higher
average returns than fixed income securities, equity securities have generally
also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns, although under
certain market conditions fixed income securities may have comparable or greater
price volatility.
Small-
and Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. Small-
and medium-capitalization companies may be more volatile and more likely than
large-capitalization companies to have narrower product lines, fewer financial
resources, less management depth and experience and less competitive strength.
In addition, these companies often have greater price volatility, lower trading
volume and less liquidity than larger, more established companies. Returns on
investments in securities of small-capitalization and medium-capitalization
companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of
large-capitalization companies.
Foreign
Securities Risk. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks
beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities. These additional
risks include greater market volatility, the availability of less reliable
financial information, higher transactional and custody costs, taxation by
foreign governments, decreased market liquidity and political instability.
Because certain foreign securities markets may be limited in size, the activity
of large traders may have an undue influence on the prices of securities that
trade in such markets. An ETP may invest in securities of issuers located in
countries whose economies are heavily dependent upon trading with key partners.
Any reduction in this trading may have an adverse impact on the ETP’s
investments.
Emerging
Market Issuers Risk. Investments in securities of emerging market issuers are exposed to
a number of risks that may make these investments volatile in price or difficult
to trade. Emerging markets are more likely than developed markets to experience
problems with the clearing and settling of trades, as well as the holding of
securities by local banks, agents and depositories. Political risks may include
unstable governments, nationalization, restrictions on foreign ownership, laws
that prevent investors from getting their money out of a country and legal
systems that do not protect property rights as well as the laws of the United
States. Market risks may include economies that concentrate in only a few
industries, securities issues that are held by only a few investors, liquidity
issues and limited trading capacity in local exchanges and the possibility that
markets or issues may be manipulated by foreign nationals who have inside
information. The frequency, availability and quality of financial information
about investments in emerging markets varies. The Fund has limited rights and
few practical remedies in emerging markets and the ability of U.S. authorities
to bring enforcement actions in emerging markets may be limited, and the Fund's
passive investment approach does not take account of these
risks.
ETP-Related
Foreign Currency Risk.
Because all or a portion of the income received by an ETP from its foreign
investments and/or the revenues received by the underlying foreign issuer will
generally be denominated in foreign currencies, the ETP’s exposure to foreign
currencies and changes in the value of foreign currencies versus the U.S. dollar
may result in reduced returns for the ETP, and the value of certain foreign
currencies may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation. Moreover, the ETP may
incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and foreign
currencies.
Credit
Risk.
Debt securities are subject to credit risk. Credit risk refers to the
possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable and/or
unwilling to make timely interest payments and/or repay the principal on its
debt or to otherwise honor its obligations and/or default completely. There is a
possibility that the credit rating of a debt security may be downgraded after
purchase or the perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may decline, which
may adversely affect the value of the
security.
Interest
Rate Risk.
Debt securities, such as bonds, are subject to interest rate risk. Interest rate
risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a debt security resulting from
changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of
interest rates goes up, the prices of most debt securities go down. When the
general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most debt securities go
up. A low interest rate environment increases the risk associated with rising
interest rates, including the potential for periods of volatility and increased
redemptions. In addition, debt securities with longer durations tend to be more
sensitive to interest rate changes, usually making them more volatile than debt
securities with shorter durations. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as with
other serious economic disruptions, governmental authorities and regulators are
enacting significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including providing
direct capital infusions into companies, creating new monetary programs and
lowering interest rates. These actions present heightened risks to debt
instruments, and such risks could increase if these actions are unexpectedly or
suddenly reversed or are ineffective in achieving their desired
outcomes.
Call
Risk. An
ETP may invest in callable debt securities. If interest rates fall, issuers of
callable securities may “call” (or prepay) their debt securities before their
maturity date. If the issuer exercises a call during or following a period of
declining interest rates, the ETP is likely to have to replace the called
security with a lower yielding or riskier security, decreasing the ETP’s net
investment income.
Concentration
Risk.
Certain of the ETPs may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or
industry or group of industries. To the extent that an ETP is concentrated in a
particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the ETP will be
subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a
negative effect on those sectors and/or industry or groups of industries may
negatively impact the ETP to a greater extent than if the ETP’s assets were
invested in a wider variety of sectors or
industries.
Derivatives
Risk.
The use of derivatives, including Commodities Instruments, presents risks
different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing
directly in traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead to losses
because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security,
commodity, asset, index or reference rate.
Derivative
strategies often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially
causing the Fund or an ETP to lose more money than it would have lost had it
invested in the underlying security. Also, a liquid secondary market may not
always exist for the Fund’s or an ETP’s derivative positions at times when the
Fund or ETP might wish to terminate or sell such positions. Over the counter
instruments may be illiquid, and transactions in derivatives traded in the
over-the-counter market are subject to counterparty risk. The Fund or an ETP may
also face the risk that it may not be able to meet margin and payment
requirements and maintain a derivatives position. The use of derivatives by the
Fund or an ETP may increase the amount and affect the timing and character of
taxes payable by shareholders of the Fund or the ETP (like the Fund),
respectively.
Under
Rule 18f-4 (the “derivatives rule”), funds need to trade derivatives and other
transactions that create future fund payment or delivery obligations subject to
a value-at-risk (“VaR”) leverage limit, and certain derivatives risk management
program and reporting requirements. Generally, these requirements apply unless a
fund qualifies as a “limited derivatives user,” as defined in the derivatives
rule. Under the derivatives rule, when a fund trades reverse repurchase
agreements or similar financing transactions, including certain tender option
bonds, it needs to aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with the
reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the
aggregate amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness when
calculating the fund’s asset coverage ratio or treat all such transactions as
derivatives transactions. Reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing
transactions aggregated with other indebtedness do not need to be included in
the calculation of whether a fund is a limited derivatives user, but for funds
subject to the VaR testing, reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing
transactions must be included for purposes of such testing whether treated as
derivatives transactions or not. The Securities and Exchange Commission also
provided guidance in connection with the derivatives rule regarding use of
securities lending collateral that may limit a fund's securities lending
activities. In addition, under the derivatives rule, the Fund is permitted to
invest in a security on a when-issued or forward-settling basis, or with a
non-standard settlement cycle, and the transaction will be deemed not to involve
a senior security under the Investment Company Act of 1940, provided that (i)
the Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and (ii) the transaction
will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities
Provision”). The Fund may otherwise engage in such transactions that do not meet
the conditions of the Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision so long as the
Fund treats any such transaction as a “derivatives transaction” for purposes of
compliance with the derivatives rule. Furthermore, under the derivatives rule,
the Fund will be permitted to enter into an unfunded commitment agreement, and
such unfunded commitment agreement will not be subject to the asset coverage
requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, if the Fund reasonably
believes, at the time it enters into such agreement, that it will have
sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet its obligations with respect to all
such agreements as they come due.
Derivatives
are also subject to operational and legal risks. Operational risk generally
refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation
issues, settlement issues, system failures, inadequate controls, and human
errors. Legal risk generally refers to insufficient documentation, insufficient
capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a
contract.
Liquidity
Risk Related to Commodities Instruments.
The Subsidiary invests in ETPs that invest in Commodities Instruments, which may
be less liquid than other types of investments. The illiquidity of Commodities
Instruments could have a negative effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its
investment objective and may result in losses to Fund shareholders. In stressed
market conditions, the liquidity of the Fund’s shares may begin to mirror those
of the underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid
than the Fund’s shares.
Gap
Risk. The
Fund and the Subsidiary are subject to the risk that a commodity price will
fluctuate even during periods when there is no trading. Usually, such movements
occur when there are adverse news announcements, which can cause a commodity
price to drop substantially from the previous day’s closing
price.
Cash
Transactions Risk. Unlike other ETFs, the Fund expects to effect its creations and
redemptions at least partially for cash, rather than wholly for in-kind
securities. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and
subsequently incur brokerage costs and/or recognize gains or losses on such
sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio
securities in kind. As such, investments in Shares may be less tax-efficient
than an investment in a conventional ETF. Transaction costs, including brokerage
costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value to the extent not offset by the
transaction fee payable by an Authorized Participant.
High
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The
Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities,
which will result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including
brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale
of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. High portfolio
turnover may also result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable
account. The effects of high portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund
performance.
Data
Risk.
Given the complexity of the investments and strategies of the Fund, the Adviser
relies heavily on quantitative inputs and information and data. Models and data
may be used to construct sets of transactions and investments, and to provide
risk management insights. If the models and data prove to be incorrect or
incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential
risks.
Active
Management Risk. In managing the Fund’s portfolio, the Adviser will apply
investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the
Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results.
Investment decisions made by the Adviser in seeking to achieve the Fund’s
investment objective may cause a decline in the value of the investments held by
the Fund and, in turn, cause the Fund’s shares to lose value or underperform
other funds with similar investment objectives.
Operational
Risk.
The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors,
including human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s
service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate
processes and technology or system failures.
Authorized
Participant Concentration Risk. The Fund may have a limited number of Authorized Participants, none
of which are obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. To
the extent that those Authorized Participants exit the business, or do not
process creation and/or redemption orders, there may be a significantly
diminished trading market for Shares or Shares may trade like closed-end funds
at a discount (or premium) to net asset value and possibly face trading halts
and/or de-listing. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid-ask prices
for the Fund. The Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened in
cases where Authorized Participants have limited or diminished access to the
capital required to post collateral.
No
Guarantee of Active Trading Market Risk. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for
the Shares will develop or be maintained, as applicable. Further, secondary
markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and
extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because market
makers and Authorized Participants may step away from making a market in the
Shares and in executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a
material deviation in the Fund’s market price from its net asset
value.
Trading
Issues Risk.
Trading in shares on the exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for
reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable.
In addition, trading in shares on the exchange is subject to trading halts
caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the relevant exchange’s
“circuit breaker” rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated early close of the
exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell Shares of the
Fund. There can be no assurance that requirements of the exchange necessary to
maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain
unchanged.
Market
Risk.
The prices of securities are subject to the risks associated with investing in
the securities market, including general economic conditions, sudden and
unpredictable drops in value, exchange trading suspensions and closures and
public health risks. These risks may be magnified if certain social, political,
economic and other conditions and events (such as natural disasters, epidemics
and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) adversely interrupt the
global economy; in these and other circumstances, such events or developments
might affect companies world-wide. Overall securities values could decline
generally or underperform other investments. An investment may lose
money.
