cik0001137360-20230930

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PROSPECTUS
February 1, 2024
Durable High Dividend ETF    DURA
Long/Flat Trend ETF    LFEQ
Morningstar ESG Moat ETF    MOTE
Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF    MOTG
Morningstar International Moat ETF    MOTI
Morningstar SMID Moat ETF    SMOT
Morningstar Wide Moat ETF    MOAT®
Social Sentiment ETF    BUZZ
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange for DURA, MOTE, MOTG, MOTI, SMOT and MOAT: Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange for LFEQ and BUZZ: NYSE Arca, Inc.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has 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.
800.826.2333                    vaneck.com


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary Information
VanEck Durable High Dividend ETF (DURA)
VanEck Long/Flat Trend ETF (LFEQ)
VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (MOTE)
VanEck Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF (MOTG)
VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (MOTI)
VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF (SMOT)
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT)
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ)
Summary Information About Purchases and Sales of Fund Shares, Taxes and Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
Additional Information About the Funds’ Investment Strategies and Risks
Tax Advantaged Product Structure
Portfolio Holdings
Management of the Funds
Portfolio Managers
Shareholder Information
Index Providers
Ned Davis Research CMG US Large Cap Long/Flat Index
BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index
License Agreements and Disclaimers
Financial Highlights
Premium/Discount Information
General Information


SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck® Durable High Dividend ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar® US Dividend Valuation IndexSM (the “Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index” or the “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.29  %
Other Expenses(a)
0.01  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a)
0.30  %
(a)Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) will pay all expenses of the Fund, except for the fee payment under the investment management agreement, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Adviser has agreed to pay the offering costs until at least February 1, 2025.
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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $31 
3 $97 
5 $169 
10 $381 
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 61% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index is comprised of securities of companies with a high dividend yield, strong financial health and an attractive uncertainty-adjusted valuation. Companies are selected by Morningstar, Inc. (“Morningstar” or the “Index provider”) from the universe of companies represented in the Morningstar® US Market IndexSM (the “Parent Index”), a broad market index representing 97% of U.S. market capitalization that meet certain trading frequency, exchange listing and liquidity requirements. The Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index targets a select group of eligible securities from the Parent Index that rank in: (i) the top 50% as measured by trailing twelve month dividend yield; (ii) the top 50% of their peer group (there are two peer groups:
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companies that belong to the financials sector of Morningstar and the rest of the eligible universe) as measured by its distance to default score; and (iii) the top 70% of Morningstar’s star score metric. An eligible security must meet each of these three independent criteria to qualify for inclusion in the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index. Distance to default score is a measure of the financial stability of a company as determined by recent market data and financial accounting reports. Morningstar’s star score metric represents uncertainty-adjusted security valuation, which reflects the relationship between a company’s market price and its fair value (as determined by Morningstar’s standardized, proprietary valuation model).
As of December 31, 2023, the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index included 75 securities of companies with a full market capitalization range of between approximately $2.92 billion and $491.76 billion and a weighted average full market capitalization of $153.95 billion. These amounts are subject to change. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. The Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index is reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to replicate the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index.
The Fund may become “non-diversified” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index. This means that the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers than would be the case if the Fund were always managed as a diversified management investment company. The Fund intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the Fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index.
The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of September 30, 2023, each of the health care, consumer staples, utilities, and financials sectors represented a significant portion of the Fund.
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.
Equity Securities Risk.  The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.
Dividend Paying Securities Risk. There can be no assurance that securities that pay dividends will continue to have a high dividend yield, strong financial health or attractive valuation for any period of time. Securities that pay dividends, as a group, may be out of favor with the market and may underperform the overall equity market or stocks of companies that do not pay dividends. In addition, changes in the dividend policies of the companies held by the Fund or the capital resources available for such company’s dividend payments may adversely affect the Fund.
Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the health care sector may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Many health care companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims.
Consumer Staples Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer staples sector. The consumer staples sector comprises companies whose businesses are less sensitive to economic cycles, such as manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages and producers of non-durable household goods and personal products. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely affected by changes in the worldwide
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economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, exploration and production spending. Companies in this sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions.  
Utilities Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the utilities sector. Companies in the utilities sector may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, domestic and international competition, difficulty in raising adequate amounts of capital and governmental limitation on rates charged to customers.
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefiting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions.
Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. 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 medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.
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.
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.
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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and
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increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
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.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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
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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.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may become classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the its Index. If the Fund becomes non-diversified, it may invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of a smaller number of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a more diversified fund.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
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
5939
Best Quarter: 17.00% 4Q 2022
Worst Quarter: -19.90% 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 (10/30/18)
VanEck Durable High Dividend ETF (return before taxes) 0.83% 8.65% 7.52%
VanEck Durable High Dividend ETF (return after taxes on distributions) -0.03% 7.72% 6.64%
VanEck Durable High Dividend ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 1.08% 6.70% 5.80%
Morningstar® US Dividend Valuation IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
1.19% 8.83% 7.84%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 15.69% 13.73%
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
Peter H. Liao Portfolio Manager October 2018
Griffin Driscoll Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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.
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SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE 
VanEck® Long/Flat Trend ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Ned Davis Research CMG US Large Cap Long/Flat Index (the “NDR CMG Index” or the “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.50  %
Other Expenses 0.40  %
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(a)
0.02  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(b)
0.92  %
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(b)
-0.24  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(b)
0.68  %
(a) “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” include fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a result of investments in other investment companies. 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 report to shareholders.
(b)    Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund 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) 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:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $69 
3 $269 
5 $486 
10 $1,109 
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 115% of the average value of its portfolio.
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PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that track and/or comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The NDR CMG Index is a rules-based index that follows a proprietary model developed by Ned Davis Research, Inc. in conjunction with CMG Capital Management Group, Inc. (“CMG”). To help limit potential loss associated with adverse market conditions, the model produces trade signals that dictate the NDR CMG Index’s equity allocation ranging from 100% fully invested (i.e., “long”) to 100% in cash (i.e., “flat”). When the NDR CMG Index is long, or 100% fully invested, it will be allocated to the S&P 500 Index. When the NDR CMG Index is flat, or 100% cash, it will be allocated to the Solactive 13-week U.S. T-bill Index. When the NDR CMG Index is not completely long or flat, 50% of it will be allocated to the S&P 500 Index, with the remaining 50% allocated to the Solactive 13-week U.S. T-bill Index. The Fund currently seeks to replicate the NDR CMG Index when the NDR CMG Index has any equity allocation (as discussed further below) by holding shares of one or more exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) whose investment objective is to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index, rather than investing directly in the shares of the 500 companies comprising the S&P 500 Index, until the Fund reaches, in the opinion of the Adviser, an adequate asset size. When the Fund reaches an adequate size and the NDR CMG Index has an equity allocation, the Fund may then seek to replicate the NDR CMG Index by investing directly in the shares of the 500 companies comprising the S&P 500 Index. The Solactive 13-week U.S. T-bill Index invests in one 13-week U.S. Treasury bill at a time, and a maximum of five U.S. Treasury bills in a calendar year. The Fund will track the most recent 13-week U.S. Treasury bill exposure in the Solactive 13-week U.S. T-bill Index to follow the NDR CMG Index’s flat, or cash, allocations.
The model produces daily trade signals to determine the NDR CMG Index’s equity allocation percentage through a two-phase process. The first phase produces an industry-level market breadth composite based on the S&P 500 industry groupings. As such, “market breadth” here refers to the aggregated weighted score of advancing and declining industries, as measured by three types of price-based, industry-level indicators: trend-following, volatility and mean-reversion. Trend-following primary indicators include momentum and various moving average measures to assess the current direction of the markets. Mean-reversion indicators are applied, which are based on the theory that prices and returns eventually move back towards their historical mean (or average). The volatility indicators determine whether near-term volatility has significantly risen relative to longer-term volatility to measure whether broad market risks have risen. The model applies these indicators across the S&P 500 industry groupings to ultimately produce trade signals that are either bullish (meaning prices are expected to increase over time) or bearish (meaning prices are expected to decrease over time). The final market breadth composite is the scaled aggregation of these indicators across the S&P 500 industries to determine the breadth composite score (between 0 and 100). The second phase utilizes the breadth composite score to produce the equity allocations for the NDR CMG Index. The model is automated and updates daily to take into account the various indicators that dictate the trade signals referenced above. As such, the NDR CMG Index may rebalance to new allocation percentages intra-month based on the model’s composite score and direction, and the Fund may seek to rebalance its allocation percentage level accordingly. In addition, the NDR CMG Index’s underlying indices (the S&P 500 Index and the Solactive 13-Week U.S. T-Bill Index) are each rebalanced on a quarterly basis. The overall composition of the NDR CMG Index is subject to change. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the NDR CMG Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the NDR CMG Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the NDR CMG Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to replicate the NDR CMG Index.
The Fund may become "non-diversified" as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the NDR CMG Index. This means that the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers than would be the case if the Fund were always managed as a diversified management investment company. The Fund intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as the NDR CMG Index. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the Fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the NDR CMG Index.
The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the NDR CMG Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. The degree to which certain sectors or industries are represented in the NDR CMG Index will change over time.
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.
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Equity Securities Risk.  The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
Risk of Investing in Other Funds. The Fund may invest in shares of other funds, including ETFs. As a result, the Fund will indirectly be exposed to the risks of an investment in the underlying funds. As a shareholder in a fund, the Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own investment management fees and other expenses. As a result, the Fund and its shareholders will be absorbing additional levels of fees with respect to investments in other funds, including ETFs.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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.
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.
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.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may become classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the its Index. If the Fund becomes non-diversified, it may invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of a smaller number of individual issuers
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than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a more diversified fund.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
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
7684
Best Quarter: 19.97  % 2Q 2020
Worst Quarter: -19.67  % 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.
Past
One Year
Past
Five Years
Since Inception (10/04/17)
VanEck Long/Flat Trend ETF (return before taxes) 19.64% 11.65% 9.24%
VanEck Long/Flat Trend ETF (return after taxes on distributions) 19.17% 11.28% 8.89%
VanEck Long/Flat Trend ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 11.90% 9.24% 7.33%
Ned Davis Research CMG US Large Cap Long/Flat Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
20.47% 12.39% 9.95%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 15.69% 12.60%
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.
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PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
David Schassler Portfolio Manager February 2024
Joseph Schafer Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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.
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VANECK MORNINGSTAR ESG MOAT ETF
SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE 
VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar® US Sustainability Moat Focus IndexSM (the “Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index” or the “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.45  %
Other Expenses
1.75  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 2.20  %
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
-1.71  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
0.49  %
(a)    Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund 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) from exceeding 0.49% 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:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $50 
3 $523 
5 $1,023 
10 $2,399 
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 38% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index provides exposure to attractively valued companies with long-term competitive advantages while excluding those companies with high environmental, social and governance (”ESG”) risks. The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index is comprised of securities issued by U.S. companies that Morningstar, Inc. (“Morningstar” or the “Index
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provider”) determines to have long-term competitive advantages based on a proprietary methodology that considers quantitative and qualitative factors (“wide moat companies”). The quantitative factors used by Morningstar to identify competitive advantages currently include historical and projected returns on invested capital relative to cost of capital. The qualitative factors used by Morningstar to identify competitive advantages currently include customer switching cost (i.e., the costs of customers switching to competitors), internal cost advantages, intangible assets (e.g., intellectual property and brands), network effects (i.e., whether products or services become more valuable as the number of customers grows) and efficient scale (i.e., whether the company effectively serves a limited market that potential rivals have little incentive to enter into). Wide moat companies are selected from the universe of companies represented in the Morningstar® US Market IndexSM, a broad market index representing 97% of U.S. market capitalization. The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index excludes from consideration those wide moat companies that receive a severe or high ESG risk rating based on Morningstar’s Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating. The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index also excludes companies (i) involved in the production or distribution of controversial weapons or civilian firearms (ii) involved in the extraction of or generation of power from thermal coal, (iii) have a Sustainalytics controversy score of five (out of a scale of 1 to 5) in the last three (3) years or (iv) that have greater than 50% of revenues from tobacco products. The Sustainalytics company-level ESG Risk Score measures the degree to which a company's economic value may be at risk driven by materially relevant ESG factors. The ESG Risk Score is based on a two-dimensional materiality framework that measures a company's exposure to subindustry-specific material risks and how well a company is managing those risks. ESG Risk Scores are categorized across five risk levels: negligible, low, medium, high and severe. The scale is from 0-100, with 100 being the most severe. Sustainalytics controversy scores are determined based on ESG-related incidents, which are assessed through a framework that considers the severity of incidents, the corporation’s accountability and whether the incidents form part of a pattern of corporate misconduct; a Sustainalytics controversy score of five indicates a severe controversy rating.
The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index targets wide moat companies that according to Morningstar’s equity research team are attractively priced as of each Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index review. Morningstar selects eligible companies to be included in the Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index as determined by Morningstar’s standardized, proprietary valuation model that predominantly relies on a detailed projection of a company’s future cash flows. Wide moat companies may include medium-capitalization companies. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
As of December 31, 2023, the Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index included 60 securities of companies with a full market capitalization range of between approximately $5.13 billion and $2,794.83 billion and a weighted average full market capitalization of $127.15 billion. The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index employs a staggered rebalance methodology. The Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index is divided into two equally-weighted sub-portfolios, and each is reconstituted and rebalanced annually, one in June and the other in December.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally tracks the Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to track the Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index.
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), and, therefore, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer. The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Morningstar US Sustainability Moat Focus Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of September 30, 2023, each of the information technology, consumer staples, financials and health care sectors represented a significant portion of the Fund.
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.
ESG Investing Strategy Risk. The Fund's ESG strategy could cause it to perform differently compared to funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Fund's ESG strategy may result in the Fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform other securities or underperform the market as a whole. The companies included in the US Sustainability Moat Focus Index may differ from companies included in other indices that use similar ESG screens. The Fund is also subject to the risk that the companies identified by the Index provider do not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues. Additionally, the Index provider's proprietary valuation model may not perform as intended, which may adversely affect an investment in the Fund. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG criteria could have a material adverse effect on the Fund's ability to implement its ESG strategy.
Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to
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specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.
Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. 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 medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.
Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent protection and the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.
Consumer Staples Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer staples sector. The consumer staples sector comprises companies whose businesses are less sensitive to economic cycles, such as manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages and producers of non-durable household goods and personal products. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely affected by changes in the worldwide economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, exploration and production spending. Companies in this sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. 
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefiting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions.
Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the health care sector may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Many health care companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims.
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.
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.
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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
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Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
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 Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not
