Document
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VANECKĀ® HIP SUSTAINABLE MUNI ETF
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Ticker: SMI
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
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Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's prospectus, reports to shareholders, and other information about the Fund online at https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/etf-mutual-fund-finder/etfs/documents/. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800.826.2333, or by sending an email request to [email protected]. The Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated September 1, 2024, as may be supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The investment objective of VanEckĀ® HIPSustainable Muni ETF (the "Fund") is to seek current income generally exempt from federal income tax (other than federal alternative minimum tax ("AMT")).
FUND FEES AND EXPENSES
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund ("Shares"). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
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Shareholder Fees(fees paid directly from your investment)
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None
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fee
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0.24
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%
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Other Expenses(a)
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0.00
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%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a)
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0.24
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%
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(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 September 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:
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YEAR
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EXPENSES
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1
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$25
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3
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$77
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5
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$135
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10
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$306
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PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund will pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, may
affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 11% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in investments the income from which is exempt from U.S. federal income tax (other than AMT). The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF") that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, in investment grade municipal debt securities that fund issuers with operations or projects helping to promote progress towards sustainable development, in alignment with the goals and metrics defined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs") 9, 11 and 12. The SDGs were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to achieve sustainable development for all, and the specific goals of SDGs 9, 11 and 12 are as follows: SDG 9 is to "build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation," SDG 11 is to "make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" and SDG 12 is to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns." The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that support sustainable development. The Adviser determines which operations or projects of issuers it believes to be supportive of sustainable development and that promote beneficial environmental and social outcomes in U.S. communities and cities by utilizing the rules-based investment approach described below. The Fund's policy to normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in securities that support sustainable development is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days' prior written notice to shareholders.
The Adviser primarily uses a rules-based investment approach which utilizes proprietary HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Ratings data for the application of impact criteria to security selection and portfolio management. HIP Ratings are produced and licensed from HIP Investor, Inc. ("HIP" or the "Data Provider"), which provides servicesto evaluate, rate and rank issuers and their securities based on data-driven, quantitative performance measures that demonstrate positive social, environmental and economic outcomes or mission accomplishment. The Adviser's investment process begins by using HIP Ratings to screen municipal securities based on their SDGs 9, 11 and 12 ratings by HIP, Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") ratings by HIPand Climate-Threat and Resilience ratings by HIP. HIP Ratings are only assigned to the municipal securities of issuers where at least one qualified opportunity zone is located in the issuer's region. An "opportunity zone" is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment based on certification from the Internal Revenue Service. HIP, as the Data Provider, analyzes multiple data points of municipal securities to determine an estimate ofthe impact (i.e., net benefit to the community) each municipal security provides. The HIP Ratings used by the Adviser seek to evaluate the impact of municipal securities with respect to the goals and metrics defined by SDGs 9, 11 and 12, climate resilience, and overall net benefit to people, planet, and prosperity. These HIP Ratings are used by the Adviser to narrow the universe of eligible Fund investments to municipal securities that, based on the HIP Ratings, the Adviser believes have been issued to fund operations or projects that support or advance sustainable development, as well as promote positive social and environmental outcomes. Such municipal debt securities may include, but are not limited to, bonds issued in connection with (i) new or revitalized infrastructure (i.e., roads, bridges, tunnels, buildings, transportation of people and freight, affordable and safe housing and redevelopment of urban areas (e.g., green spaces), school or campus upgrades and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ("LEED") qualified real estate); (ii) information and education systems (i.e., schools, research, financial services, communication services and technologies and information services); (iii) healthier communities (i.e., hospitals, food and nutrition infrastructure, waste systems, air quality and environmental management systems); (iv) cleaner energy (i.e., utilities, resource and material use); (v) inclusive and sustainable industrialization towards increased gross domestic product ("GDP"); (vi) action and resilience planning and projects to mitigate the effects of climate change and other natural disasters and hazards; and (vii) ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. The Adviser is not required to invest in any issuer rated by the Data Provider and the Data Provider is not acting as a sub-adviser to the Fund.
Municipal securities that the Fund may invest in include securities issued by U.S. states and municipal governments, any of their political subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, or by U.S. territories and possessions, such as Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, and their political subdivisions and public corporations. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in municipal obligations of issuers located in the States of California and New York. The Fund does not expect to invest in non-investment grade (or "junk") securities. The Fund may invest in debt securities of any maturity or duration and does not have a target maturity or duration. "Duration" is a measure of a debt security's price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer the duration of a debt security, the more sensitive its market price is to changes in interest rates. The Fund seeks to reduce its exposure to credit risk by diversifying its assets among many municipal issuers and among the different types and maturities of municipal securities available.
The Fund's investment policy to invest at least 80% of its total assets in investments the income from which is exempt from U.S. federal income tax (other than AMT) may not be changed without shareholder approval. The Fund may count investments that generate income subject to the AMT toward its 80% investment policy. For purposes of this policy, the term "assets" means net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes. This percentage limitation applies at the time of the investment.
