Global Hard Assets Fund - GHAAX- Van Eck Global

Ticker:- GHA;false;;
Van Eck Global Hard Assets Fund
The Van Eck Global Hard Assets Fund (GHAAX | GHACX | GHAIX | GHAYX) offers exposure to energy, precious and base metals, timber, agriculture, alternative energy and other hard assets. It does this through the use of equities and commodity-linked derivative instruments. The Fund provides potential diversification benefits through low correlations to traditional asset classes and may enhance the risk-return profile of a more traditional stock and bond portfolio. It is managed by a 12-person team of investment professionals — among the industry’s largest — including three trained geologists and senior sector analysts who are well-versed in their respective fields.
Hard Assets Manager Commentary 4Q'11
Hard Assets Investment Team Profile (2012)
WSJ Interviews Reynolds, 3/22/11
Lipper Best Global Natural Resources Fund: 10 Years

Video Viewpoint on Hard Assets Outlook 4Q 2011

Play Video>>	Play Video>>	Play Video>>	Play Video>>
Charlie Cameron Hard Assets Co-Portfolio Manager	Shawn Reynolds Energy Co-Portfolio Manager Unconventional vs. Conventional Energy Explained (1/12)	Joe Foster Gold Senior Analyst	Charl Malan Base/Industrial Metals Senior Analyst

Fund Details

as of 12/31/11
Net Assets (Class A, C, I, Y)	$4.1B	P/E (LTM)	11.5
Number of Holdings	61	P/B (LTM)	1.8
Turnover Rate (2010)	66%	Avg. Weighted Market Cap (09/30/11)	$10.4B

Fund Prices

as of 02/03/2012

Fund	Ticker	NAV	Daily Change	YTD Change	Expense Ratio Gross Net
Class A: NAV	GHAAX	$48.93	$0.68 +1.4%	+12.9%	1.43% 1.39%
Class C: NAV	GHACX	$44.32	$0.61 +1.4%	+12.8%	2.16% 2.16%
Class I: NAV	GHAIX	$50.13	$0.69 +1.4%	+12.9%	1.05% 1.01%
Class Y: NAV	GHAYX	$49.12	$0.68 +1.4%	+12.9%	1.10% 1.10%

Performance History: Average Annual Total Returns (%)

Month-End | Quarter-End

as of 12/31/2011	1 MO	3 MO	YTD¹	1 YR¹	3 YR	5 YR	10 YR	LIFE
Class A: NAV (Inception 11/2/94)	-7.47	8.59	-16.63	-16.63	17.75	5.19	15.96	11.86
Class A: Maximum 5.75% load	-12.79	2.35	-21.42	-21.42	15.44	3.95	15.28	11.47
Class C: NAV (Inception 11/2/94)	-7.50	8.41	-17.23	-17.23	16.86	4.39	15.05	11.19
Class C: 1.00 % redemption fee	-8.42	7.41	-18.05	-18.05	16.86	4.39	15.05	11.19
Class I: NAV (Inception 5/1/06)	-7.40	8.74	-16.31	-16.31	18.25	5.61	--	5.03
Class Y: NAV (Inception 4/30/10)	-7.44	8.63	-16.45	-16.45	--	--	--	0.39
SPGINRTR Index	-4.49	14.25	-7.35	-7.35	16.44	4.04	10.99	--
S&P 500 Index	1.02	11.82	2.11	2.11	14.11	-0.25	2.92	--

as of 09/30/2011	1 MO	3 MO	YTD¹	1 YR¹	3 YR	5 YR	10 YR	LIFE
Class A: NAV (Inception 11/2/94)	-19.24	-24.40	-23.22	-5.23	1.74	5.77	16.12	11.50
Class A: Maximum 5.75% load	-23.89	-28.75	-27.63	-10.69	-0.25	4.52	15.43	11.11
Class C: NAV (Inception 11/2/94)	-19.30	-24.55	-23.65	--5.95	0.94	4.95	15.21	10.84
Class C: 1.00 % redemption fee	-20.10	-25.31	-24.41	-6.88	0.94	4.95	15.21	10.84
Class I: NAV (Inception 5/1/06)	-19.22	-24.35	-23.03	-4.93	2.19	6.19	--	3.66
Class Y: NAV (Inception 4/30/10)	-19.22	-24.37	-23.09	-5.02	--	--	--	-5.23
SPGINRTR Index	-16.65	-23.22	-18.90	-1.63	-0.65	3.18	10.10	--
S&P 500 Index	-7.03	-13.87	-8.68	1.14	1.23	-1.18	2.82	--

¹Year-to-date and one-year returns are not annualized.

Expenses are calculated for the 12-month period ended 05/01/12: Class A: Gross 1.43% and Net 1.39%; Class C: Gross 2.16% and Net 2.16%; Class I: Gross 1.05% and Net 1.01%; and Class Y: Gross 1.10% and Net 1.10%. Expenses are capped contractually through 05/01/12 at 1.38% for Class A; 2.20% for Class C; 1.00% for Class I; and 1.13% for Class Y. Caps exclude certain expenses, such as interest.

The tables present past performance which is no guarantee of future results and which may be lower or higher than current performance. Returns reflect temporary contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Had the Fund incurred all expenses and fees, investment returns would have been reduced. Investment returns and Fund share values will fluctuate so that investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Fund returns assume that dividends and capital gains distributions have been reinvested in the Fund at NAV.

