♦The VanEck® Gold Miners ETF utilizes a passive indexing investment approach — The VanEck® Gold Miners ETF is not managed according to traditional methods of “active” investment management, which involve the buying and selling of securities based on economic, financial and market analysis and investment judgment. Instead, the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF, utilizing a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of its target index by investing in a portfolio of stocks that generally replicate or provide a representative sample of such target index. Therefore, unless a specific underlying constituent is removed from its target index, the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF generally would not sell a security because the issuer of such underlying constituent (its “underlying constituent issuer”) was in financial trouble. In addition, the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF is subject to the risk that the investment strategy of its investment advisor may not produce the intended results.
♦The Notes are subject to currency exchange rate risk — The Notes are subject to currency exchange rate risk because the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF may invest in securities that are traded and quoted in non-U.S. currencies on non-U.S. markets. Therefore, holders of the Notes may be exposed to currency exchange rate risk with respect to the currencies in which such securities trade. The values of the currencies of the countries in which the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF may invest may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation due to changes in interest rates, the effects of monetary policies issued by the U.S., non-U.S. governments, central banks or supranational entities, the imposition of currency controls or other national or global political or economic developments. An investor’s net exposure will depend on the extent to which the relevant non-U.S. currencies strengthen or weaken against the U.S. dollar and the relative weight of each non-U.S. underlying constituent. If, taking into account such weighting, the U.S. dollar strengthens against the relevant non-U.S. currencies, the value of the underlying constituents will be adversely affected and the market value of, and return on, the Notes may decrease.
♦The Notes are subject to risks associated with non-U.S. securities — The VanEck® Gold Miners ETF is subject to risks associated with non-U.S. securities. Market developments may affect non-U.S. markets differently from U.S. securities markets and direct or indirect government intervention to stabilize these non-U.S. markets, as well as cross shareholdings in non-U.S. companies, may affect trading prices and volumes in those markets. Securities issued by non-U.S. companies are subject to political, economic, financial and social factors that may be unique to the particular country. These factors, which could negatively affect the applicable underlying constituent(s) include the possibility of recent or future changes in the non-U.S. government’s economic and fiscal policies, the possible imposition of, or changes in, currency exchange laws or other non-U.S. laws or restrictions applicable to non-U.S. companies or investments in non-U.S. equity securities and the possibility of fluctuations in the rate of exchange between currencies. Moreover, certain aspects of a particular non-U.S. economy may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in important respects, such as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources and self-sufficiency.
Non-U.S. securities may also be subject to regulatory risks, including sanctions. For instance, pursuant to U.S. executive orders, U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions in publicly traded securities of certain companies that are determined to be linked to the military, intelligence and security apparatus of the People’s Republic of China. The prohibition also covers any securities that are derivative of, or are designed to provide investment exposure to, such securities. Actions taken by a sponsor of a target index of an ETF or underlying asset issuer of an ETF in response to any such developments could adversely affect the performance of its target index and, as a result, the market value of, and return on the Notes. Additionally, following certain events, if the calculation agent determines that a change in law has occurred with respect to the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF or the sponsor of its target index or investment adviser modifies or reconstitutes a target index or the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF in response to what otherwise would have been a change in law, then the calculation agent may take the actions described in the accompanying product supplement under “General Terms of the Securities — Delisting of, Suspension of Trading in, or Change in Law Affecting, an Underlying Equity”.
♦The Notes are subject to emerging markets risk — The VanEck® Gold Miners ETF is subject to risks associated with emerging market companies and emerging market securities that are traded on various emerging market exchanges. Investments in securities linked directly or indirectly to emerging market equity securities involve many risks, including, but not limited to: economic, social, political, financial and military conditions in the emerging market; regulation by national, provincial, and local governments; less liquidity and smaller market capitalizations than exist in the case of many large U.S. companies; different accounting and disclosure standards; and political uncertainties. Securities of emerging market companies may be more volatile and may be affected by market developments differently than U.S. companies. Government interventions to stabilize securities markets and cross-shareholdings may affect prices and volume of trading of the securities of emerging market companies. Economic, social, political, financial and military factors could, in turn, negatively affect such companies’ value. These factors could include changes in the emerging market government’s economic and fiscal policies, possible imposition of, or changes in, currency exchange laws or other laws or restrictions applicable to the emerging market companies or investments in their securities, and the possibility of fluctuations in the rate of exchange between currencies. Moreover, emerging market economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in a variety of ways, including growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources and self-sufficiency. You should carefully consider the risks related to emerging markets, to which the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF is susceptible.
♦The VanEck® Gold Miners ETF does not measure the performance of gold bullion — The VanEck® Gold Miners ETF measures the performance of shares of gold and silver mining companies and not gold bullion, and may under- or over-perform gold bullion over the short- or long-term.
♦The Notes are subject to risks associated with investments in the gold and silver mining industry — The Notes are subject to risks associated with investments in the gold and silver mining industry because the target index of the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF is comprised of the stocks of companies primarily engaged in the mining of gold or silver. The VanEck® Gold Miners ETF may be subject to increased price volatility as it is linked to a single industry, market or sector and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that industry, market or sector. Because the VanEck® Gold Miners ETF primarily invests in stocks and American depositary receipts of companies that are involved in the gold mining industry, and to a lesser extent the silver mining industry, its shares, and the value of securities linked to its shares, are subject to certain risks associated with such companies. Gold mining companies are highly dependent on the price of gold and subject to competition pressures that may have a significant effect on their financial condition. Gold prices are subject to volatile price movements over short periods of time and are affected by numerous factors. These include economic factors, including, among other things, the structure of and confidence in the global monetary system, expectations of the future rate of inflation, the relative strength of, and confidence in, the U.S. dollar (the currency in which the price of gold is generally quoted), interest rates and gold borrowing and lending rates, and global or regional economic, financial, political, regulatory, judicial or other events. Gold prices may also be affected by industry factors such as industrial and jewelry demand, lending, sales and purchases of gold by the official sector, including central banks and other governmental agencies and multilateral institutions which hold gold, levels of gold production and production costs, and short-term changes in supply and demand because of trading activities in the gold market. Similarly, silver mining companies are highly dependent on the price of silver. Silver prices can fluctuate widely and may be affected by numerous factors. These include general economic trends, technical developments, substitution issues and regulation, as well as specific factors including industrial and jewelry demand, expectations with respect to the rate of inflation, the relative strength of the U.S. dollar (the currency in which the price of silver is generally quoted) and other currencies, interest rates, central bank sales, forward sales by producers, global or regional political or economic events, and production costs and disruptions in major silver producing countries.
♦The iShares® Silver Trust holds only a single commodity and its performance may be more volatile than that of an ETF with more diversified holdings — The iShares® Silver Trust is an ETF that holds only a single commodity. Such ETF's holdings lack diversification and do not have the benefit of other offsetting components that may increase when other components are decreasing. Because such ETF holds only a single commodity, the performance of such ETF may be more volatile than that of an ETF that holds multiple commodities or a broad-based commodity index, and the price of the constituents of such ETF may not correlate with, and may diverge significantly from, the prices of commodities generally.