Fund Shares Trading, Premium/Discount Risk and Liquidity of
Fund Shares. The market price of the Shares may fluctuate in response to
the Fund’s net asset value, the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings and supply
and demand for Shares. Shares may trade above, below, or at their most recent
net asset value. Factors including disruptions to creations and redemptions, the
existence of market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for
Shares (including through a trading halt), may result in Shares trading at a
significant premium or discount to net asset value or to the intraday value of
the Fund’s holdings. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market
price is at a premium to the net asset value or sells Shares at a time when the
market price is at a discount to the net asset value, the shareholder may pay
significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of
the Shares. The securities held by the Fund may be traded in markets that close
at a different time than the exchange on which the Shares are traded. Liquidity
in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times.
Accordingly, during the time when the exchange is open but after the applicable
market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid/ask spreads on the exchange and
the resulting premium or discount to the Shares’ net asset value may widen.
Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s Shares
may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for
the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and a shareholder may be unable to sell
his or her Shares.
PERFORMANCE
The
bar chart that follows shows how the Fund performed for the calendar years
shown. The table below the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual returns
(before and after taxes). The bar chart
and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by
comparing the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s
average annual returns for the one year, five year, ten year and/or since
inception periods, as applicable, compared with the Fund’s benchmark index and a
broad-based benchmark index. All returns assume reinvestment of
dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance
(before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will
perform in the future. Updated performance information is
available online at www.vaneck.com.
Annual Total Returns
(%)—Calendar Years
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Best
Quarter: |
14.72% |
1Q 2021 |
Worst
Quarter: |
-25.77% |
1Q
2020 |
Average Annual
Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31,
2023
The after-tax returns presented
in the table below are calculated using the highest historical individual
federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and
local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your
specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not
relevant to investors who hold Shares of the Fund through tax-deferred
arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement
accounts.
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Past
One Year |
Past
Five Years |
Since
Inception (04/09/2018) |
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VanEck
Inflation Allocation ETF (return before taxes) |
6.14% |
5.00% |
4.17% |
|
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VanEck
Inflation Allocation ETF (return after taxes on
distributions) |
4.76% |
3.30% |
2.66% |
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VanEck
Inflation Allocation ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of
Fund Shares) |
3.79% |
3.17% |
2.60% |
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Bloomberg
Commodity Index (reflects no deduction for
fees, expenses or taxes) |
-7.91% |
7.23% |
4.04% |
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S&P
500®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or
taxes) |
26.29% |
15.69% |
13.02% |
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PORTFOLIO
MANAGEMENT
Investment
Adviser.
Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation.
Portfolio
Managers.
The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the
day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
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Name |
Title
with Adviser |
Date
Began Managing the Fund |
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David
Schassler |
Portfolio
Manager |
April
2018 |
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John
Lau |
Deputy
Portfolio Manager |
February
2021 |
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PURCHASE
AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
For
important information about the purchase and sale of Fund Shares, tax
information and payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries,
please turn to the “Summary Information About Purchases and Sales of Fund
Shares, Taxes and Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries”
section of this Prospectus.
PURCHASE
AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Individual
Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market
transactions through a broker or a dealer at a market price. Shares of the Fund
are listed on the Exchange, and because Shares trade at market prices rather
than net asset value, Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than net
asset value (i.e.,
a “premium”) or less than net asset value (i.e.,
a “discount”).
An
investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest
price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares of the Fund (bid) and the
lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or
selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”).
Recent
information, including information about the Fund’s net asset value, market
price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is included on the Fund’s
website at www.vaneck.com.
TAX
INFORMATION
The
Fund’s distributions (other than return of capital distributions) are taxable
and will generally be taxed as both ordinary income and capital gains. As a
result of the Fund’s investment strategies, it is expected that distributions by
the Fund will generally be taxable as ordinary income.
PAYMENTS
TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The
Adviser and its related companies may pay broker-dealers or other financial
intermediaries (such as a bank) for the sale of the Fund Shares and related
services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your
broker-dealer or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to
recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit
your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
PRINCIPAL
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The
Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve
its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, primarily in
exchange traded products that provide exposure to real assets through investment
in domestic and foreign equity and debt securities, master limited partnerships
(“MLPs”), and commodities, including ETFs and non-Investment Company Act of
1940, commodity pools or commodity trusts and exchange traded notes (“ETNs”)
(collectively, “ETPs”). Real assets include commodities (such as gold), real
estate, natural resources and infrastructure, as well as companies that own,
operate, or derive a significant portion of their value from real assets or the
production thereof. The investments held by the ETPs may include physical assets
and equity securities of companies of any market capitalization, debt securities
of any credit quality (including high-yield (or “junk”) securities), duration
and maturity and emerging market securities. The Fund seeks to maximize “real
returns” while seeking to reduce downside risk during sustained market declines.
“Real returns” are defined as total returns adjusted for the effects of
inflation.
The
Adviser uses a proprietary quantitatively driven investment process that
considers various inputs to guide asset allocation decisions and select real
asset investments (and to thereby select ETPs that provide exposure to those
real asset classes). The process uses various quantitative indicators to
generate allocation signals among real asset investments. These signals are used
as an input to guide which ETPs to allocate to.
The
indicators used in the investment process may include, but are not limited to,
equity price trends, commodity price trends, volatility (the measure of
variation of returns for a given security or market index), and asset price
correlations. The Adviser anticipates that the quantitatively based investment
process will evolve over time and may incorporate additional indicators and/or
remove or modify existing indicators. The Adviser may adjust the Fund's
portfolio allocations, as needed, in response to
the
signal changes generated from the investment process. The Fund may engage in
active and frequent trading of portfolio securities.
The
Fund will invest in certain ETPs through the Subsidiary, an exempted limited
company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Subsidiary is wholly
owned and controlled by the Fund and is advised by the Adviser. The Fund’s
investment in the Subsidiary will generally not exceed 25% of the value of the
Fund’s total assets at each quarter-end of the Fund's fiscal year. The Fund's
investment in the Subsidiary, via the Subsidiary’s investment in ETPs, generally
provides the Fund with exposure to commodities and futures and derivatives of
commodities (“Commodities Instruments”) within the limits of the federal tax
laws, which limit the ability of investment companies like the Fund to invest
directly in such instruments. The Subsidiary has the same investment objective
as the Fund and will follow the same general investment policies and
restrictions except that, unlike the Fund, it may invest, via its investment in
ETPs, without limit in Commodities Instruments.
Except
as noted, for purposes of this Prospectus, references to the Fund’s investment
strategies and risks include those of its Subsidiary. The Fund complies with the
provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, governing investment policies
(Section 8) and capital structure and leverage (Section 18) on an aggregate
basis with the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will comply with the Investment
Company Act of 1940 provisions governing affiliate transactions and custody of
assets.
FUNDAMENTAL
AND NON-FUNDAMENTAL POLICIES
The
Fund’s investment objective and each of its other investment policies are
non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the
“Board of Trustees”) of VanEck ETF Trust (the “Trust”) without shareholder
approval, except as noted in this Prospectus or the Statement of Additional
Information (“SAI”) under the section entitled “Investment Policies and
Restrictions— Investment Restrictions.”
RISKS
OF INVESTING IN THE FUND
The
following section provides additional information regarding the principal risks
identified under “Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” in the Fund’s
“Summary Information” section followed by additional risk
information.
Investors
in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price
of the Fund’s Shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in
the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. An investment in the Fund is not
a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Therefore, you should
consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund, each of
which could significantly and adversely affect the value of an investment in the
Fund.
Fund of Funds Risk. The
performance of the Fund is dependent on the performance of the underlying funds.
The Fund will be subject to the risks of the underlying funds’ investments. The
Fund will pay indirectly a proportional share of the fees and expenses of the
underlying funds in which it invests, including their investment advisory and
administration fees, while continuing to pay its own management fee. As a
result, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses of the
underlying funds, absorbing duplicative levels of fees.
Affiliated
Fund Risk. In
managing the Fund, the Adviser has the ability to select underlying funds which
it believes will achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The Adviser may be
subject to potential conflicts of interest in selecting underlying funds because
the Adviser may, due to its own financial interest or other business
considerations, have an incentive to invest in funds managed by the Adviser or
its affiliates rather than investing in funds managed or sponsored by
others.
U.S.
Treasury Securities Risk.
Direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury have historically involved little risk
of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, due to fluctuations in
interest rates, the market value of such securities may vary.
Subsidiary
Investment Risk.
Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which
the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the
inability of the Fund to operate as intended and could negatively affect the
Fund and its shareholders. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and is not subject to the investor protections of the
Investment Company Act of 1940. Thus, the Fund, as an investor in the
Subsidiary, will not have all the protections offered to investors in registered
investment companies.
Commodities
and Commodity-Linked Instruments Tax Risk. The
tax treatment of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be adversely
affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding
authority. If, as a result of any such adverse action, the income of the Fund
from certain commodity-linked derivatives were treated as non- qualifying
income, the Fund might fail to qualify as a regulated investment company (“RIC”)
and/or be subject to federal income tax at the Fund level. The uncertainty
surrounding the treatment of certain derivative instruments under the
qualification tests for a RIC may limit the Fund’s use of such derivative
instruments.
The
Fund may be required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and
recognize as income for each taxable year any net unrealized gains and losses on
certain futures contracts and option contracts as of the end of the year as well
as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from futures contracts
required to be marked-to-market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital
gain or loss if held directly by the Fund but if held by the Subsidiary as is
expected such gains will be recognized as ordinary income by the Fund to the
extent of the Subsidiary’s annual net earnings if any. Application of this rule
may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The Fund
may be required to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts or
certain option contracts to the extent of any unrecognized gains on related
positions held by the Fund.
Commodity Regulatory Risk. Changes
in the laws or regulations of the United States or the Cayman Islands, including
any changes to applicable tax laws and regulations, could impair the ability of
the Fund to achieve its investment objective and could increase the operating
expenses of the Fund or the Subsidiary. Based on the Fund’s and the Subsidiary’s
current investment strategies, the Fund and the Subsidiary are each a “commodity
pool” and the Adviser is considered a commodity pool operator with respect to
the Fund and the Subsidiary under the Commodity Exchange Act. Accordingly,
the Fund and the Adviser are subject to dual regulation by the CFTC and the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Pursuant
to certain CFTC regulations, the Fund and the Adviser have elected to meet the
requirements of certain CFTC regulations by complying with specific Securities
and Exchange Commission rules and regulations relating to disclosure and
reporting requirements. The CFTC could deem the Fund or the Adviser in violation
of an applicable CFTC regulation if the Fund or the Adviser failed to comply
with a related Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory requirement. In
addition, the Fund and the Adviser will remain subject to certain CFTC-mandated
disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping regulations with respect to the Fund and
the Subsidiary. Compliance with the CFTC regulations could increase the Fund’s
expenses, adversely affecting the Fund’s total return.