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use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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.
Non-Diversified Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. Moreover, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s net asset value and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds. The Fund may be particularly vulnerable to this risk if it is comprised of a limited number of investments.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
Competitive Advantage Assessment Risk. Morningstar may be incorrect in its assessment of the competitive advantages of the companies selected for inclusion in the Fund’s index, and the securities issued by such companies may underperform Morningstar’s expectations and have an adverse effect on the Fund’s overall performance. There can also be no assurance that wide or narrow moat companies will have sustainable competitive advantages for any period of time. Competitive advantages for wide and narrow moat companies may erode in a relatively short period of time due to, among other reasons, changes in laws and regulations, intellectual property rights, economic and political conditions and technological developments.
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.
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Annual Total Returns (%)—Calendar Years
8890
Best Quarter: 11.89  % 4Q 2023
Worst Quarter: -12.89  % 2Q 2022
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.
Past
One Year
Since Inception (10/05/2021)
VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (return before taxes) 18.25% 1.90%
VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions) 17.93% 1.66%
VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 11.03% 1.44%
Morningstar® US Sustainability Moat Focus IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
18.84% 2.40%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 5.94%
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
Peter H. Liao Portfolio Manager October 2021
Griffin Driscoll Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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.
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SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar® Global Wide Moat Focus IndexSM (the “Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index” or “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.45  %
Other Expenses
0.63  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a)
1.08  %
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
-0.56  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
0.52  %
(a)    Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund 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) from exceeding 0.52% 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:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $53 
3 $288 
5 $541 
10 $1,267 
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 73% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index is comprised of securities issued by companies that Morningstar, Inc. (“Morningstar” or the “Index
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provider”) determines to have sustainable competitive advantages based on a proprietary methodology that considers quantitative and qualitative factors (“wide moat companies”). The quantitative factors used by Morningstar to identify competitive advantages currently include historical and projected returns on invested capital relative to cost of capital. The qualitative factors used by Morningstar to identify competitive advantages currently include customer switching cost (i.e., the costs of customers switching to competitors), internal cost advantages, intangible assets (e.g., intellectual property and brands), network effects (i.e., whether products or services become more valuable as the number of customers grows) and efficient scale (i.e., whether the company effectively serves a limited market that potential rivals have little incentive to enter into). Wide moat companies are selected by Morningstar from the universe of companies represented in the Morningstar® Global Markets IndexSM (the “Parent Index”) a broad market index representing 97% of developed and emerging market capitalization that meet certain trading frequency, dollar trading volume and turnover and free-float market-capitalization requirements. The Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index targets a select group of wide moat companies: those that according to Morningstar’s equity research team are attractively priced as of each Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index review. Morningstar utilizes a momentum screen, in which momentum represents a security’s 12-month price change. The momentum screen is used to exclude 20% of wide moat companies in the Parent Index with the worst 12-month momentum based on a 12-month price change of each company’s securities. Out of the companies in the Parent Index that Morningstar determines are wide moat companies and display 12-month momentum in the top 80%, Morningstar selects companies to be included in the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index as determined by the ratio of Morningstar’s estimate of fair value of the issuer’s common stock to the price. Morningstar’s equity research fair value estimates are calculated using a standardized, proprietary valuation model that predominantly relies on a detailed projection of a company’s future cash flows. Wide moat companies may include medium-capitalization companies. The Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 40% of its assets in companies organized or located in multiple countries outside the United States or doing a substantial amount of business in multiple countries outside the United States. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
As of December 31, 2023, the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index included 67 securities of companies with a market capitalization range of between approximately $2.48 billion and $826.69 billion and a weighted average full market capitalization of $93.12 billion. The maximum weight of an individual country or sector in the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index is capped at 10% more than its corresponding weight in the parent index at the time of reconstitution, or 40%, whichever is higher. The Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index is divided into two equally weighted sub-portfolios, and each is reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually on alternating quarters.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to replicate the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index.
The Fund may become “non-diversified” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index. This means that the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers than would be the case if the Fund were always managed as a diversified management investment company. The Fund intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the Fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index.
The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of September 30, 2023, each of the information technology, consumer staples, financials, industrials and health care sectors represented a significant portion of the Fund.
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.
Equity Securities Risk.  The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.
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Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent protection and the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.
Consumer Staples Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer staples sector. The consumer staples sector comprises companies whose businesses are less sensitive to economic cycles, such as manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages and producers of non-durable household goods and personal products. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely affected by changes in the worldwide economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, exploration and production spending. Companies in this sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. 
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefiting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions.
Industrials Sector Risk. The industrials sector comprises companies who produce capital goods used in construction and manufacturing, such as companies that make and sell machinery, equipment and supplies that are used to produce other goods. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the health care sector may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Many health care companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims.
Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. 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 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. The Fund invests 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 Fund’s investments. Foreign market trading hours, clearance and settlement procedures, and holiday schedules may limit the Fund's ability to buy and sell securities.
Foreign Currency Risk. Because all or a portion of the income received by the Fund from its investments and/or the revenues received by the underlying issuer will generally be denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund’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 Fund, and the value of certain foreign currencies may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation. The Fund may also (directly or indirectly) incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and foreign currencies.
Special Risk Considerations of Investing in Asian Issuers. Investments in securities of Asian issuers involve risks and special considerations not typically associated with investments in the U.S. securities markets. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization in recent years, but there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Certain Asian economies have experienced over-extension of credit, currency devaluations and restrictions, high unemployment, high inflation, decreased exports and economic recessions. Geopolitical hostility, political instability, as well as economic or environmental events in any one Asian country can have a significant effect on the entire Asian region as well as on major trading partners
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outside Asia, and any adverse effect on some or all of the Asian countries and regions in which the Fund invests. The securities markets in some Asian economies are relatively underdeveloped and may subject the Fund to higher action costs or greater uncertainty than investments in more developed securities markets. Such risks may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments. Certain Asian countries have also developed increasingly strained relationships with the U.S., and if these relations were to worsen, they could adversely affect Asian issuers that rely on the U.S. for trade.
Special Risk Considerations of Investing in European Issuers. Investments in securities of European issuers involve risks and special considerations not typically associated with investments in the U.S. securities markets. The Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union requires member countries to comply with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, interest rates, debt levels and fiscal and monetary controls, each of which may significantly affect every country in Europe. Decreasing imports or exports, changes in governmental or European Union regulations on trade, changes in the exchange rate of the euro, the default or threat of default by a European Union member country on its sovereign debt, and/or an economic recession in a European Union member country may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of other European Union countries and on major trading partners outside Europe. If any member country exits the Economic and Monetary Union, the departing country would face the risks of currency devaluation and its trading partners and banks and others around the world that hold the departing country’s debt would face the risk of significant losses. The European financial markets have previously experienced, and may continue to experience, volatility and have been adversely affected, and may in the future be affected, by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt levels and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. These events have adversely affected, and may in the future affect, the value and exchange rate of the euro and may continue to significantly affect the economies of every country in Europe, including European Union member countries that do not use the euro and non-European Union member countries. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020, which has resulted in ongoing market volatility and caused additional market disruption on a global basis. On December 30, 2020, the United Kingdom and the European Union signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which is an agreement on the terms governing certain aspects of the European Union's and the United Kingdom's relationship post Brexit. Notwithstanding the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, following the transition period, there is likely to be considerable uncertainty as to the United Kingdom’s post-transition framework.
Depositary Receipts Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts), which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Depositary receipts are receipts listed on U.S. or foreign exchanges issued by banks or trust companies that entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares. The issuers of certain depositary receipts are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. The issuers of depositary receipts may discontinue issuing new depositary receipts and withdraw existing depositary receipts at any time, which may result in costs and delays in the distribution of the underlying assets to the Fund and may negatively impact the Fund’s performance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to
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reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
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.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any
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fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may become classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the its Index. If the Fund becomes non-diversified, it may invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of a smaller number of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a more diversified fund.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
Competitive Advantage Assessment Risk. Morningstar may be incorrect in its assessment of the competitive advantages of the companies selected for inclusion in the Fund’s index, and the securities issued by such companies may underperform Morningstar’s expectations and have an adverse effect on the Fund’s overall performance. There can also be no assurance that wide or narrow moat companies will have sustainable competitive advantages for any period of time. Competitive advantages for wide and narrow moat companies may erode in a relatively short period of time due to, among other reasons, changes in laws and regulations, intellectual property rights, economic and political conditions and technological developments.
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, a broad-based benchmark index and an additional 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.
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Annual Total Returns (%)—Calendar Years
7694
Best Quarter: 20.12  % 2Q 2020
Worst Quarter: -18.70  % 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.
Past
One Year
Past
Five Years
Since Inception (10/30/18)
VanEck Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF (return before taxes) 11.20% 10.94% 10.04%
VanEck Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions) 10.70% 9.94% 9.06%
VanEck Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 6.96% 8.51% 7.78%
Morningstar® Global Wide Moat Focus IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes, except withholding taxes)
11.38% 11.19% 10.33%
MSCI ACWI Net TR Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes, except withholding taxes)1
22.20% 11.72% 10.34%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 15.69% 13.73%
1 On February 1, 2024, the MSCI ACWI Net TR Index replaced the S&P 500 Index as the Fund's broad-based benchmark index. The Fund changed its broad-based benchmark index as it believes the MSCI ACWI Net TR Index is more representative of global equities exposure.
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
Peter H. Liao Portfolio Manager October 2018
Griffin Driscoll Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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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.
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SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar® Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus IndexSM (the “Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index” or the “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.50  %
Other Expenses
0.13  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a)
0.63  %
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
-0.05  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
0.58  %
(a) Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund 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) from exceeding 0.56% 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:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $59 
3 $197 
5 $346 
10 $782 
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 87% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index is comprised of securities issued by companies that Morningstar, Inc. (“Morningstar” or the “Index provider”) determines have sustainable competitive advantages based on a proprietary methodology that considers
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quantitative and qualitative factors (“wide and narrow moat companies”). Wide moat companies are those that Morningstar believes will maintain its competitive advantage(s) for at least 20 years. Narrow moat companies are those that Morningstar believes will maintain its competitive advantage(s) for at least 10 years. Wide and narrow moat companies are selected from the universe of companies represented in the Morningstar® Global Markets ex-US IndexSM (the “Parent Index”), a broad market index representing 97% of developed ex-US and emerging markets market capitalization. The Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index targets a select group of equity securities of wide and narrow moat companies, which are those companies that, according to Morningstar’s equity research team, are attractively priced as of each Morningstar ex-US Moat Focus Index review. Morningstar utilizes a momentum screen, in which momentum represents a security’s 12-month price change. A momentum signal is used to exclude 20% of the wide and narrow moat stocks in the Parent Index with the worst 12-month momentum based on a 12-month price change of each stock. Out of the companies in the Parent Index that Morningstar determines are wide or narrow moat companies and display 12-month momentum in the top 80%, Morningstar selects companies to be included in the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index as determined by the ratio of the issuer’s common stock price to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value. Morningstar’s fair value estimates are calculated using standardized, proprietary valuation models. Wide and narrow moat companies may include medium-capitalization companies. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
As of December 31, 2023, the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index included 69 securities of companies with a full market capitalization range of between approximately $1.60 billion and $501.06 billion and a weighted average full market capitalization of $50.61 billion. These amounts are subject to change.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to replicate the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index.
The Fund may become "non-diversified" as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index. This means that the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers than would be the case if the Fund were always managed as a diversified management investment company. The Fund intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the Fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index.
The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of September 30, 2023, each of the financials, information technology, consumer discretionary, communication services, health care and consumer staples sectors represented a significant portion of the Fund.
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.
Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefiting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased
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government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions.
Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent protection and the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.
Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer discretionary sector. The consumer discretionary sector comprises companies whose businesses are sensitive to economic cycles, such as manufacturers of high-end apparel and automobile and leisure companies. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand. These companies may also be adversely affected by changes in consumer spending as a result of world events, political and economic conditions, commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources and labor relations.
Communication Services Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the communication services sector. Companies in the communication services sector may be affected by industry competition, substantial capital requirements, government regulations and obsolescence of communications products and services due to technological advancement.
Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the health care sector may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Many health care companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims.
Consumer Staples Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer staples sector. The consumer staples sector comprises companies whose businesses are less sensitive to economic cycles, such as manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages and producers of non-durable household goods and personal products. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely affected by changes in the worldwide economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, exploration and production spending. Companies in this sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. 
Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. The Fund may invest in medium-capitalization companies and, therefore will be subject to certain risks associated with 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 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. The Fund invests 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 Fund’s investments. Foreign market trading hours, clearance and settlement procedures, and holiday schedules may limit the Fund's ability to buy and sell securities.
Foreign Currency Risk. Because all or a portion of the income received by the Fund from its investments and/or the revenues received by the underlying issuer will generally be denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund’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 Fund, and the value of certain foreign currencies may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation. The Fund may also (directly or indirectly) incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and foreign currencies.
Emerging Market Issuers Risk. Investments in securities of emerging market issuers involve risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of your investment in the Fund. Such heightened risks may include, among others, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, restrictions on and government intervention in international trade, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian and/or military
29