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and, therefore, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer. As of April 30, 2024, each of the general obligation, special tax (i.e., revenue bonds backed by a special tax) and healthcare 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.
Sustainable Impact Investing Strategy Risk. The Fund's strategy of investing in municipal debt securities of issuers promoting sustainable development may limit the types and number of investments available to the Fund or cause the Fund to invest in securities that underperform the market as a whole. As a result, the Fund may underperform funds that do not have a sustainable investing strategy or funds with sustainable investing strategies that do not employ HIP Ratings. In addition, the Fund relies on the Data Provider for the identification of issuers that promote sustainable development based on their HIP Ratings; however, there can be no guarantee that the Data Provider's methodology will align with the Fund's investment strategy or desirable issuers can be correctly identified. Moreover, SDGs 9, 11 and 12 may be modified or abandoned in the future and there can be no guarantee that the Fund will be able to continue to use HIP Ratings or find an appropriate substitute ratings system.
Municipal Securities Risk. Municipal securities are subject to the risk that litigation, legislation or other political events, local business or economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuer's ability to make payments of principal and/or interest or otherwise affect the value of such securities. Certain municipalities may have difficulty meeting their obligations due to, among other reasons, changes in underlying demographics. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to government regulation, taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders. Because many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects, especially those relating to education, health care, transportation, utilities and water and sewer, conditions in those sectors can affect the overall municipal market. Municipal securities include general obligation bonds, which are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the issuer, which has the power to tax residents to pay bondholders. Timely payments depend on the issuer's credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base. General obligation bonds generally are not backed by revenues from a specific project or source. The taxing power of a municipality may be limited by provisions of constitutions or laws and a municipality's credit will depend on many factors. A municipality in which the Fund invests may experience significant financial difficulties, including bankruptcy or default, which may negatively impact the Fund. Municipal securities also include revenue bonds, which are generally backed by revenue from a specific project or tax. Revenue bonds generally are not backed by the full faith and credit and general taxing power of the issuer. The bond markets may experience reduced liquidity due to events such as limited trading activity, reductions in bond inventory, market volatility, and rapid or unexpected changes in interest rates. Less liquid markets could lead to greater price volatility and limit the Fund's ability to sell a holding at a suitable price. The market for municipal bonds may be less liquid than for taxable bonds. There may be less information available on the financial condition of issuers of municipal securities than for public corporations. Municipal instruments may be susceptible to periods of economic stress, which could affect the market values and marketability of municipal obligations of issuers in a state, U.S. territory, or possession.
Credit Risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable and/or unwilling to honor its payment obligations and/or default completely on securities. The Fund's securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, depending on the issuer's financial condition and on the terms of the securities, which may be reflected in credit ratings. There is a possibility that the credit rating of a security may be downgraded after purchase or the perception of an issuer's creditworthiness may decline, which may adversely affect the value of the security. Lower credit quality may also affect liquidity and make it difficult for the Fund to sell the security.
Interest Rate Risk. Debt securities and preferred securities are subject to interest rate risk. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most debt securities and certain preferred securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most debt securities go up. Many factors can cause interest rates to rise, including central bank monetary policy, rising inflation rates and general economic conditions. Debt securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes, usually making them more volatile than debt securities, such as bonds, with shorter durations. A substantial investment by the Fund in debt securities with longer-term maturities during periods of rising interest rates may cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline significantly. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Fund performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility. It is difficult to predict the magnitude, timing or direction of interest rate changes and the impact these changes will have on the markets in which the Fund invests.
Call Risk. The Fund may invest in callable debt securities. If interest rates fall, issuers may "call" (or prepay) their debt securities before their maturity date. If the issuer exercises a call during or following a period of declining interest rates, the Fund is likely to have to replace the called security with a lower yielding security or riskier security, decreasing the Fund's net investment income. The Fund also may fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher interest rates, resulting in an unexpected capital loss.
Data Risk. Given the complexity of the investments and strategies of the Fund, the Adviser relies heavily on quantitative models and information and data. This data is used to construct sets of transactions and investments, and to provide risk management insights. If the quantitative models and information and data proves to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks.
Special Tax Bond Risk. Special tax bonds are usually backed and payable through a single tax, or series of special taxes such as incremental property taxes. The failure of the tax levy to generate adequate revenue to pay the debt service on the bonds may cause the value of the bonds to decline. Adverse conditions and developments affecting a particular project may result in lower revenues to the issuer of the municipal securities, which may adversely affect the value of the Fund's portfolio.
Health Care Bond Risk.The health care industry is subject to regulatory action by a number of private and governmental agencies, including federal, state and local governmental agencies. A major source of revenues for the health care industry is payments from Medicare and Medicaid programs. As a result, the industry is sensitive to legislative changes and reductions in governmental spending for such programs. Numerous other factors may also affect the industry and the value and credit quality of health care bonds, such as general and local economic conditions, demand for services, expenses (including malpractice insurance premiums) and competition among health care providers. The following elements may adversely affect health care facility operations: the implementation of national and/or state-specific health insurance exchanges; other national, state or local health care reform measures; medical and technological advances which dramatically alter the need for health services or the way in which such services are delivered; changes in medical coverage which alter the traditional fee-for-service revenue stream; efforts by employers, insurers, and governmental agencies to reduce the costs of health insurance and health care services; and increases and decreases in the cost and availability of medical products.
California Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in municipal obligations of issuers located in the State of California. Consequently, the Fund may be affected by political, economic, regulatory and other developments within California and by the financial condition of California's political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities and public authorities.
New York Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in New York municipal bonds. Consequently, the Fund may be affected by political, economic, regulatory or other developments within the State of New York, and by the financial condition of its public authorities and political subdivisions.
Active Management Risk. In managing the Fund's portfolio, the Adviser will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. Investment decisions made by the Adviser in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective may cause a decline in the value of the investments held by the Fund and, in turn, cause the Fund's shares to lose value or underperform other funds with similar investment objectives.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund's service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. The Fund may have a limited number of Authorized Participants, none of which are obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. To the extent that those Authorized Participants exit the business, or do not process creation and/or redemption orders, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for Shares or Shares may trade like closed-end funds at a discount (or premium) to net asset value and possibly face trading halts and/or de-listing. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid-ask prices for the Fund. The Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened in cases where Authorized Participants have limited or diminished access to the capital required to post collateral.
No Guarantee of Active Trading Market Risk. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained, as applicable. Further, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because market makers and Authorized Participants may step away from making a market in the Shares and in executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the Fund's market price from its net asset value.
Trading Issues Risk. Trading in shares on the exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the relevant exchange's "circuit breaker" rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated early close of the exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell Shares of the Fund. There can be no assurance that requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.
Market Risk. The prices of securities are subject to the risks associated with investing in the securities market, including general economic conditions, sudden and unpredictable drops in value, exchange trading suspensions and closures and public health risks. These risks may be magnified if certain social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) adversely interrupt the global economy; in these and other circumstances, such events or developments might affect companies world-wide. Overall securities values could decline generally or underperform other investments. An investment may lose money.
Fund Shares Trading, Premium/Discount Risk and Liquidity of Fund Shares. The market price of the Shares may fluctuate in response to the Fund's net asset value, the intraday value of the Fund's holdings and supply and demand for Shares. Shares may trade above, below, or at their most recent net asset value. Factors including disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares (including through a trading halt), may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to net asset value or to the intraday value of the Fund's holdings. If a
shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the net asset value or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the net asset value, the shareholder may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Shares. The securities held by the Fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than the exchange on which the Shares are traded. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when the exchange is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid/ask spreads on the exchange and the resulting premium or discount to the Shares' net asset value may widen. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund's Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund's underlying portfolio holdings and a shareholder may be unable to sell his or her Shares.
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.
State Concentration Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in municipal obligations of issuers located in a particular state or states. Consequently, the Fund may be affected by political, economic, regulatory and other developments within the state or states and by the financial condition of the state's or states' political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities and public authorities.
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 a broad measure of market performance. 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
The year-to-date total return as of June 30, 2024 was 0.24%.
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Best Quarter:
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6.88%
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4Q 2023
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Worst Quarter:
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-5.87%
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1Q 2022
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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
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Since Inception (09/08/2021)
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VanEck HIP Sustainable Muni ETF (return before taxes)
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5.27%
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-1.53%
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VanEck HIP Sustainable Muni ETF (return after taxes on distributions)
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5.21%
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-1.55%
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VanEck HIP Sustainable Muni ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares)
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3.96%
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-0.84%
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ICE US Broad Municipal Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
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5.99%
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-1.04%
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PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Manager. The following individual is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio:
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Name
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Title with Adviser
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Date Began Managing the Fund
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Stephanie Wang
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Portfolio Manager
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July 2024
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PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through a broker or dealer at a market price. Shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange, and because Shares trade at market prices rather than net asset value, Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than net asset value (i.e., a "premium") or less than net asset value (i.e., a "discount").
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the "bid/ask spread").
Recent information, including information about the Fund's net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is included on the Fund's website at www.vaneck.com.
TAX INFORMATION
The Funds expect to distribute net investment income, if any, at least monthly, and any net realized long-term or short-term capital gains annually. The Funds may also pay a special distribution at any time to comply with U.S. federal tax requirements.
Dividends paid by the Funds that are properly reported as exempt-interest dividends will not be subject to regular U.S. federal income tax. The Funds intend to invest its assets in a manner such that a significant portion of its dividend distributions to shareholders will generally be exempt from U.S. federal income taxes, including the federal alternative minimum tax for noncorporate shareholders. Such distributions will generally be subject to state income taxes.
Distributions from a Fund's net investment income (other than net tax-exempt income), including any net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The Adviser and its related companies may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as a bank) for the sale of the Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker-dealer or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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