Tax
Risk (with respect to investments in the Subsidiary).
The Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income from certain qualifying
sources of income in order to qualify as a regulated investment company under
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Internal Revenue Service issued a revenue
ruling in December 2005, which concluded that income and gains from certain
commodity-linked derivatives are not qualifying income under Subchapter M of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a result, the Fund’s ability to invest
directly in commodity-linked futures contracts or swaps or in certain
exchange-traded trusts that hold commodities as part of its investment strategy
is limited by the requirement that it receive no more than ten percent (10%) of
its gross income from such investments. However, in Revenue Ruling 2006-31, the
Internal Revenue Service indicated that income from alternative investment
instruments that create commodity exposure may be considered qualifying income
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Internal Revenue Service
subsequently issued private letter rulings to other taxpayers in which the
Internal Revenue Service specifically concluded that that income derived from a
fund’s investment in a controlled foreign corporation also will constitute
qualifying income to the fund, even if the controlled foreign corporation itself
owns commodity-linked futures contracts or swaps. A private letter ruling cannot
be used or cited as precedent and is binding on the Internal Revenue Service
only for the taxpayer that receives it. The Fund has not obtained a ruling from
the Internal Revenue Service with respect to its investments or its structure.
In the absence of such a ruling, the Fund expects to invest its assets in the
Subsidiary, consistent with applicable law and the advice of counsel, in a
manner that should permit the Fund to treat income allocable from the Subsidiary
as qualifying income. The Internal Revenue Service will no longer issue private
letter rulings relating to the tax treatment of income generated by investments
in a subsidiary. The Internal Revenue Service has issued regulations that treat
a fund’s income inclusion with respect to an investment in a non-U.S. company
generating investment income as qualifying income if there is a current-year
distribution out of the earnings and profits of the non-U.S. company that are
attributable to such income inclusion or if the income from the Subsidiary is
related to the Fund's business of investing. The Fund intends to treat its
income from the Subsidiary as qualifying income. There can be no assurance that
the Internal Revenue Service will not change its position with respect to some
or all of these issues or if the Internal Revenue Service did so, that a court
would not sustain the Internal Revenue Service’s position. Furthermore, the tax
treatment of the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary may be adversely affected
by future legislation, court decisions, future Internal Revenue Service guidance
or Treasury regulations. If the Internal Revenue
Service
were to change its position or otherwise determine that income derived from the
Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary does not constitute qualifying income and if
such positions were upheld, or if future legislation, court decisions, future
Internal Revenue Service guidance or Treasury regulations were to adversely
affect the tax treatment of such investments, the Fund might cease to qualify as
a regulated investment company and would be required to reduce its exposure to
such investments which could result in difficulty in implementing its investment
strategy. If the Fund did not qualify as a regulated investment company for any
taxable year, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund
level at regular corporate tax rates (without reduction for distributions to
shareholders) and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is
distributed. In such event, in order to re-qualify for taxation as a regulated
investment company, the Fund may be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay
substantial taxes and interest and make certain distributions.
Real
Assets ETPs Risks.
The Fund may be subject to the following risks as a result of its investments in
ETPs:
Commodities
Risk.
Commodities include, among other things, energy products, agricultural products,
industrial metals, precious metals and livestock. The commodities markets may
fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors, including overall market
movements, economic events and policies, changes in interest rates or inflation
rates, changes in monetary and exchange control programs, war, acts of
terrorism, natural disasters and technological developments. Variables such as
disease, drought, floods, weather, trade, embargoes, tariffs and other political
events, in particular, may have a larger impact on commodity prices than on
traditional securities. These additional variables may create additional
investment risks that subject an ETP’s investments to greater volatility than
investments in traditional securities. The prices of commodities can also
fluctuate widely due to supply and demand disruptions in major producing or
consuming regions. Because certain commodities may be produced in a limited
number of countries and may be controlled by a small number of producers,
political, economic and supply-related events in such countries could have a
disproportionate impact on the prices of such commodities. These factors may
affect the value of an ETP in varying ways, and different factors may cause the
value and the volatility of an ETP to move in inconsistent directions at
inconsistent rates.
Risk
of Investing in Gold.
Certain of the ETPs may focus their investments in gold. Investments related to
gold are considered speculative and are affected by a variety of factors. The
price of gold may fluctuate substantially over short periods of time so an ETP’s
share price may be more volatile than other types of investments. Fluctuation in
the prices of gold may be due to a number of factors, including changes in
inflation and changes in industrial and commercial demand for metals.
Additionally, increased environmental or labor costs may depress the value of
metal investments. In times of significant inflation or great economic
uncertainty, gold and other precious metals may outperform traditional
investments such as bonds and stocks. However, in times of stable economic
growth, traditional equity and debt investments could offer greater appreciation
potential and the value of gold and other precious metals may be adversely
affected, which could in turn affect an ETP’s returns. A significant portion of
the world’s gold reserves are held by governments, central banks and related
institutions. The production, purchase and sale of gold by governments or
central banks or other larger holders can be negatively affected by various
economic, financial, social and political factors, which may be unpredictable
and may have a significant adverse impact on the supply and price of gold.
Additionally, the United States or foreign governments may pass laws or
regulations limiting metal investments for strategic or other policy reasons.
The principal supplies of metal industries also may be concentrated in a small
number of countries and regions. Economic, social and political conditions in
those countries that are the largest producers of gold may have a direct
negative effect on the production and marketing of gold and silver and on sales
of central bank gold holdings. The price of gold also can be significantly
adversely affected by events relating to international political developments,
the success of exploration projects, commodity prices, tax and government
regulations and intervention (including government restrictions on private
ownership of gold and mining land), changes expectations regarding inflation in
various countries and investment speculation.
Risk
of Investing in Natural Resources Companies.
Certain of the ETPs may be sensitive to, and their performance may depend to a
greater extent on, the overall condition of natural resources companies.
Investments in natural resources and natural resources companies, which include
companies engaged in agriculture, alternatives (e.g.,
water and alternative energy), base and industrial metals, energy, forest
products and precious metals, can be significantly affected by events relating
to these industries, including international political and economic
developments, embargoes, tariffs, inflation, weather and natural disasters,
livestock diseases, limits on exploration, often rapid changes in the supply and
demand for natural resources and other factors. An ETP’s portfolio securities
may experience substantial price fluctuations as a result of these factors, and
may move independently of the trends of other operating companies. Companies
engaged in the industries listed above may be adversely affected by changes in
government policies and regulations, technological advances and/or obsolescence,
environmental damage claims, energy conservation efforts, the success of
exploration projects, limitations on the liquidity of certain natural resources
and commodities and competition from new market entrants. Political risks and
the other risks to which foreign securities are subject may also affect domestic
natural resource companies if they have significant operations or investments in
foreign countries. Changes in general economic conditions, including commodity
price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls,
rising interest rates, prices of raw materials and other commodities, depletion
of resources and labor relations, could adversely affect an ETP’s portfolio
companies.
Risk
of Investing in MLPs.
MLP units may trade infrequently and in limited volume. Investments in MLPs
could also expose an ETP to volatility risk, because units of MLPs may be
subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than securities of
larger
or more broadly based companies. Holders of MLP units are subject to certain
risks inherent in the structure of MLPs, including (i) tax risks (described
further below), (ii) the limited ability to elect or remove management or the
general partner or managing member, (iii) limited voting rights, (iv) conflicts
of interest between the general partner or managing member and its affiliates
and the limited partners or members, (v) dilution risks and risks related to the
general partner’s right to require unitholders to sell their common units at an
undesirable time or price, resulting from regulatory changes or other reasons
and (vi) cash flow risks, as described below. Holders of units of MLPs have more
limited control rights and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP
as compared to holders of stock of a corporation. For example, MLP unit holders
may not elect the general partner or the directors of the general partner and
the MLP unit holders have limited ability to remove an MLP’s general partner.
MLPs are controlled by their general partners, which generally have conflicts of
interest and limited fiduciary duties to the MLP, which may permit the general
partner to favor its own interests over the MLPs. The amount of cash that each
individual MLP can distribute to its partners will depend on the amount of cash
it generates from operations, which will vary from quarter to quarter depending
on factors affecting the particular business lines of the MLP. Available cash
will also depend on the MLPs’ level of operating costs (including incentive
distributions to the general partner), level of capital expenditures, debt
service requirements, acquisition costs (if any), fluctuations in working
capital needs and other factors.
Some
MLPs may be treated as “passive foreign investment companies” or “controlled
foreign corporations” corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The
manner and extent of an ETP’s investments in MLPs may be limited by its
intention to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (which would increase the risk of tracking error), and any
such investments by the ETP may adversely affect the ability of the ETP to so
qualify. If any of the MLPs owned by an ETP were treated as entities other than
partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it could result in a
reduction of the value of an investment in the ETP.
Risk
of Investing in the Real Estate Sector.
Companies in the real estate sector include companies that invest in real
estate, such as real estate investment trusts and real estate management and
development companies. Companies that invest in real estate are subject to the
risks of owning real estate directly as well as to risks that relate
specifically to the way that such companies operate, including management risk
(such companies are dependent upon the management skills of a few key
individuals and may have limited financial resources). Adverse economic,
business or political developments affecting real estate could have a major
effect on the values of an ETP’s investments. Investing in real estate is
subject to such risks as decreases in real estate values, overbuilding,
increased competition and other risks related to local or general economic
conditions, increases in operating costs and property taxes, changes in zoning
laws, casualty or condemnation losses, possible environmental liabilities,
regulatory limitations on rent, possible lack of availability of mortgage
financing, market saturation, fluctuations in rental income and the value of
underlying properties and extended vacancies of properties. Certain real estate
securities have a relatively small market capitalization, which may tend to
increase the volatility of the market price of these securities. Real estate
securities have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks
inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. Real estate
securities are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency and defaults by
borrowers or tenants.
Infrastructure
Risk.
Infrastructure-related companies are subject to a variety of factors that may
adversely affect their business or operations including high interest costs,
costs associated with compliance with and changes in environmental and other
regulations, difficulty in raising capital in adequate amounts on reasonable
terms in periods of high inflation and unsettled markets, the effects of surplus
capacity, increased competition from other providers of services, and
uncertainty concerning the availability of fuel at reasonable prices, the
effects of energy conservation policies, and other factors. Additionally,
infrastructure-related entities may be subject to regulation by various
governmental authorities and may also be affected by governmental regulation of
rates charged to customers, government budgetary constraints, service
interruption due to environmental, operational or other mishaps and the
imposition of special tariffs and changes in tax laws, regulatory policies and
accounting standards. Other factors that may affect the operations of
infrastructure-related companies include innovations in technology that could
render the way in which a company delivers a product or service obsolete,
significant changes to the number of ultimate end- users of a company’s
products, increased susceptibility to terrorist acts or political actions, risks
of environmental damage due to a company’s operations or an accident, and
general changes in market sentiment towards infrastructure and utilities assets.