involvement in governmental decision making, armed conflict, the impact on the economy as a result of civil war, crime (including drug violence) and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest. Issuers in certain emerging market countries are subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting, auditing, financial reporting and record keeping than are issuers in more developed markets, and therefore, all material information may not be available or reliable. Emerging markets are also 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. Low trading volumes and volatile prices in less developed markets may make trades harder to complete and settle, and governments or trade groups may compel local agents to hold securities in designated depositories that may not be subject to independent evaluation. Local agents are held only to the standards of care of their local markets. In general, the less developed a country’s securities markets are, the greater the likelihood of custody problems. Additionally, each of the factors described below could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and increase the volatility of the Fund.
Securities Market Risk. Securities markets in emerging market countries are underdeveloped and are often considered to be less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries. Securities markets in emerging market countries are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations, uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets, governmental control and heavy regulation of labor and industry. These factors, coupled with restrictions on foreign investment and other factors, limit the supply of securities available for investment by the Fund. This will affect the rate at which the Fund is able to invest in emerging market countries, the purchase and sale prices for such securities and the timing of purchases and sales. Emerging markets can experience high rates of inflation, deflation and currency devaluation. The prices of certain securities listed on securities markets in emerging market countries have been subject to sharp fluctuations and sudden declines, and no assurance can be given as to the future performance of listed securities in general. Volatility of prices may be greater than in more developed securities markets. Moreover, securities markets in emerging market countries may be closed for extended periods of time or trading on securities markets may be suspended altogether due to political or civil unrest. Market volatility may also be heightened by the actions of a small number of investors. Brokerage firms in emerging market countries may be fewer in number and less established than brokerage firms in more developed markets. Since the Fund may need to effect securities transactions through these brokerage firms, the Fund is subject to the risk that these brokerage firms will not be able to fulfill their obligations to the Fund. This risk is magnified to the extent the Fund effects securities transactions through a single brokerage firm or a small number of brokerage firms. In addition, the infrastructure for the safe custody of securities and for purchasing and selling securities, settling trades, collecting dividends, initiating corporate actions, and following corporate activity is not as well developed in emerging market countries as is the case in certain more developed markets.
Political and Economic Risk. Certain emerging market countries have historically been subject to political instability and their prospects are tied to the continuation of economic and political liberalization in the region. Instability may result from factors such as government or military intervention in decision making, terrorism, civil unrest, extremism or hostilities between neighboring countries. Any of these factors, including an outbreak of hostilities could negatively impact the Fund’s returns. Limited political and democratic freedoms in emerging market countries might cause significant social unrest. These factors may have a significant adverse effect on an emerging market country’s economy.
Many emerging market countries may be heavily dependent upon international trade and, consequently, may continue to be negatively affected by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which it trades. They also have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.
In addition, commodities (such as oil, gas and minerals) represent a significant percentage of certain emerging market countries’ exports and these economies are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices. Adverse economic events in one country may have a significant adverse effect on other countries of this region. In addition, most emerging market countries have experienced, at one time or another, severe and persistent levels of inflation, including, in some cases, hyperinflation. This has, in turn, led to high interest rates, extreme measures by governments to keep inflation in check, and a generally debilitating effect on economic growth.
Although inflation in many countries has lessened, there is no guarantee it will remain at lower levels. The political history of certain emerging market countries has been characterized by political uncertainty, intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres, and political corruption. Such events could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region.
Also, from time to time, certain issuers located in emerging market countries in which the Fund invests may operate in, or have dealings with, countries subject to sanctions and/or embargoes imposed by the U.S. Government and the United Nations and/or countries identified by the U.S. Government as state sponsors of terrorism. As a result, an issuer may sustain damage to its reputation if it is identified as an issuer which operates in, or has dealings with, such countries. The Fund, as an investor in such issuers, will be indirectly subject to those risks.
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The economies of one or more countries in which the Fund may invest may be in various states of transition from a planned economy to a more market oriented economy. The economies of such countries differ from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including levels of government involvement, states of development, growth rates, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Economic growth in these economies may be uneven both geographically and among various sectors of their economies and may also be accompanied by periods of high inflation. Political changes, social instability and adverse diplomatic developments in these countries could result in the imposition of additional government restrictions, including expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxes or nationalization of some or all of the property held by the underlying issuers of securities of emerging market issuers. There is no guarantee that the governments of these countries will not revert back to some form of planned or non-market oriented economy, and such governments continue to be active participants in many economic sectors through ownership positions and regulation. The allocation of resources in such countries is subject to a high level of government control. Such countries’ governments may strictly regulate the payment of foreign currency denominated obligations and set monetary policy. Through their policies, these governments may provide preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. The policies set by the government of one of these countries could have a substantial effect on that country’s economy.
Investment and Repatriation Restrictions Risk. The government in an emerging market country may restrict or control to varying degrees the ability of foreign investors to invest in securities of issuers located or operating in such emerging market countries. These restrictions and/or controls may at times limit or prevent foreign investment in securities of issuers located or operating in emerging market countries and may inhibit the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. In addition, the Fund may not be able to buy or sell securities or receive full value for such securities. Moreover, certain emerging market countries may require governmental approval or special licenses prior to investments by foreign investors and may limit the amount of investments by foreign investors in a particular industry and/or issuer; may limit such foreign investment to a certain class of securities of an issuer that may have less advantageous rights than the classes available for purchase by domiciliaries of such emerging market countries; and/or may impose additional taxes on foreign investors. A delay in obtaining a required government approval or a license would delay investments in those emerging market countries, and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities while approval is pending. The government of certain emerging market countries may also withdraw or decline to renew a license that enables the Fund to invest in such country. These factors make investing in issuers located or operating in emerging market countries significantly riskier than investing in issuers located or operating in more developed countries, and any one of them could cause a decline in the net asset value of the Fund.
Additionally, investments in issuers located in certain emerging market countries may be subject to a greater degree of risk associated with governmental approval in connection with the repatriation of investment income, capital or the proceeds of sales of securities by foreign investors. Moreover, there is the risk that if the balance of payments in an emerging market country declines, the government of such country may impose temporary restrictions on foreign capital remittances. Consequently, the Fund could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, required governmental approval for repatriation of capital, as well as by the application to the Fund of any restrictions on investments. Furthermore, investments in emerging market countries may require the Fund to adopt special procedures, seek local government approvals or take other actions, each of which may involve additional costs to the Fund.
Risk of Available Disclosure About Emerging Market Issuers. Issuers located or operating in emerging market countries are not subject to the same rules and regulations as issuers located or operating in more developed countries. Therefore, there may be less financial and other information publicly available with regard to issuers located or operating in emerging market countries and such issuers are not subject to the uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards applicable to issuers located or operating in more developed countries.
Foreign Currency Risk Considerations. The Fund’s assets that are invested in securities of issuers in emerging market countries will generally be denominated in foreign currencies, and the proceeds received by the Fund from these investments will be principally in foreign currencies. The value of an emerging market country’s currency may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation. This fluctuation may be due to changes in interest rates, 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. 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 can lead to sudden and large adjustments in the currency which, in turn, can have a disruptive and negative effect on foreign investors.
The Fund’s exposure to an emerging market country’s currency and changes in value of such foreign currencies versus the U.S. dollar may reduce the Fund’s investment performance and the value of your investment in the Fund. Meanwhile, the Fund will compute and expects to distribute its income in U.S. dollars, and the computation of income will be made on the date that the income is earned by the Fund at the foreign exchange rate in effect on that date. Therefore, if the value of the respective emerging market country’s currency falls relative to the U.S. dollar between the earning of the income and the time at which the Fund converts the relevant emerging market country’s currency to U.S. dollars, the Fund may be required to liquidate certain positions in order to make distributions if the Fund has insufficient cash in U.S. dollars to meet distribution
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requirements under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The liquidation of investments, if required, could be at disadvantageous prices or otherwise have an adverse impact on the Fund’s performance.
Certain emerging market countries also restrict the free conversion of their currency into foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar. There is no significant foreign exchange market for many such currencies and it would, as a result, be difficult for the Fund to engage in foreign currency transactions designed to protect the value of the Fund’s interests in securities denominated in such currencies. Furthermore, if permitted, the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and an emerging market country’s currency. Foreign exchange dealers realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer normally will offer to sell a foreign currency to the Fund at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the Fund desire immediately to resell that currency to the dealer. The Fund will conduct its foreign currency exchange transactions either on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or through entering into forward, futures or options contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies.
Operational and Settlement Risk. In addition to having less developed securities markets, emerging market countries have less developed custody and settlement practices than certain developed countries. Rules adopted under the Investment Company Act of 1940 permit the Fund to maintain its foreign securities and cash in the custody of certain eligible non-U.S. banks and securities depositories. Banks in emerging market countries that are eligible foreign sub-custodians may be recently organized or otherwise lack extensive operating experience. In addition, in certain emerging market countries there may be legal restrictions or limitations on the ability of the Fund to recover assets held in custody by a foreign sub-custodian in the event of the bankruptcy of the sub-custodian. Because settlement systems in emerging market countries may be less organized than in other developed markets, there may be a risk that settlement may be delayed and that cash or securities of the Fund may be in jeopardy because of failures of or defects in the systems. Under the laws in many emerging market countries, the Fund may be required to release local shares before receiving cash payment or may be required to make cash payment prior to receiving local shares, creating a risk that the Fund may surrender cash or securities without ever receiving securities or cash from the other party. Settlement systems in emerging market countries also have a higher risk of failed trades and back to back settlements may not be possible.
The Fund may not be able to convert a foreign currency to U.S. dollars in time for the settlement of redemption requests. In the event that the Fund is not able to convert the foreign currency to U.S. dollars in time for settlement, which may occur as a result of the delays described above, the Fund may be required to liquidate certain investments and/or borrow money in order to fund such redemption. The liquidation of investments, if required, could be at disadvantageous prices or otherwise have an adverse impact on the Fund’s performance (e.g., by causing the Fund to overweight foreign currency denominated holdings and underweight other holdings which were sold to fund redemptions). In addition, the Fund will incur interest expense on any borrowings and the borrowings will cause the Fund to be leveraged, which may magnify gains and losses on its investments.
In certain emerging market countries, the marketability of investments may be limited due to the restricted opening hours of trading exchanges, and a relatively high proportion of market value may be concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of investors. In addition, because certain emerging market countries’ trading exchanges on which the Fund’s portfolio securities may trade are open when the relevant exchanges are closed, the Fund may be subject to heightened risk associated with market movements. Trading volume may be lower on certain emerging market countries’ trading exchanges than on more developed securities markets and securities may be generally less liquid. The infrastructure for clearing, settlement and registration on the primary and secondary markets of certain emerging market countries are less developed than in certain other markets and under certain circumstances this may result in the Fund experiencing delays in settling and/or registering transactions in the markets in which it invests, particularly if the growth of foreign and domestic investment in certain emerging market countries places an undue burden on such investment infrastructure. Such delays could affect the speed with which the Fund can transmit redemption proceeds and may inhibit the initiation and realization of investment opportunities at optimum times.
Certain issuers in emerging market countries may utilize share blocking schemes. Share blocking refers to a practice, in certain foreign markets, where voting rights related to an issuer’s securities are predicated on these securities being blocked from trading at the custodian or sub-custodian level for a period of time around a shareholder meeting. These restrictions have the effect of barring the purchase and sale of certain voting securities within a specified number of days before and, in certain instances, after a shareholder meeting where a vote of shareholders will be taken. Share blocking may prevent the Fund from buying or selling securities for a period of time. During the time that shares are blocked, trades in such securities will not settle. The blocking period can last up to several weeks. The process for having a blocking restriction lifted can be quite onerous with the particular requirements varying widely by country. In addition, in certain countries, the block cannot be removed. As a result of the ramifications of voting ballots in markets that allow share blocking, the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, reserves the right to abstain from voting proxies in those markets.
Corporate and Securities Laws Risk. Securities laws in emerging market countries are relatively new and unsettled and, consequently, there is a risk of rapid and unpredictable change in laws regarding foreign investment, securities regulation, title to securities and securityholders rights. Accordingly, foreign investors may be adversely affected by new or amended laws
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and regulations. In addition, the systems of corporate governance to which emerging market issuers are subject may be less advanced than those systems to which issuers located in more developed countries are subject, and therefore, securityholders of issuers located in emerging market countries may not receive many of the protections available to securityholders of issuers located in more developed countries. In circumstances where adequate laws and securityholders rights exist, it may not be possible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of the law. In addition, the enforcement of systems of taxation at federal, regional and local levels in emerging market countries may be inconsistent and subject to sudden change. 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.
Special Risk Considerations of Investing in Asian Issuers. Investments in securities of Asian issuers involve risks and special considerations not typically associated with investments in the U.S. securities markets. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization in recent years, but there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Certain Asian economies have experienced over-extension of credit, currency devaluations and restrictions, high unemployment, high inflation, decreased exports and economic recessions. Geopolitical hostility, political instability, as well as economic or environmental events in any one Asian country can have a significant effect on the entire Asian region as well as on major trading partners outside Asia, and any adverse effect on some or all of the Asian countries and regions in which the Fund invests. The securities markets in some Asian economies are relatively underdeveloped and may subject the Fund to higher action costs or greater uncertainty than investments in more developed securities markets. Such risks may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments. Certain Asian countries have also developed increasingly strained relationships with the U.S., and if these relations were to worsen, they could adversely affect Asian issuers that rely on the U.S. for trade.
Special Risk Considerations of Investing in Chinese Issuers. Investments in securities of Chinese issuers, including issuers outside of China that generate significant revenues from China, involve certain risks and considerations not typically associated with investments in U.S securities. These risks include among others (i) more frequent (and potentially widespread) trading suspensions and government interventions with respect to Chinese issuers resulting in a lack of liquidity and in price volatility, (ii) currency revaluations and other currency exchange rate fluctuations or blockage, (iii) the nature and extent of intervention by the Chinese government in the Chinese securities markets, whether such intervention will continue and the impact of such intervention or its discontinuation, (iv) the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets, (v) the risk that the Chinese government may decide not to continue to support economic reform programs, (vi) limitations on the use of brokers, (vii) higher rates of inflation, (viii) greater political, economic and social uncertainty, (ix) market volatility caused by any potential regional or territorial conflicts or natural or other disasters, and (x) the risk of increased trade tariffs, embargoes, sanctions, investment restrictions and other trade limitations. Certain securities are, or may in the future become restricted, and the Fund may be forced to sell such securities and incur a loss as a result. In addition, the economy of China differs, often unfavorably, from the U.S. economy in such respects as structure, general development, government involvement, wealth distribution, rate of inflation, growth rate, interest rates, allocation of resources and capital reinvestment, among others. The Chinese central government has historically exercised substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through administrative regulation and/or state ownership and actions of the Chinese central and local government authorities continue to have a substantial effect on economic conditions in China. In addition, the Chinese government has from time to time taken actions that influence the prices at which certain goods may be sold, encourage companies to invest or concentrate in particular industries, induce mergers between companies in certain industries and induce private companies to publicly offer their securities to increase or continue the rate of economic growth, control the rate of inflation or otherwise regulate economic expansion. The Chinese government may do so in the future as well, potentially having a significant adverse effect on economic conditions in China.
Special Risk Considerations of Investing in European Issuers. Investments in securities of European issuers involve risks and special considerations not typically associated with investments in the U.S. securities markets. The Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union requires member countries to comply with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, interest rates, debt levels and fiscal and monetary controls, each of which may significantly affect every country in Europe. Decreasing imports or exports, changes in governmental or European Union regulations on trade, changes in the exchange rate of the euro, the default or threat of default by a European Union member country on its sovereign debt, and/or an economic recession in a European Union member country may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of other European Union countries and on major trading partners outside Europe. If any member country exits the Economic and Monetary Union, the departing country would face the risks of currency devaluation and its trading partners and banks and others around the world that hold the departing country’s debt would face the risk of significant losses. The European financial markets have previously experienced, and may continue to experience, volatility and have been adversely affected, and may in the future be affected, by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt levels and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. These events have adversely affected, and may in the future affect, the value and exchange rate of the euro and may continue to significantly affect the economies of every country in Europe, including European Union member countries that do not use the euro and non-European Union member countries. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020, which has resulted in ongoing market volatility and caused additional market disruption on a global basis. On December 30, 2020, the United Kingdom and the European Union signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which is an agreement on the terms governing certain aspects of the European Union's and the United Kingdom's
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relationship post Brexit. Notwithstanding the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, following the transition period, there is likely to be considerable uncertainty as to the United Kingdom’s post-transition framework.
Special Risk Considerations of Investing in United Kingdom Issuers. Investments in securities of United Kingdom issuers, including issuers located outside of the United Kingdom that generate significant revenues from the United Kingdom, involve risks and special considerations not typically associated with investments in the U.S. securities markets. Investments in United Kingdom issuers may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security and economic risks specific to the United Kingdom. The British economy relies heavily on the export of financials to the United States and other European countries. The British economy, along with the United States and certain other European Union economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown during the recent financial crisis. In a referendum held on June 23, 2016, voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, creating economic and political uncertainty in its wake. On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union. On December 30, 2020, the European Union and United Kingdom signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, an agreement on the terms governing certain aspects of the European Union’s and the United Kingdom’s relationship following the end of the transition period. Notwithstanding the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, following the transition period, there is likely to be considerable uncertainty as to the United Kingdom’s post-transition framework.
Depositary Receipts Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts), which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Depositary receipts are receipts listed on U.S. or foreign exchanges issued by banks or trust companies that entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares. The issuers of certain depositary receipts are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. The issuers of depositary receipts may discontinue issuing new depositary receipts and withdraw existing depositary receipts at any time, which may result in costs and delays in the distribution of the underlying assets to the Fund and may negatively impact the Fund’s performance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the
34


Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
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.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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
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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.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may become classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the its Index. If the Fund becomes non-diversified, it may invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of a smaller number of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a more diversified fund.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
Competitive Advantage Assessment Risk. Morningstar may be incorrect in its assessment of the competitive advantages of the companies selected for inclusion in the Fund’s index, and the securities issued by such companies may underperform Morningstar’s expectations and have an adverse effect on the Fund’s overall performance. There can also be no assurance that wide or narrow moat companies will have sustainable competitive advantages for any period of time. Competitive advantages for wide and narrow moat companies may erode in a relatively short period of time due to, among other reasons, changes in laws and regulations, intellectual property rights, economic and political conditions and technological developments.
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, a broad-based benchmark index and an additional 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.
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Annual Total Returns (%)—Calendar Years
5866
Best Quarter: 18.64  % 4Q 2022
Worst Quarter: -23.87  % 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.
Past
One Year
Past
Five Years
Since Inception (07/13/2015)
VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (return before taxes) 10.59% 5.15% 3.72%
VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions) 9.98% 4.32% 2.79%
VanEck Morningstar International Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 6.69% 3.94% 2.72%
Morningstar® Global Markets ex-US Moat Focus IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes, except withholding taxes)
10.72% 5.70% 4.36%
MSCI ACWI Net TR Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes, except withholding taxes)1
22.20% 11.72% 8.45%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 15.69% 12.23%
1 On February 1, 2024, the MSCI ACWI Net TR Index replaced the S&P 500 Index as the Fund's broad-based benchmark index. The Fund changed its broad-based benchmark index as it believes the MSCI ACWI Net TR Index is more representative of global equities exposure.
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
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Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
Peter H. Liao Portfolio Manager July 2015
Griffin Driscoll Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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.
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VANECK MORNINGSTAR SMID MOAT ETF
SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar® US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus IndexSM (the “Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index” or the “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.45  %
Other Expenses
0.14  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.59  %
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
-0.10  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(a)
0.49  %
(a) Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund 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) from exceeding 0.49% 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 waiver arrangement for only the first year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $50 
3 $179 
5 $319 
10 $728 
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 period from October 4, 2022 (the Fund's commencement of operations) through September 30, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 76% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index is comprised of small- and medium-capitalization companies as defined by Morningstar, Inc. (“Morningstar” or the “Index provider”), that Morningstar determines have sustainable competitive advantages based on a proprietary methodology that considers quantitative and qualitative factors (“wide and narrow moat companies”). The quantitative
39