Hypothetical Growth of $10,000

Hypothetical Growth of $10,000 (Ten-Year): Class A (NAV)

This graph illustrates a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the Fund. Returns reflect capital appreciation and the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains, if any, as well as all fees and expenses but do not reflect any sales load. All indices are unmanaged and include the reinvestment of all dividends, but do not reflect the payment of transaction costs, advisory fees or expenses that are associated with an investment in the Fund. An index’s performance is not illustrative of the Funds performance. Indices are not securities in which investments can be made. Results reflect past performance and do not guarantee future results. See the Performance Table above for complete performance information.

Fund Summary

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in stocks of companies involved in the exploration, production and distribution of hard assets and in other commodity-linked instruments. The Fund's benchmarks are the S&P North American Natural Resources Index (SPGINRTR) and the S&P 500 Index.

Country Weightings (%)

as of 12/31/11
United States	59.9%
Canada	14.2%
United Kingdom	9.3%
Switzerland	5.2%
Bermuda	2.0%
China	0.5%
Other	0.1%
Cash/Equivalents	8.8%

Sector Weightings (%)

as of 12/31/11
Energy	57.4%
Precious Metals	15.3%
Base Metals	13.4%
Agriculture/Timber	3.6%
Other	1.5%
Cash	8.8%

Three-Year Risk Measures and Statistics

as of 12/31/11
Standard Deviation	27.59
Sharpe Ratio	0.73
Alpha vs. SPGINRTR	1.26
Beta vs. SPGINRTR	1.01
R squared vs. SPGINRTR	0.94

Share Class Details

Share Class	Ticker	Inception Date	Maximum Sales Charge	Maximum Deferred Sales Charge	Service Fees 12b-1
A	GHAAX	11/02/1994	5.75%	0.00%	0.25%
C	GHACX	11/02/1994	0.00%	1.00%	1.00%
I	GHAIX	05/01/2006	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Y	GHAYX	04/30/2010	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%

Top Ten Holdings (%)

as of 12/31/11
Anadarko Petroleum Corp.	4.6%
Halliburton Co.	4.1%
Schlumberger Ltd.	3.9%
Newmont Mining Corp.	3.9%
Occidental Petroleum Corp.	3.3%
Xstrata PLC	3.0%
Whiting Petroleum Corp.	2.7%
Cameron International Corp.	2.7%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co.	2.4%
Rio Tinto PLC	2.3%
Subtotal	32.9%

These are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Sectors and holdings may vary.

Market Capitalization (Cap) Breakdown (%)

as of 09/30/11
Large (≥ $10.2 billion)	55.0%
Mid (< $10.2 billion ≥ $2.2 billion)	34.0%
Small (< $2.2 billion)	11.0%
Average Weighted Market Cap	$10.4B

Class A NAV History

as of 12/31/11
12-Month High (04/05/11)	$57.73
12-Month Low (10/03/11)	$38.55
Current Month End	$43.34
November Month End	$47.15
October Month End	$47.07
September Month End	$40.18
August Month End	$49.75
July 2011 Month End	$54.95
June 2011 Month End	$53.15
May 2011 Month End	$54.82
April 2011 Month End	$57.00
March 2011 Month End	$56.68
February 2011 Month End	$55.63
January 2011 Month End	$53.06
December 2010 Month End	$52.33
November 2010 Month End	$48.02
October 2010 Month End	$44.77
September 2010 Month End	$42.58
August 2010 Month End	$37.90
July 2010 Month End	$39.61
June 2010 Month End	$36.03
May 2010 Month End	$38.55

Important Disclosure

You can lose money by investing in the Fund. Any investment in the Fund should be part of an overall investment program, not a complete program. The Fund is subject to risks associated with concentrating its investments in hard assets and the hard assets sector, including real estate, precious metals and natural resources, and can be significantly affected by events relating to these industries, including international political and economic developments, inflation, and other factors. The Fund’s portfolio securities may experience substantial price fluctuations as a result of these factors, and may move independently of the trends of industrialized companies. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities involve risks related to adverse political and economic developments unique to a country or a region, currency fluctuations or controls, and the possibility of arbitrary action by foreign governments, including the takeover of property without adequate compensation or imposition of prohibitive taxation. The Fund is subject to risks associated with investments in debt securities, derivatives, commodity-linked instruments, illiquid securities, asset-backed securities and CMOs. The Fund is also subject to inflation risk, short-sales risk, market risk, non-diversification risk, leverage risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Please see the prospectus for information on these and other risk considerations.

The S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index (SPGINRTR) includes mining, energy, paper and forest products, and plantation-owning companies. The S&P 500 Index, calculated with dividends reinvested, consists of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy.

All indices are unmanaged and include the reinvestment of all dividends, but do not reflect the payment of transaction costs, advisory fees or expenses that are associated with an investment in the Fund. An index’s performance is not illustrative of the Fund’s performance. Indices are not securities in which investments can be made. Results reflect past performance and do not guarantee future results.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the investment company carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Not FDIC Insured — No Bank Guarantee — May Lose Value

Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor
335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10017
800.826.2333

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