Infrastructure-related securities may be issued by companies that are highly
leveraged, less creditworthy or financially distressed (also known as junk
bonds). These investments are considered to be speculative and are subject to
greater risk of loss, greater sensitivity to interest rate and economic changes,
valuation difficulties, and potential illiquidity.
Commodity
Instruments Liquidity Risk. The
Subsidiary invests in ETPs that invest in Commodities Instruments, which may be
less liquid than other types of investments. The illiquidity of Commodities
Instruments could have a negative effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its
investment objective and may result in losses to Fund shareholders. In stressed
market conditions, the liquidity of the Fund’s shares may begin to mirror those
of the underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid
than the Fund’s shares.
ETP-Related
Equity Securities Risk.
The value of the equity securities held by an ETP may fall due to general market
and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers
of securities held by an ETP participate, or factors relating to specific
issuers in which an ETP invests. For example, an adverse event, such as an
unfavorable earnings
report,
may result in a decline in the value of equity securities of an issuer held by
an ETP; the price of the equity securities of an issuer may be particularly
sensitive to general movements in the securities markets; or a drop in the
securities markets may depress the price of most or all of the equities
securities held by an ETP. In addition, the equity securities of an issuer in an
ETP’s portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated
dividend payments. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities
and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority in right to a
share of corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend
risk than preferred securities or debt instruments. In addition, while broad
market measures of equity securities have historically generated higher average
returns than fixed income securities, equity securities have generally also
experienced significantly more volatility in those returns, although under
certain market conditions fixed income securities may have comparable or greater
price volatility.
Small-
and Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk.
An ETP may invest in small- and/or medium- capitalization companies and,
therefore may be subject to certain risks associated with small- and
medium-capitalization companies. These companies are often subject to less
analyst coverage and may be in early and less predictable periods of their
corporate existences, with little or no record of profitability. In addition,
these companies often have greater price volatility, lower trading volume and
less liquidity than larger more established companies. These companies tend to
have smaller revenues, narrower product lines, less management depth and
experience, smaller shares of their product or service markets, fewer financial
resources and less competitive strength than large-capitalization companies.
Returns on investments in securities of small- and medium-capitalization
companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of larger
companies.
Foreign
Securities Risk.
Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those
associated with investments in U.S. securities. These additional risks include
greater market volatility, the availability of less reliable financial
information, higher transactional and custody costs, taxation by foreign
governments, decreased market liquidity and political instability. Because
certain foreign securities markets may be limited in size, the activity of large
traders may have an undue influence on the prices of securities that trade in
such markets.
Certain
foreign markets that have historically been considered relatively stable may
become volatile in response to changed conditions or new developments. Increased
interconnectivity of world economies and financial markets increases the
possibility that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region
will affect the stability of economies and financial markets in other countries
or regions. An ETP may invest in countries whose economies are heavily dependent
upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading may have an
adverse impact on the ETP’s investments. Because an ETP may invest in securities
denominated in foreign currencies and some of the income received by the ETP may
be in foreign currency, changes in currency exchange rates may negatively impact
the ETP’s return. To the extent an ETP invests in emerging market countries,
risks of investing in such countries are greater than risks associated with
investments in foreign developed countries.
Foreign
issuers are often subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting,
auditing, financial reporting and record keeping than are U.S. issuers, and
therefore, not all material information may be available or reliable. Securities
exchanges or foreign governments may adopt rules or regulations that may
negatively impact an ETP’s ability to invest in foreign securities or may
prevent an ETP from repatriating its investments.
Risk
of Investing in Emerging Market Issuers.
Investments in securities of emerging market issuers are exposed to a number of
risks that may make these investments volatile in price or difficult to trade.
Emerging markets are more likely than developed markets to experience problems
with the clearing and settling of trades, as well as the holding of securities
by local banks, agents and depositories. Political risks may include unstable
governments, nationalization, restrictions on foreign ownership, laws that
prevent investors from getting their money out of a country and legal systems
that do not protect property rights as well as the laws of the United States.
Market risks may include economies that concentrate in only a few industries,
securities issues that are held by only a few investors, liquidity issues and
limited trading capacity in local exchanges and the possibility that markets or
issues may be manipulated by foreign nationals who have inside
information.
Credit
Risk.
Bonds are subject to credit risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the
issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable and/or unwilling to make timely
interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt or to otherwise honor
its obligations and/or default completely. Bonds are subject to varying degrees
of credit risk, depending on the issuer’s financial condition and on the terms
of the securities, which may be reflected in credit ratings. There is a
possibility that the credit rating of a bond may be downgraded after purchase or
the perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may decline, which may adversely
affect the value of the security. An ETP may hold securities that are insured by
a bond issuer. A downgrade of the credit rating of such bond issuer may cause
the value of the insured security to decline. Lower credit quality may also
affect liquidity and make it difficult for the ETP to sell the
security.
ETP-Related
Foreign Currency Risk.
Because all or a portion of the income received by an ETP from its foreign
investments and/or the revenues received by the foreign issuer will generally be
denominated in foreign currencies, changes in the value of foreign currencies
versus the U.S. dollar may result in reduced returns for the ETP, and the value
of certain foreign currencies may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation.
The ETP may also incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars
and foreign currencies. The value of certain emerging market countries may be
subject to a high degree of fluctuation. This fluctuation may be due to changes
in interest rates, investors’ expectations concerning inflation and
interest
rates, the emerging market country’s debt levels and trade deficit, the effects
of monetary policies issued by the United States, foreign governments, central
banks or supranational entities, the imposition of currency controls or other
national or global political or economic developments. For example, certain
emerging market countries have experienced economic challenges and liquidity
issues with respect to their currency. The economies of certain emerging market
countries can be significantly affected by currency devaluations. Certain
emerging market countries may also have managed currencies which are maintained
at artificial levels relative to the U.S. dollar rather than at levels
determined by the market. This type of system could lead to sudden and large
adjustments in the currency, which in turn, may have a negative effect on the
ETP and its investments.
Interest
Rate Risk.
Debt securities, such as bonds, are also subject to interest rate risk. Interest
rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a security resulting from
changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of
interest rates goes up, the prices of most debt securities go down. When the
general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most debt securities go
up. Many factors can cause interest rates to rise, including central bank
monetary policy, rising inflation rates and general economic conditions. A low
interest rate environment increases the risk associated with rising interest
rates, including the potential for periods of volatility and increased
redemptions.
Measures
taken by the Federal Reserve Board may affect the money supply and as a result
of these measures, an ETP may face a heightened interest rate risk.
In
addition, debt securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to
interest rate changes, usually making them more volatile than debt securities
with shorter durations. To the extent an ETP invests a substantial portion of
its assets in debt securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates
may cause the value of an ETP’s investments to decline
significantly.
In
addition, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as with other serious economic
disruptions, governmental authorities and regulators are enacting significant
fiscal and monetary policy changes, including providing direct capital infusions
into companies, creating new monetary programs and lowering interest rates
considerably. These actions present heightened risks to debt instruments, and
such risks could be even further heightened if these actions are unexpectedly or
suddenly reversed or are ineffective in achieving their desired
outcomes.
Call
Risk.
An ETP may invest in callable debt securities. If interest rates fall, issuers
of callable securities may “call” (or prepay) their debt securities before their
maturity date. If the issuer exercises a call during or following a period of
declining interest rates, the ETP is likely to have to replace the called
security with a lower yielding security or riskier security, decreasing the
ETP’s net investment income. An ETP also may fail to recover additional amounts
(i.e.,
premiums) paid for securities with higher interest rates, resulting in an
unexpected capital loss.
Concentration
Risk.
Certain of the ETPs may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or
industry or group of industries. To the extent that an ETP is concentrated in
those types of securities, the ETP will be subject to the risk that economic,
political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors
and/or industry or groups of industries may negatively impact the ETP to a
greater extent than if the ETP’s assets were invested in a wider variety of
securities.
Derivatives
Risk.
The use of derivatives, including Commodities Instruments, presents risks
different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing
directly in traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead to losses
because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security,
commodity, asset, index or reference rate. Derivative strategies often involve
leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Fund or an ETP to
lose more money than it would have lost had it invested in the underlying
security. Also, a liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund’s or
an ETP’s derivative positions at times when the Fund or ETP might wish to
terminate or sell such positions. Over-the-counter instruments may be illiquid,
and transactions in derivatives traded in the over-the-counter market are
subject to counterparty risk. The Fund or an ETP may also face the risk that it
may not be able to meet margin and payment requirements and maintain a
derivatives position. The use of derivatives by the Fund or an ETP may increase
the amount and affect the timing and character of taxes payable by shareholders
of the Fund or the ETP (like the Fund), respectively.
Under
Rule 18f-4 (the “derivatives rule”), funds need to trade derivatives and other
transactions that create future fund payment or delivery obligations subject to
a value-at-risk (“VaR”) leverage limit, and certain derivatives risk management
program and reporting requirements. Generally, these requirements apply unless a
fund qualifies as a “limited derivatives user,” as defined in the derivatives
rule. Under the derivatives rule, when a fund trades reverse repurchase
agreements or similar financing transactions, including certain tender option
bonds, it needs to aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with the
reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the
aggregate amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness when
calculating the fund’s asset coverage ratio or treat all such transactions as
derivatives transactions. Reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing
transactions aggregated with other indebtedness do not need to be included in
the calculation of whether a fund is a limited derivatives user, but for funds
subject to the VaR testing, reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing
transactions must be included for purposes of such testing whether treated as
derivatives transactions or not. The Securities and Exchange Commission also
provided guidance in connection with the derivatives rule regarding use of
securities lending collateral that may limit a fund's securities
lending
activities. In addition, under the derivatives rule, the Fund is permitted to
invest in a security on a when-issued or forward-settling basis, or with a
non-standard settlement cycle, and the transaction will be deemed not to involve
a senior security under the Investment Company Act of 1940, provided that (i)
the Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and (ii) the transaction
will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities
Provision”). The Fund may otherwise engage in such transactions that do not meet
the conditions of the Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision so long as the
Fund treats any such transaction as a “derivatives transaction” for purposes of
compliance with the derivatives rule. Furthermore, under the derivatives rule,
the Fund will be permitted to enter into an unfunded commitment agreement, and
such unfunded commitment agreement will not be subject to the asset coverage
requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, if the Fund reasonably
believes, at the time it enters into such agreement, that it will have
sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet its obligations with respect to all
such agreements as they come due.