factors used by Morningstar to identify competitive advantages currently include historical and projected returns on invested capital relative to cost of capital. The qualitative factors used by Morningstar to identify competitive advantages currently include customer switching cost (i.e., the costs of customers switching to competitors), internal cost advantages, intangible assets (e.g., intellectual property and brands), network effects (i.e., whether products or services become more valuable as the number of customers grows) and efficient scale (i.e., whether the company effectively serves a limited market that potential rivals have little incentive to enter into). Wide moat companies are those that Morningstar believes will maintain their competitive advantage(s) for at least 20 years. Narrow moat companies are those that Morningstar believes will maintain their competitive advantage(s) for at least 10 years. Wide and narrow moat companies are selected from the universe of companies represented in the Morningstar® US Small-Mid Cap IndexSM (the “Parent Index”), a broad market index representing small- and medium-capitalization U.S. companies.
For purposes of the Parent Index, Morningstar considers those companies in the bottom 70% - 90% of total U.S. market cap to be medium-capitalization companies and those companies in the bottom 90% - 97% to be small-capitalization companies. The Index targets a select group of equity securities of wide and narrow moat companies, which are those companies that, according to Morningstar’s equity research team, are attractively priced based on pre-defined factors as of each index review. Morningstar utilizes a momentum screen, in which momentum represents a security’s 12-month price change. A momentum signal is used to exclude 20% of the wide and narrow moat stocks in the Parent Index with the worst 12-month momentum based on a 12-month price change of each stock. Out of the companies in the Parent Index that Morningstar determines are wide or narrow moat companies and display 12-month momentum in the top 80%, Morningstar selects companies to be included in the Index as determined by the ratio of the issuer’s common stock price to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value. Morningstar’s fair value estimates are calculated using standardized, proprietary valuation models. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
As of December 31, 2023, the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index included 98 securities of companies with a full market capitalization range of between approximately $2.53 billion and $59.20 billion and a weighted average full market capitalization of $17.82 billion. These amounts are subject to change. The Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index is divided into two equally-weighted sub-portfolios, and each is reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually on alternating quarters.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to track the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index.
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), and, therefore, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer. The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of September 30, 2023, each of the industrials, information technology, consumer discretionary, financials, and health care sectors represented a significant portion of the Morningstar US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus Index.
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.
Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.
Small- and Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. The Fund may invest in small- and medium-capitalization companies and, therefore will 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
40