Derivatives
are also subject to operational and legal risks. Operational risk generally
refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation
issues, settlement issues, system failures, inadequate controls, and human
errors. Legal risk generally refers to insufficient documentation, insufficient
capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a
contract.
Liquidity
Risk Related to Commodities Instruments.
The Subsidiary invests in ETPs that invest in Commodities Instruments, which may
be less liquid than other types of investments. The illiquidity of Commodities
Instruments could have a negative effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its
investment objective and may result in losses to Fund shareholders. In stressed
market conditions, the liquidity of the Fund’s shares may begin to mirror those
of the underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid
than the Fund’s shares.
Gap
Risk. The
Fund and the Subsidiary are subject to the risk that a commodity price will
fluctuate even during periods when there is no trading. Usually, such movements
occur when there are adverse news announcements, which can cause a commodity
price to drop substantially from the previous day’s closing price.
Cash
Transactions Risk.
Unlike other ETFs, the Fund effects its creations and redemptions at least
partially for cash, rather than wholly for in-kind securities. Because the Fund
currently intends to effect all or a portion of redemptions for cash, rather
than in-kind distributions, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in
order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which
involves transaction costs that the Fund may not have incurred had it effected
redemptions entirely in-kind. These costs may include brokerage costs and/or
taxable gains or losses, which may be imposed on the Fund and decrease the
Fund’s net asset value to the extent such costs are not offset by a transaction
fee payable by an Authorized Participant. If the Fund recognizes a gain on these
sales, this generally will cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not
otherwise have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind,
or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required. As a result,
an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more
conventional ETF. Other ETFs generally are able to make in-kind redemptions and
avoid realizing gains in connection with transactions designed to raise cash to
meet redemption requests. The Fund generally intends to distribute these gains
to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the Fund level and
otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may
cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be
subject to, or at an earlier date than, if they had made an investment in a
different ETF. Additionally, transactions may have to be carried out over
several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve
considerable transaction fees and taxes.
High
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The
Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities,
which will result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including
brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale
of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. High portfolio
turnover may also result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable
account. The effects of high portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund
performance.
Data
Risk.
Given the complexity of the investments and strategies of the Fund, the Adviser
relies heavily on quantitative inputs and information and data. Models and data
may be used to construct sets of transactions and investments, and to provide
risk management insights. If the models and data prove to be incorrect or
incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential
risks.
Active
Management Risk.
In managing the Fund’s portfolio, the Adviser will apply investment techniques
and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be
no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. Investment decisions
made by the Adviser in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may
cause a decline in the value of the investments held by the Fund and, in turn,
cause the Fund’s shares to lose value or underperform other funds with similar
investment objectives.
Operational
Risk.
The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors,
including human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s
service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate
processes and technology or system failures.
Authorized
Participant Concentration Risk.
The Fund may have a limited number of Authorized Participants, none of which are
obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. To the extent
that those Authorized Participants exit the business, or do not process creation
and/or redemption orders, there may be a significantly diminished trading market
for Shares
or
Shares may trade like closed-end funds at a discount (or premium) to net asset
value and possibly face trading halts and/or de-listing. This can be reflected
as a spread between the bid-ask prices for the Fund. The Authorized Participant
concentration risk may be heightened in cases where Authorized Participants have
limited or diminished access to the capital required to post collateral.
No
Guarantee of Active Trading Market Risk. There
can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or
be maintained, as applicable. Further, secondary markets may be subject to
irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement
periods in times of market stress because market makers and Authorized
Participants may step away from making a market in the Shares and in executing
creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the
Fund’s market price from its net asset value.
Van
Eck Securities Corporation, the distributor of the Shares, does not maintain a
secondary market in the Shares. Investors purchasing and selling Shares in the
secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those
experienced by those Authorized Participants creating and redeeming directly
with the Fund.
Decisions
by market makers or Authorized Participants to reduce their role or “step away”
from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness
of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying
value of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This
reduced effectiveness could result in Fund Shares trading at a price which
differs materially from net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday
bid/ask spreads for Fund Shares.
Trading
Issues Risk.
Trading in shares on the exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for
reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable.
In addition, trading in shares on the exchange is subject to trading halts
caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the relevant exchange’s
“circuit breaker” rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated early close of the
exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell Shares of the
Fund. There can be no assurance that requirements of the exchange necessary to
maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain
unchanged.
Market
Risk.
The prices of securities are subject to the risks associated with investing in
the securities market, including general economic conditions, sudden and
unpredictable drops in value, exchange trading suspensions and closures and
public health risks. These risks may be magnified if certain social, political,
economic and other conditions and events (such as natural disasters, epidemics
and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) adversely interrupt the
global economy; in these and other circumstances, such events or developments
might affect companies world-wide. Overall securities values could decline
generally or underperform other investments. An investment may lose
money.
Shareholder
Risk. Certain
shareholders, including other funds advised by the Adviser, may from time to
time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s Shares. In addition, a third party
investor, the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser, an Authorized Participant,
a market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment
for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any large
shareholder would not redeem its investment. Redemptions by shareholders could
have a negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large
shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the
exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the
Shares.
Fund Shares Trading, Premium/Discount Risk and Liquidity of
Fund Shares. Disruptions
to creations and redemptions, the existence of market volatility or potential
lack of an active trading market for Shares (including through a trading halt),
as well as other factors, may result in Shares trading at a significant premium
or discount to net asset value or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings.
The net asset value of the Shares will fluctuate with changes in the market
value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market price of Shares may
fluctuate, in some cases materially, in accordance with changes in net asset
value and the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings, as well as supply and
demand on the Exchange. Shares may trade below, at or above their net asset
value. While the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it likely that
Shares normally will trade close to the value of the Fund’s holdings, market
prices are not expected to correlate exactly to the Fund’s net asset value due
to timing reasons, supply and demand imbalances and other factors. The price
differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces
at work in the secondary trading market for Shares may be closely related to,
but not necessarily identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the
securities of the Fund’s portfolio of investments trading individually or in the
aggregate at any point in time. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when
the market price is at a premium to the net asset value or sells Shares at a
time when the market price is at a discount to the net asset value, the
shareholder may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the
underlying value of the Shares that were bought or sold or the shareholder may
be unable to sell his or her Shares. Any of these factors, discussed above and
further below, may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to the
Fund’s net asset value. In addition, because certain of the Fund’s underlying
securities may trade on exchanges that are closed when the exchange that Shares
of the Fund trade on is open, there are likely to be deviations between the
expected value of an underlying security and the closing security’s price
(i.e.,
the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or
discounts to net asset value that may be greater than those experienced by other
ETFs. In addition, the securities held by the Fund may be traded in markets that
close at a different time than the Exchange. Liquidity in those securities may
be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when
the Exchange is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or
settlement times, bid/ask spreads and the resulting premium or discount to the
Shares’ net
asset
value may widen. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the
Fund’s Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in
the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.
When
you buy or sell Shares of the Fund through a broker, you will likely incur a
brokerage commission or other charges imposed by brokers. In addition, the
market price of Shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes
a bid/ask spread charged by the market makers or other participants that trade
the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s Shares varies over time based
on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity and may increase if the Fund’s
trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying securities, or market
liquidity decrease. In times of severe market disruption, including when trading
of the Fund’s holdings may be halted, the bid/ask spread may increase
significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net
asset value, and the discount is likely to be greatest during significant market
volatility.
ADDITIONAL
NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The
Fund may also invest in securities issued by other investment companies, equity
securities, fixed income securities and money market instruments, including
repurchase agreements or other funds which invest exclusively in money market
instruments. For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest without limit
in money market instruments, including repurchase agreements or other funds
which invest exclusively in money market instruments. The Fund may also pursue
temporary defensive positions in anticipation of or in an attempt to respond to
adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. Such a position could
have the effect of reducing any benefit the Fund may receive from a market
increase.
BORROWING
MONEY
The
Fund may borrow money from a bank up to a limit of one-third of the market value
of its assets. The Fund has entered into a credit facility to borrow money for
temporary, emergency or other purposes, including the funding of shareholder
redemption requests, trade settlements and as necessary to distribute to
shareholders any income required to maintain the Fund’s status as a regulated
investment company. To the extent that the Fund borrows money, it may be
leveraged. Leveraging generally exaggerates the effect on net asset value of any
increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities.
Leverage generally has the effect of increasing the amount of loss or gain the
Fund might realize, and may increase volatility in the value of the Fund’s
investments.
LENDING
PORTFOLIO SECURITIES
The
Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial
institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for
other purposes. In connection with such loans, the Fund receives cash, U.S.
government securities and stand-by letters of credit not issued by the Fund's
bank lending agent equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio
securities being loaned. This collateral is marked-to-market on a daily basis.
Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its
securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a
borrower fail to return the borrowed securities (e.g.,
the Fund would have to buy replacement securities and the loaned securities may
have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund) or become
insolvent. The Fund may pay fees to the party arranging the loan of securities.
In addition, the Fund will bear the risk that it may lose money because the
borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely
manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in
the value of any cash collateral or in the value of investments made with the
cash collateral. These events could trigger adverse tax consequences for the
Fund. Substitute payments for dividends received by the Fund for securities
loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend
income.
ADDITIONAL
NON-PRINCIPAL RISKS
Futures
Risk. Futures
contracts generally provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by
another party of a specified instrument, index or commodity at a specified
future time and at a specified price. The value of a futures contract tends to
increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. The
prices of futures can be highly volatile and using futures can increase the
volatility of the Fund’s net asset value and/or lower total return.
Additionally, as a result of the low collateral deposits normally involved in
futures trading, a relatively small movement in the price or value of a futures
transaction may result in substantial losses to the Fund, and the potential loss
from futures can exceed the Fund’s initial investment in such contracts. Futures
contracts involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and the risk that
changes in the value of a futures contract may not correlate perfectly with the
underlying indicator. Even a well-conceived futures transaction may be
unsuccessful due to market events. Price movements are influenced by, among
other things, changing supply and demand relationships; climate; government
agricultural, trade, fiscal, monetary and exchange control programs and
policies; national and international political and economic events; crop
diseases; the purchasing and marketing programs of different nations; and
changes in interest rates. In addition, governments from time to time intervene,
directly and by regulation, in certain markets, particularly those in
currencies. There is also the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits in the
event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom the Fund has an open position in the
futures contract. A liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund’s
futures contract positions at any time.
Borrowing
and Leverage Risk.
To the extent that the Fund borrows money or utilizes certain derivatives, it
may be leveraged. Leveraging generally exaggerates the effect on net asset value
of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio
securities. The Fund is required to comply with the derivatives rule when it
engages in transactions that create future Fund payment or delivery obligations.
Temporary
Defensive Strategy.
When the Fund utilizes a temporary defensive strategy, it may not achieve its
investment objective.
Investment
Restrictions Risk. The
Fund is subject to the conditions set forth in certain provisions of the
Investment Company Act of 1940 and Securities and Exchange Commission
regulations thereunder that limit the amount that the Fund and its affiliates,
in the aggregate, can invest in the outstanding voting securities of an
unaffiliated investment company or business development company. The Fund and
its affiliates may not actively acquire “control” of an investment company or
business development company, which is presumed once ownership of an investment
company’s outstanding voting securities exceeds 25%. Also, to comply with
provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and regulations thereunder, the
Adviser may be required to vote shares of an investment company or business
development company in the same general proportion as shares held by other
shareholders of the investment company or business development
company.
A
description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure
of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI.
Board
of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees of the Trust has responsibility for the general oversight
of the management of the Fund, including general supervision of the Adviser and
other service providers, but is not involved in the day-to-day management of the
Trust. A list of the Trustees and the Trust officers, and their present
positions and principal occupations, is provided in the Fund's SAI.
Investment
Adviser. Under
the terms of an investment management agreement between the Trust and Van Eck
Absolute Return Advisers Corporation with respect to the Fund (the “Investment
Management Agreement”), Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation will serve
as the adviser to the Fund and, subject to the supervision of the Board of
Trustees, will be responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the
Fund. The Adviser has been an investment adviser since 1995 and also acts as
adviser or sub-adviser to mutual funds, other ETFs, other pooled investment
vehicles and separate accounts. The Adviser is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Van
Eck Associates Corporation (“VEAC”). As of December 31, 2023, VEAC
managed approximately $89.47 billion in assets. VEAC has been an investment
adviser since 1955 and also acts as adviser
or sub-adviser to mutual funds, other ETFs, other pooled investment vehicles and
separate accounts. The Adviser’s principal business address is 666 Third Avenue,
9th Floor, New York, New York 10017.
A
discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Investment
Management Agreement is available in the Trust’s annual report for the period
ending September 30, 2023.
For
the services provided to the Fund under the Investment Management Agreement, the
Fund will pay the Adviser monthly fees based on a percentage of the Fund’s
average daily net assets at the annual rate of 0.50%. For purposes of
calculating the fees for the Fund, the net assets of the Fund include the value
of the Fund’s interest in the Subsidiary. Pursuant to a management agreement
between the Adviser and the Subsidiary (the “Subsidiary Investment Management
Agreement”), the Adviser will receive certain fees for managing the Subsidiary’s
assets and the Adviser will waive or credit such amounts against the fees
payable to the Adviser by the Fund. From time to time, the Adviser may waive all
or a portion of its fee. Until at least February 1, 2025, the Adviser has agreed
to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses (inclusive of any Subsidiary
expenses) to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund
(excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, trading expenses,
taxes and extraordinary expenses of the Fund) from exceeding 0.55% of its
average daily net assets per year.
The
Fund is responsible for all of its expenses, including the investment advisory
fees, costs of transfer agency, custody, legal, audit and other services,
interest, taxes, any distribution fees or expenses, offering fees or expenses
and extraordinary expenses.
Manager
of Managers Structure.
The Adviser and the Trust may rely on an exemptive order (the “Order”) from the
Securities and Exchange Commission that permits the Adviser to enter into
investment sub-advisory agreements with unaffiliated sub-advisers without
obtaining shareholder approval. The Adviser, subject to the review and approval
of the Board of Trustees, may select one or more sub- advisers for the Fund and
supervise, monitor and evaluate the performance of each
sub-adviser.
The
Order also permits the Adviser, subject to the approval of the Board of
Trustees, to replace sub-advisers and amend investment sub-advisory agreements,
including applicable fee arrangements, without shareholder approval whenever the
Adviser and the Board of Trustees believe such action will benefit the Fund and
its shareholders. The Adviser thus would have the responsibility (subject to the
oversight of the Board of Trustees) to recommend the hiring and replacement of
sub-advisers as well
as
the discretion to terminate any sub-adviser and reallocate the Fund’s assets for
management among any other sub-adviser(s) and itself. This means that the
Adviser would be able to reduce the sub-advisory fees and retain a larger
portion of the management fee, or increase the sub-advisory fees and retain a
smaller portion of the management fee. The Adviser would compensate each
sub-adviser out of its management fee.
Administrator,
Custodian and Transfer Agent.
Van
Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation is the administrator for the Fund (the
“Administrator”), and State Street Bank and Trust Company is the custodian of
the Fund’s assets and provides transfer agency and fund accounting services to
the Fund. The Administrator is responsible for certain clerical, recordkeeping
and/or bookkeeping services which are required to be provided pursuant to the
Investment Management Agreement.
Distributor.
Van Eck Securities Corporation is the distributor (“Distributor”) of the Shares.
The Distributor will not distribute Shares in less than a specified number of
Shares, each called a “Creation Unit,” and does not maintain a secondary market
in the Shares. The Shares are expected to be traded in the secondary
market.
The
portfolio managers who currently share joint responsibility for the day-to-day
management of the Fund’s portfolio are David Schassler and John
Lau.
Mr.
Schassler has been employed by the Adviser as a portfolio manager since May
2016, a deputy portfolio manager from 2015 to 2016 and a director of manager
research from 2012 to 2015. Mr. Schassler graduated from the State University of
New York College at Cortland in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts and from the NYU
Stern School of Business in 2012 with a Masters of Business
Administration.
Mr.
Lau is deputy portfolio manager of the Fund. He has been employed with the
Adviser since 2007 and has over 10 years’ experience in the financial markets.
Mr. Lau received his BS in Business Administration, with a concentration in
Financial Analysis from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
See
the Fund’s SAI for additional information about the portfolio managers’
compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and their
respective ownership of Shares.
DETERMINATION
OF NAV
The
net asset value ("NAV") per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value
of the net assets of the Fund (i.e.,
the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of
Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the management fee, are accrued
daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the
Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00
p.m., Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange.
The
values of the Fund’s portfolio securities are based on the securities’ closing
prices on the markets on which the securities trade, when available. Due to the
time differences between the United States and certain countries in which the
Fund invests, securities on these exchanges may not trade at times when Shares
of the Fund will trade. In the absence of a last reported sales price, or if no
sales were reported, and for other assets for which market quotes are not
readily available, values may be based on quotes obtained from a quotation
reporting system, established market makers or by an outside independent pricing
service. Debt instruments with remaining maturities of more than 60 days are
valued at the evaluated mean price provided by an outside independent pricing
service. If an outside independent pricing service is unable to provide a
valuation, the instrument is valued at the mean of the highest bid and the
lowest asked quotes obtained from one or more brokers or dealers selected by the
Adviser. Prices obtained by an outside independent pricing service may use
information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained
from yield data related to investments or securities with similar
characteristics and may use a computerized grid matrix of securities and its
evaluations in determining what it believes is the fair value of the portfolio
securities. Short-term debt instruments having a maturity of 60 days or less are
valued at amortized cost. Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies
other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market
rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources. If a market
quotation for a security or other asset is not readily available or the Adviser
believes it does not otherwise accurately reflect the market value of the
security or asset at the time the Fund calculates its NAV, the security or asset
will be fair valued by the Adviser in accordance with the Trust’s valuation
policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees. The Fund may also use
fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to,
situations when the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio has been
materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which
the security is principally traded (such as a corporate action or other news
that may materially affect the price of a security) or
trading
in a security has been suspended or halted. In addition, the Fund currently
expects that it will fair value certain of the foreign equity securities held by
the Fund, if any, each day the Fund calculates its NAV, except those securities
principally traded on exchanges that close at the same time the Fund calculates
its NAV.
Accordingly,
the Fund’s NAV may reflect certain portfolio securities’ fair values rather than
their market prices at the time the exchanges on which they principally trade
close. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that
a fair value determination for a security or other asset is materially different
than the value that could be realized upon the sale of such security or asset.
With respect to securities that are principally traded on foreign exchanges, the
value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may change on days when you will not be
able to purchase or sell your Shares.
INTRADAY
VALUE
The
trading prices of the Fund’s Shares in the secondary market generally differ
from the Fund’s daily NAV and are affected by market forces such as the supply
of and demand for Fund Shares and underlying securities held by the Fund,
economic conditions and other factors. Information regarding the intraday value
of the Fund’s Shares (“IIV”) may be disseminated throughout each trading day by
the Exchange or by market data vendors or other information providers. The IIV
is based on the current market value of the securities and/or cash required to
be deposited in exchange for a Creation Unit. The IIV does not necessarily
reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities held by
the Fund at a particular point in time or the best possible valuation of the
current portfolio. Therefore, the IIV should not be viewed as a “real-time”
update of the Fund’s NAV, which is computed only once a day. The IIV is
generally determined by using current market quotations and/or price quotations
obtained from broker-dealers and other market intermediaries that may trade in
the portfolio securities held by the Fund and valuations based on current market
rates. The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or
dissemination of the IIV and makes no warranty as to its accuracy.
RULE
144A AND OTHER UNREGISTERED SECURITIES
An
AP (i.e.,
a person eligible to place orders with the Distributor to create or redeem
Creation Units of a Fund) that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such
term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“Securities Act”), will not be able to receive, as part of a redemption,
restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A or other unregistered
securities.
BUYING
AND SELLING EXCHANGE-TRADED SHARES
The
Shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange. If you buy or sell Shares in the
secondary market, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and
may pay some or all of the “spread,” which is any difference between the bid
price and the ask price. The spread varies over time for the Fund’s Shares based
on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the
Fund has high trading volume and market liquidity, and generally higher if the
Fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for
funds that are newly launched or small in size). In times of severe market
disruption or low trading volume in the Fund’s Shares, this spread can increase
significantly. It is anticipated that the Shares will trade in the secondary
market at prices that may differ to varying degrees from the NAV of the Shares.
During periods of disruptions to creations and redemptions or the existence of
extreme market volatility, the market prices of Shares are more likely to differ
significantly from the Shares’ NAV.