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.
Industrials Sector Risk. The industrials sector comprises companies who produce capital goods used in construction and manufacturing, such as companies that make and sell machinery, equipment and supplies that are used to produce other goods. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent protection and the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.
Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer discretionary sector. The consumer discretionary sector comprises companies whose businesses are sensitive to economic cycles, such as manufacturers of high-end apparel and automobile and leisure companies. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand. These companies may also be adversely affected by changes in consumer spending as a result of world events, political and economic conditions, commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources and labor relations.
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefiting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions.
Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the health care sector may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Many health care companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims.
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.
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.
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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in
41

accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
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.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not
42


use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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.
Non-Diversified Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. Moreover, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s net asset value and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds. The Fund may be particularly vulnerable to this risk if it is comprised of a limited number of investments.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
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 Year
549755824565
43

Best Quarter: 11.45  % 4Q 2023
Worst Quarter: -5.05  % 3Q 2023
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.
Past
One Year
Since Inception (10/04/2022)
VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF (return before taxes) 17.27% 17.40%
VanEck Morningstar SMID MoatETF (return after taxes on distributions) 17.09% 17.20%
VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 10.35% 13.31%
Morningstar® US Small-Mid Cap Moat Focus IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
17.93% 18.04%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 22.37%
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
Peter H. Liao Portfolio Manager October 2022
Griffin Driscoll Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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.
44


SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar® Wide Moat Focus IndexSM (the “Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index” or the “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.45  %
Other Expenses
0.02  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a)
0.47  %
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
0.00  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)
0.47  %
(a)    Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund 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) from exceeding 0.49% 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:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $48 
3 $151 
5 $263 
10 $591 
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 51% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index is comprised of securities issued by companies that Morningstar, Inc. (“Morningstar” or the “Index provider”) determines to have sustainable competitive advantages based on a proprietary methodology that considers quantitative and qualitative factors (“wide moat companies”). Wide moat companies are selected from the universe of companies represented
45


in the Morningstar® US Market IndexSM, a broad market index representing 97% of U.S. market capitalization. The Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index targets a select group of wide moat companies: those that according to Morningstar’s equity research team are attractively priced as of each Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index review. Out of the companies in the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index that Morningstar determines are wide moat companies, Morningstar selects companies to be included in the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index as determined by the ratio of Morningstar’s estimate of fair value of the issuer’s common stock to the price. Morningstar’s equity research fair value estimates are calculated using a standardized, proprietary valuation model. Wide moat companies may include medium-capitalization companies. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
As of December 31, 2023, the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index included 49 securities of companies with a full market capitalization range of between approximately $9.71 billion and $2.79 billion and a weighted average full market capitalization of $154.18 billion. These amounts are subject to change.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to replicate the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index.
The Fund may become "non-diversified" as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index. This means that the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers than would be the case if the Fund were always managed as a diversified management investment company. The Fund intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the Fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index.
The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of September 30, 2023, each of the information technology, industrials, health care and financials sectors represented a significant portion of the Fund.
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.
Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.  
Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent protection and the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.
Industrials Sector Risk. The industrials sector comprises companies who produce capital goods used in construction and manufacturing, such as companies that make and sell machinery, equipment and supplies that are used to produce other goods. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the health care sector may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Many health care companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims.
46



Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefiting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions.
Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. 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 medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.
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.
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.
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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of
47


borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
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.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may become classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the its Index. If the Fund becomes non-diversified, it may invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of a smaller number of individual issuers
48