The
Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) serves as securities depository for the Shares.
(The Shares may be held only in book- entry form; stock certificates will not be
issued.) DTC, or its nominee, is the record or registered owner of all
outstanding Shares. Beneficial ownership of Shares will be shown on the records
of DTC or its participants (described below). Beneficial owners of Shares are
not entitled to have Shares registered in their names, will not receive or be
entitled to receive physical delivery of certificates in definitive form and are
not considered the registered holder thereof. Accordingly, to exercise any
rights of a holder of Shares, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures
of: (i) DTC; (ii) “DTC Participants,” i.e.,
securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations
and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own
DTC; and (iii) “Indirect Participants,” i.e.,
brokers, dealers, banks and trust companies that clear through or maintain a
custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly,
through which such beneficial owner holds its interests. The Trust understands
that under existing industry practice, in the event the Trust requests any
action of holders of Shares, or a beneficial owner desires to take any action
that DTC, as the record owner of all outstanding Shares, is entitled to take,
DTC would authorize the DTC Participants to take such action and that the DTC
Participants would authorize the Indirect Participants and beneficial owners
acting through such DTC Participants to take such action and would otherwise act
upon the instructions of beneficial owners owning through them. As described
above, the Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the owner of all Shares for
all purposes. For more information, see the section entitled “Book Entry Only
System” in the Fund’s SAI.
The
Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and
the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’
Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day,
Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Because
non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its Shares,
the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when
shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s
Shares.
The
right of redemption by an AP may be suspended or the date of payment postponed
(1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary
weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the
Exchange
is
suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as
a result of which disposal of the Shares of the Fund or determination of its NAV
is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted
by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Market
Timing and Related Matters. The
Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions.
Frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund Shares may attempt to take advantage
of a potential arbitrage opportunity presented by a lag between a change in the
value of the Fund’s portfolio securities after the close of the primary markets
for the Fund’s portfolio securities and the reflection of that change in the
Fund’s NAV (“market timing”). The Board of Trustees considered the nature of the
Fund (i.e.,
a fund whose shares are expected to trade intraday), that the Adviser monitors
the trading activity of APs for patterns of abusive trading, that the Fund
reserves the right to reject orders that may be disruptive to the management of
or otherwise not in the Fund's best interests, and that the Fund may fair value
certain of its securities. Given this structure, the Board of Trustees
determined that it is not necessary to impose restrictions on the frequency of
purchases and redemptions for the Fund at the present time.
DISTRIBUTIONS
Net
Investment Income and Capital Gains. As
a shareholder of the Fund, you are entitled to your share of the Fund’s
distributions of net investment income and net realized capital gains on its
investments. The Fund pays out substantially all of its net earnings to its
shareholders as “distributions.”
The
Fund typically earns interest from debt securities. These amounts, net of
expenses, are typically passed along to Fund shareholders as dividends from net
investment income. The Fund realizes capital gains or losses whenever it sells
securities. Any net realized long-term capital gains they are anticipated, are
distributed to shareholders as “capital gain distributions.” Distributions from
the Fund’s net investment income, including net short-term capital gains, if
any, are taxable to you as ordinary income. Any long-term capital gains
distributions you receive from the Fund are taxable as long-term capital
gains.
Net
investment income, if any, is typically distributed to shareholders at least
annually, and net realized capital gains, if any, are typically distributed
annually. Dividends may be declared and paid more frequently to comply with the
distribution requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In addition, in
situations where the Fund acquires investment securities after the beginning of
a dividend period, the Fund may elect to distribute at least annually amounts
representing the full dividend yield net of expenses on the underlying
investment securities, as if the Fund owned the underlying investment securities
for the entire dividend period. If the Fund so elects, some portion of each
distribution may result in a return of capital, which, for tax purposes, is
treated as a return of your investment in Shares. You will be notified regarding
the portion of the distribution which represents a return of
capital.
Distributions
in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional Shares of the Fund only if
the broker through which you purchased Shares makes such option
available.
TAX
INFORMATION
As
with any investment, you should consider how your Fund investment will be taxed.
The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information. You
should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an
investment in the Fund, including the possible application of foreign, state and
local taxes. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-exempt entity
or tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, you need to be aware
of the possible tax consequences when: (i) the Fund makes distributions, (ii)
you sell Shares in the secondary market or (iii) you create or redeem Creation
Units.
Taxes
on Distributions.
As noted above, the Fund expects to distribute net investment income, if any, at
least annually, and any net realized long-term or short-term capital gains, if
any, annually. As a result of the Fund’s investment strategies, it is expected
that any distributions by the Fund will be taxable as ordinary income and
capital gains. The Fund may also pay a special distribution at any time to
comply with U.S. federal tax requirements.
In
general, your distributions are subject to U.S. federal income tax when they are
paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the Fund. Distributions
from the Fund’s net investment income, including net short-term gains, if any,
are taxable to you as ordinary income. Whether distributions of capital gains
represent long-term or short-term capital gains is determined by how long the
Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long you have
owned your Shares. Distributions of net short-term capital gains in excess of
net long–term capital losses, if any, are generally taxable as ordinary income.
Distributions of net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital
losses, if any, that are properly reported as capital gain dividends are
generally taxable as long-term capital gains. Long-term capital gains of a
non-corporate shareholder are generally taxable at a maximum rate of 15% or 20%,
depending on whether the shareholder’s income exceeds certain threshold
amounts.
The
Fund may receive dividends, the distribution of which the Fund may report as
qualified dividends. In the event that the Fund receives such a dividend and
reports the distribution of such dividend as a qualified dividend, the dividend
may be taxed at the maximum capital gains rates of 15% or 20%, provided holding
period and other requirements are met at both the shareholder and the Fund
level. Given the investment strategies of the Fund, it is not anticipated that a
significant portion of the Fund’s distributions will be eligible to be reported
as qualified dividends.
Distributions
in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated
as a tax-free return of your investment to the extent of your basis in the
Shares, and generally as capital gain thereafter. A return of capital, which for
tax
purposes
is treated as a return of your investment, reduces your basis in Shares, thus
reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition of
Shares. A distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable
to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an economic
standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.
Dividends,
interest and gains from non-U.S. investments of the Fund may give rise to
withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions
between certain countries and the United States may, in some cases, reduce or
eliminate such taxes.
If
more than 50% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of its taxable year consist
of foreign securities or if at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets
at the close of each quarter end is represented by interests in RICs, the Fund
may elect to “pass through” to its investors certain foreign income taxes paid
by the Fund, with the result that each investor will (i) include in gross
income, as an additional dividend, even though not actually received, the
investor’s pro rata share of the Fund’s foreign income taxes, and (ii) either
deduct (in calculating U.S. taxable income) or credit (in calculating U.S.
federal income), subject to certain holding period and other limitations, the
investor’s pro rata share of the Fund’s foreign income taxes.
The
Fund may make investments in companies classified as passive foreign investment
companies (“PFICs”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Investments in PFICs
are subject to special tax rules which may result in adverse tax consequences to
the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund generally intends to elect to “mark to
market” these investments at the end of each taxable year. By making this
election, the Fund will recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value
of such shares as of the close of the taxable year over their adjusted basis and
as ordinary loss any decrease in such investment (but only to the extent of
prior income from such investment under the mark to market rules). Gains
realized with respect to a disposition of a PFIC that the Fund has elected to
mark to market will be ordinary income. By making the mark to market election,
the Fund may recognize income in excess of the distributions that it receives
from its investments. Accordingly, a Fund may need to borrow money or dispose of
some of its investments in order to meet its distribution requirements. If the
Fund does not make the mark to market election with respect to an investment in
a PFIC, the Fund could become subject to U.S. federal income tax with respect to
certain distributions from, and gain on the dispositions of, the PFIC which
cannot be avoided by distributing such amounts to the Fund’s
shareholders.
Backup
Withholding.
The Fund may be required to withhold a percentage of your distributions and
proceeds if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social
security number or otherwise established a basis for exemption from backup
withholding. The backup withholding rate for individuals is currently 24%. This
is not an additional tax and may be refunded, or credited against your U.S.
federal income tax liability, provided certain required information is furnished
to the IRS.
Taxes
on the Sale or Cash Redemption of Exchange Listed Shares.
Currently, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares is generally
treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more
than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if held for one year or
less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less
is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that capital gain dividends
were paid with respect to such Shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may
be limited. To the extent that a shareholder’s Shares are redeemed for cash,
this is normally treated as a sale for tax purposes.
Taxes
on Creations and Redemptions of Creation Units.
A person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a
gain or loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the
market value of the Creation Units at the time of exchange and the sum of the
exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the amount of any
cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who exchanges Creation Units for
securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference
between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate
market value of the securities received. The IRS, however, may assert that a
loss realized upon an exchange of primarily securities for Creation Units cannot
be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis
that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons
exchanging securities for Creation Units or redeeming Creation Units should
consult their own tax adviser with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and
when a loss might be deductible and the tax treatment of any creation or
redemption transaction. Under current U.S. federal income tax laws, any capital
gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of Creation Units held as
capital assets is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the
Shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as
a short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares (or securities surrendered) have
been held for one year or less.
If
you create or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement
showing how many Shares you created or sold and at what price.
Investment
in the Subsidiary and Commodity-linked Investments. The
Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income from certain qualifying
sources of income in order to qualify as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986. The IRS issued a revenue ruling in December 2005 which concluded that
income and gains from certain commodity-linked derivatives are not qualifying
income under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a result, the
Fund’s ability to invest directly in commodity-linked futures contracts or swaps
or in certain exchange-traded trusts that hold commodities as part of its
investment strategy is limited by the requirement that it receive no more than
ten percent (10%) of its gross income from such investments.
The
IRS has issued private letter rulings to other taxpayers in which the IRS
specifically concluded that income derived from a fund’s investment in a CFC
also will constitute qualifying income to the fund, even if the CFC itself owns
commodity-linked futures
contracts
or swaps. A private letter ruling cannot be used or cited as precedent and is
binding on the IRS only for the taxpayer that receives it. The Fund has not
obtained a ruling from the IRS with respect to its investments or its
structure.
The
IRS no longer issues private letter rulings relating to the tax treatment of
income and gains generated by investments in commodity index-linked notes and
income generated by investments in a subsidiary. The IRS regulations generally
treat a fund’s income inclusion with respect to an investment in a non-U.S.
company generating investment income as qualifying income if there is a
current-year distribution of the earnings and profits of the non-U.S. company
that are attributable to such income inclusion or if the income inclusion is
related to a fund's business of investing.