than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a more diversified fund.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
Competitive Advantage Assessment Risk. Morningstar may be incorrect in its assessment of the competitive advantages of the companies selected for inclusion in the Fund’s index, and the securities issued by such companies may underperform Morningstar’s expectations and have an adverse effect on the Fund’s overall performance. There can also be no assurance that wide or narrow moat companies will have sustainable competitive advantages for any period of time. Competitive advantages for wide and narrow moat companies may erode in a relatively short period of time due to, among other reasons, changes in laws and regulations, intellectual property rights, economic and political conditions and technological developments.
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
4945
Best Quarter: 19.24  % 2Q 2020
Worst Quarter: -20.01  % 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
Past
Ten Years
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (return before taxes) 31.72% 16.95% 12.90%
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions) 31.45% 16.62% 12.55%
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 18.97% 13.70% 10.71%
Morningstar® Wide Moat Focus IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
32.41% 17.53% 13.47%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 15.69% 12.03%
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
Peter H. Liao Portfolio Manager April 2012
Griffin Driscoll Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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.
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SUMMARY INFORMATION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck® Social Sentiment ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index (the “Sentiment Leaders Index” or the “Index”).
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.
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)
Management Fee 0.75  %
Other Expenses(a)(b)
0.00  %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a)
0.75  %
(a)    Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) will pay all expenses of the Fund, except for the fee payment under the investment management agreement, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Adviser has agreed to pay the offering costs until at least February 1, 2025.
(b) “Other expenses” have been restated to reflect current fees.
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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
YEAR EXPENSES
1 $77 
3 $240 
5 $417 
10 $930 
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 232% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Fund’s benchmark index. The Sentiment Leaders Index is comprised of common stocks of U.S. companies selected by a rules-based quantitative methodology developed by BUZZ Holdings ULC (the “Index provider”), which is designed to identify the U.S. common stocks with the most “positive insights” collected from online sources including social media, news articles, blog posts and other alternative datasets. “Positive insights are a measure of the degree of positive company sentiment as well as the breadth of active discussion about each company by participants on online platforms. The 75 companies with the highest positive insight scores that meet certain market capitalization and average daily trading volume requirements will be selected for inclusion in the Sentiment Leaders Index. Such companies may include medium-capitalization companies.
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As of December 31, 2023, the Sentiment Leaders Index included 75 securities of companies with a market capitalization range of between approximately $5.4 billion and $2,994.4 billion and a weighted average market capitalization of $435.9 billion. These amounts are subject to change. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. The Sentiment Leaders Index is reconstituted and rebalanced monthly.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Sentiment Leaders Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Sentiment Leaders Index. Unlike many investment companies that try to “beat” the performance of a benchmark index, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Sentiment Leaders Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its investment objective of seeking to track the Sentiment Leaders Index.
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), and, therefore, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer. The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Sentiment Leaders Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of September 30, 2023, each of the information technology, consumer discretionary, communication services and financials sectors represented a significant portion of the Fund.
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.
Social Media Analytics Risk. The Index provider relies heavily on social media analytics, which are relatively new and untested. “Social media” is an umbrella term that encompasses various activities that integrate technology, social interaction and content creation. Investing in companies based on social media analytics involves the potential risk of market manipulation because social media posts may be made with an intent to inflate, or otherwise manipulate, the public perception of a company stock or other investment. Although the Index provider attempts to mitigate the potential risk of such manipulation by employing screens to identify posts which may be computer generated or deceptive and by employing market capitalization and trading volume criteria to remove companies which may be more likely targets for such manipulation, there is no guarantee that the Index’s model will successfully reduce such risk. Furthermore, text and sentiment analysis of social media postings may prove inaccurate in predicting a company’s stock performance; that is, high positive sentiment may not correlate with positive change in the value of a company’s stock and low positive or negative sentiment may not correlate with negative change in the value of a company’s stock. Additionally, social media companies are susceptible to the following risks which may disrupt the Index provider’s ability to receive meaningful data from such sites: permanent cessation of operations, disruption in service caused by hardware or software failure, interruptions or delays in service by third-party data center hosting facilities and maintenance providers, security breaches involving certain private, sensitive, proprietary and confidential information managed and transmitted by social media companies, and privacy concerns and laws, evolving internet regulation and other foreign or domestic regulations that may limit or otherwise affect the operations of social media companies.
Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority 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.
Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk. 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 medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.
Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent protection and the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.
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Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer discretionary sector. The consumer discretionary sector comprises companies whose businesses are sensitive to economic cycles, such as manufacturers of high-end apparel and automobile and leisure companies. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand. These companies may also be adversely affected by changes in consumer spending as a result of world events, political and economic conditions, commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources and labor relations.
Communication Services Sector Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the communication services sector. Companies in the communication services sector may be affected by industry competition, substantial capital requirements, government regulations and obsolescence of communications products and services due to technological advancement.
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefiting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions.
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.
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.
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.
Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities and entering into derivatives transactions (if applicable), especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index or (if applicable) raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with inflows into the Fund. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Index. Errors in the Index data, the Index computations and/or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index provider, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders should understand that any gains from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs resulting from the Index provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, when the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index provider or its agents to the Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to pay expenses or to meet redemptions. In addition, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Index for various reasons, including legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, certain exchange listing standards (where applicable), a lack of liquidity in markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). To the extent the Fund utilizes depositary receipts, the purchase of depositary receipts may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to track the performance of the Index and
53


increase tracking error, which may be exacerbated if the issuer of the depositary receipt discontinues issuing new depositary receipts or withdraws existing depositary receipts.
The Fund may value certain of its investments, underlying currencies and/or other assets based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. In addition, any issues the Fund encounters with regard to currency convertibility (including the cost of borrowing funds, if any), repatriation or economic sanctions may also increase the index tracking risk. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the performance of the Index due to the impact of withholding taxes, late announcements relating to changes to the Index and high turnover of the Index. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the index tracking risk. The Fund may also need to rely on borrowings to meet redemptions, which may lead to increased expenses. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Index. Changes to the composition of the Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
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.
Passive Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from its Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund that invests in bonds or equity securities, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. The Fund’s Index may not contain the appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. The timing of changes in the securities of the Fund’s portfolio in seeking to replicate its Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Additionally, unusual market conditions may cause the Fund’s Index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance or reconstitution, which could cause the Fund’s Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
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
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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.
Non-Diversified Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. Moreover, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s net asset value and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds. The Fund may be particularly vulnerable to this risk if it is comprised of a limited number of investments.
Index-Related Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to reflect the Index’s allocation to such sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. The securities of many or all of the companies in the same sector or industry may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting such sector or industry. By concentrating its assets in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on those sectors and/or industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of securities. 
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 Year
3977
Best Quarter: 22.74% 1Q 2023
Worst Quarter: -33.34% 2Q 2022
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
Since Inception (03/02/2021)
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (return before taxes) 54.48% -9.49%
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (return after taxes on distributions) 54.29% -9.56%
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares) 32.39% -7.07%
BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
54.95% -9.17%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
26.29% 9.36%
See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
Name Title with Adviser Date Began Managing the Fund
Peter H. Liao Portfolio Manager February 2021
Griffin Driscoll Deputy Portfolio Manager February 2024
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.
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PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Individual Shares of a Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through a broker or a dealer at a market price. Shares of the Funds are listed on the Exchange, and because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares of the Funds may trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a “premium”) or less than NAV (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 a 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 each 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
Each Fund’s distributions (other than return of capital distributions) are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
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.
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PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Adviser anticipates that, generally, each Fund will hold or gain exposure to all of the securities that comprise its Index in proportion to their weightings in such Index. However, to the extent it is not possible or practicable to purchase all of those securities in those weightings, the Fund may purchase a sample of securities in its Index. The Adviser may also choose to underweight or overweight a security in a Fund’s Index, purchase securities not in the Fund’s Index that the Adviser believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in such Index or utilize various combinations of other available investment techniques in seeking to replicate/track (as applicable) as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Fund’s Index. Each Fund may sell securities that are represented in its Index in anticipation of their removal from its Index or purchase securities not represented in its Index in anticipation of their addition to such Index. Each Fund may also, in order to comply with tax diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, temporarily invest in securities not included in its Index that are expected to be highly correlated with the securities included in the Index.
FUNDAMENTAL AND NON-FUNDAMENTAL POLICIES
Each 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, and a number of additional (non-principal) risks. The risks checked in the chart below apply to the Fund as indicated. For a description of the risks listed in the chart, please see "Glossary – Investment Risks" below the chart. See also the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information for information on certain other investments in which the Fund may invest and other investment techniques in which the Fund may engage from time to time and related risks.
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.
Risk Durable High Dividend ETF
(DURA)
Long/Flat Trend ETF
(LFEQ)
Morningstar ESG Moat ETF
(MOTE)
Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF
(MOTG)
Morningstar International Moat ETF
(MOTI)
Morningstar SMID Moat ETF
(SMOT)
Morningstar Wide Moat ETF
(MOAT)
Social Sentiment ETF
(BUZZ)
√ Principal Risk | X Additional Non-Principal Risk
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk
Cash Transactions Risk
Communication Services Sector Risk
Competitive Advantage Assessment Risk
Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk
Consumer Staples Sector Risk