The
Fund intends to treat its income from the Subsidiary as qualifying income. There
can be no assurance that the IRS will not change its position with respect to
some or all of these issues or if the IRS did so, that a court would not sustain
the IRS’s position. Furthermore, the tax treatment of the Fund’s investments in
the Subsidiary may be adversely affected by future legislation, court decisions,
future IRS guidance or Treasury regulations.
If
the IRS were to change its position or otherwise determine that income derived
from the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary does not constitute qualifying
income and if such positions were upheld, or if future legislation, court
decisions, future IRS guidance or Treasury regulations were to adversely affect
the tax treatment of such investments, the Fund might cease to qualify as a RIC
and would be required to reduce its exposure to such investments which could
result in difficulty in implementing its investment strategy. If the Fund did
not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year, the Fund’s taxable income would be
subject to tax at the Fund level at regular corporate tax rates (without
reduction for distributions to shareholders) and to a further tax at the
shareholder level when such income is distributed. In such event, in order to
re-qualify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund may be required to recognize
unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make certain
distributions.
Medicare
Tax.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income
(including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the
Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund
Shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s
“modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted
gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold
amounts.
Non-U.S.
Shareholders. Dividends
paid by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding
tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty
to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains.
Dividends paid by the Fund from net tax-exempt income or long-term capital gains
are generally not subject to such withholding tax. Properly-reported dividends
are generally exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid
in respect of the Fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, the Fund’s
U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest
from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the Fund is at least a
10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income); or (ii)
are paid in respect of the Fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains”
(generally, the excess of the Fund’s net short-term capital gain over the Fund’s
long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its
circumstances, the Fund may report all, some or none of its potentially eligible
dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term
capital gains and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible
for this exemption from withholding.
As
part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, (“FATCA”), the Fund may be
required to withhold 30% tax on certain types of U.S. sourced income
(e.g.,
dividends, interest, and other types of passive income) paid to (i) foreign
financial institutions (“FFIs”), including non-U.S. investment funds, unless
they agree to collect and disclose to the IRS information regarding their direct
and indirect U.S. account holders and (ii) certain nonfinancial foreign entities
(“NFFEs”), unless they certify certain information regarding their direct and
indirect U.S. owners. To avoid possible withholding, FFIs will need to enter
into agreements with the IRS which state that they will provide the IRS
information, including the names, account numbers and balances, addresses and
taxpayer identification numbers of U.S. account holders and comply with due
diligence procedures with respect to the identification of U.S. accounts as well
as agree to withhold tax on certain types of withholdable payments made to
non-compliant foreign financial institutions or to applicable foreign account
holders who fail to provide the required information to the IRS, or similar
account information and required documentation to a local revenue authority,
should an applicable intergovernmental agreement be implemented. NFFEs will need
to provide certain information regarding each substantial U.S. owner or
certifications of no substantial U.S. ownership, unless certain exceptions
apply, or agree to provide certain information to the IRS.
While
some parts of the FATCA rules have not been finalized, the Fund may be subject
to the FATCA withholding obligation, and also will be required to perform due
diligence reviews to classify foreign entity investors for FATCA purposes.
Investors are required to agree to provide information necessary to allow the
Fund to comply with the FATCA rules. If the Fund is required to withhold amounts
from payments pursuant to FATCA, investors will receive distributions that are
reduced by such withholding amounts.
Non-U.S.
shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisors with respect to the
particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund, including the
possible applicability of the U.S. estate tax.
The
foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current U.S.
federal income tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for
personal tax advice. Consult your own tax advisor about the potential tax
consequences of an investment in the Fund under all applicable tax
laws.
Changes
in applicable tax authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed
above and could adversely affect the Fund, and such changes often
occur.
The
financial highlights table which follows is intended to help you understand the
Fund’s financial performance for the past five years or as indicated. Certain
information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total
returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or
lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and
distributions). The information for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022
and September 30, 2023 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the
Trust's independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with
the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Fund’s Annual Report, which
is available upon request. The information for periods prior to the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2022 was audited by another independent registered public
accounting firm.
For
a share outstanding throughout each year:
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Inflation
Allocation ETF(a) |
|
Year
Ended September 30, |
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
Net
asset value, beginning of year |
$ |
22.79 |
|
|
$ |
25.47 |
|
|
$ |
20.15 |
|
|
$ |
25.25 |
|
|
$ |
25.39 |
|
|
Net
investment income (b) |
0.37 |
|
|
0.92 |
|
|
0.14 |
|
|
0.45 |
|
|
0.31 |
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments |
2.58 |
|
|
(1.44) |
|
|
6.57 |
|
|
(4.94) |
|
|
(0.31) |
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
2.95 |
|
|
(0.52) |
|
|
6.71 |
|
|
(4.49) |
|
|
— |
|
|
Distributions
from: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
(0.38) |
|
|
(2.16) |
|
|
(1.39) |
|
|
(0.61) |
|
|
(0.14) |
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|
Net
asset value, end of year |
$ |
25.36 |
|
|
$ |
22.79 |
|
|
$ |
25.47 |
|
|
$ |
20.15 |
|
|
$ |
25.25 |
|
|
Total
return (c) |
12.95 |
|
% |
(2.71) |
|
% |
34.11 |
|
% |
(18.32) |
|
% |
0.02 |
|
% |
Ratios
to average net assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses (d) |
0.61 |
|
% |
0.63 |
|
% |
1.60 |
|
% |
1.12 |
|
% |
0.93 |
|
% |
Net
expenses (d) |
0.42 |
|
% |
0.51 |
|
% |
0.56 |
|
% |
0.55 |
|
% |
0.55 |
|
% |
Net
expenses excluding interest and taxes (d) |
0.42 |
|
% |
0.51 |
|
% |
0.55 |
|
% |
0.55 |
|
% |
0.55 |
|
% |
Net
investment income (d) |
1.48 |
|
% |
3.56 |
|
% |
0.58 |
|
% |
1.97 |
|
% |
1.23 |
|
% |
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
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|
Net
assets, end of year (in millions) |
$ |
91 |
|
|
$ |
131 |
|
|
$ |
17 |
|
|
$ |
9 |
|
|
$ |
30 |
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate (e) |
70 |
|
% |
32 |
|
% |
76 |
|
% |
195 |
|
% |
449 |
|
% |
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(a)Consolidated
Financial Highlights
(b)Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding
(c)Returns
include adjustments in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles. Net asset values and returns for financial reporting purposes may
differ from those for shareholder transactions.
(d)The
ratios presented do not reflect the Fund’s proportionate share of income and
expenses from the Fund’s investment in underlying funds.
(e)Portfolio
turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions.
Information
regarding how often the closing trading price of the Shares of the Fund was
above (i.e.,
at a premium) or below (i.e.,
at a discount) the NAV of the Fund for the most recently completed calendar year
and the most recently completed calendar quarter(s) since that year (or the life
of the Fund, if shorter) can be found at www.vaneck.com.
CONTINUOUS
OFFERING
The
method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues
under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold
by the Trust on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the
Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker dealers and other persons are
cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the
circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a
manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the
prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.
For
example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory
underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the
Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares, and sells such Shares
directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of
new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary
market demand for Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for
purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and
circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker dealer or its client in
the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a
complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization
as an underwriter.
Broker
dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as
contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with
Shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section
4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the
prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.
This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the
Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of
Section 24(d) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. As a result, broker dealer
firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in
a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and
thus dealing with the Shares that are part of an overallotment within the
meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take
advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of
the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with
respect to Shares are reminded that, under Rule 153 of the Securities Act, a
prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed
to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by
the fact that the prospectus is available at the Exchange upon request. The
prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with
respect to transactions on an exchange.
In
addition, certain affiliates of the Fund and the Adviser may purchase and resell
Fund shares pursuant to this Prospectus.
OTHER
INFORMATION
The
Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on March 15, 2001. Its
Declaration of Trust currently permits the Trust to issue an unlimited number of
Shares of beneficial interest. If shareholders are required to vote on any
matters, each Share outstanding would be entitled to one vote. Annual meetings
of shareholders will not be held except as required by the Investment Company
Act of 1940 and other applicable law. See the Fund's SAI for more information
concerning the Trust’s form of organization. Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment
Company Act of 1940 restricts investments by investment companies in the
securities of other investment companies, including Shares of the Fund.
Registered investment companies are not permitted to invest in the Fund beyond
the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1).
The
Prospectus, SAI and any other Fund communication do not create any contractual
obligations between the Fund’s shareholders and the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser
and/or the Trustees. Further, shareholders are not intended third-party
beneficiaries of any contracts entered into by (or on behalf of) the Fund,
including contracts with the Adviser or other parties who provide services to
the Fund.
Dechert
LLP serves as counsel to the Trust, including the Fund. PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and
audits the Fund’s financial statements annually.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
This
Prospectus does not contain all the information included in the Registration
Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to the
Fund’s Shares. The Fund’s Registration Statement, including this Prospectus, the
Fund’s SAI and the exhibits are available on the EDGAR database at the
Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies
may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the
following email address: [email protected]., and copies may be obtained, after
paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address:
[email protected].
The
SAI for the Fund, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, provides more information about the Fund. The SAI for the Fund is
incorporated herein by reference and is legally part of this Prospectus.
Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s
annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, you
will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that
significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. The
SAI and the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports may be obtained without charge
by writing to the Fund at Van Eck Securities Corporation, the Fund’s
Distributor, at 666 Third Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10017 or by
calling the Distributor at the following number: Investor Information:
800.826.2333.
Shareholder
inquiries may be directed to the Fund in writing to 666 Third Avenue, 9th Floor,
New York, New York 10017 or by calling 800.826.2333.
The
Fund’s SAI is available at www.vaneck.com.
(Investment
Company Act file no. 811-10325)
For
more detailed information about the Fund, see the SAI dated February 1, 2024, as
may be supplemented from time to time. Additional information about the Fund’s
investments is, or will be, available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual
reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, you will find a discussion
of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected
the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.
Call
VanEck at 800.826.2333 to request, free of charge, the annual or semi-annual
reports, the SAI, or other information about the Fund or to make shareholder
inquiries. You may also obtain the SAI or the Fund’s annual or semi-annual
reports, when available, by visiting the VanEck website at
www.vaneck.com.
Reports
and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the
SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, copies of this
information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic
request at the following email address: [email protected].
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Transfer
Agent: State Street Bank and Trust Company SEC Registration Number:
333-123257 Investment Company Act of 1940 Registration Number:
811-10325 |
800.826.2333 vaneck.com |
RAAXPRO |
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