Turning Online Buzz into an Investable Strategy with AI

Key Takeaways

• Investor sentiment is now a quantifiable factor, with BUZZ using real-time online data to build a transparent, investable index.
• BUZZ leverages collective intelligence, identifying the 75 most positively discussed large-cap U.S. stocks through AI-driven analysis.
• The index adapts to market trends faster than traditional ETFs, offering early exposure to emerging themes like AI, space tech, and healthcare innovation.

Past Performance is no guarantee of future results. Index performance is not illustrative of fund performance. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities mentioned herein.

BUZZ Average Annual Total Returns^* (%) as of June 30, 2025

^*Returns less than one year are not annualized.

Index inception date: 12/18/2015.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance may be lower or higher than performance data quoted. Please call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com for performance current to the most recent month ended.

BUZZ ETF Total Expense Ratio: 0.76%: 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, 2026.

What if you could turn millions of online conversations into a successful investment strategy? That’s exactly what the VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ) sets out to do. By tracking the stocks that individual investors are consistently talking about online, through forums, social media, and blogs, BUZZ Index uses artificial intelligence to distill that chatter into investable insights.

In a recent webinar, VanEck’s Coulter Regal, CFA and Jamie Wise, CEO of Buzz Indexes, explored how this innovative strategy works and why investor sentiment may be one of the most overlooked forces in the market today. We outlined the main takeaways from the webinar exploring sentiment-driven investing.

Investor Sentiment Is a Legitimate Market Factor

For decades, sentiment was viewed as a contrarian or vaguely defined concept. But thanks to the rise of online investing communities, there is now a measurable, real-time stream of investor sentiment happening across the internet. BUZZ aims to quantify that sentiment and turn it into an actionable index.

Sentiment is no longer just a gut feeling, it’s a measurable factor like value or momentum, and now there are tools to track it.

The Power of the Crowd: Collective Intelligence Over Individual Experts

BUZZ doesn’t try to guess which influencer is right. It treats every online investor voice equally, focusing instead on the collective signal that emerges from broad, sustained discussions. The result? An index composed of the 75 U.S. large-cap stocks with the highest positive sentiment each month, measured objectively with no human bias, and no hero stock pickers.

How the Index Works: AI + Natural Language Processing

The Buzz Index uses sophisticated natural language processing (NLP) to scan millions of posts from verified online platforms. These tools categorize posts as positive, neutral, or negative based solely on investment-oriented commentary. Stocks are then scored and weighted based on the intensity and consistency of positive sentiment.

Importantly, only large-cap stocks ($5B+ market cap) with consistent online discussion qualify. This filter reduces the risk of spam or manipulation and helps ensure that sentiment is organic and meaningful.

Dynamic Exposure to Emerging Themes

Because BUZZ rebalances monthly, it adapts quickly to market shifts. New themes, like AI, space tech, or healthcare disruptions, can appear in the index long before they show up in traditional ETFs. In fact, many trending stocks first showed up in BUZZ before becoming household names.

Sentiment is Broader than Just Momentum

While some might confuse BUZZ with momentum investing, the two are not the same. Momentum typically reflects price trends. Sentiment can reflect value, recovery potential, and conviction, even in beaten-down names.

Why It Matters Now

The rise of self-directed investors, mobile trading apps, and real-time forums has permanently changed the investing landscape. Retail investors are no longer on the sidelines, they’re shaping the market narrative. And with more financial conversations happening online than ever before, tapping into those voices isn’t just novel, it may be necessary.

The price of a stock is simply the collective opinion of investors. If you can measure those opinions directly, you gain a new lens on the market.

How to Invest

The VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ) offers a transparent, rules-based way to gain exposure to this sentiment factor. It tracks the BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index, which is updated monthly using proprietary AI models to surface the most talked-about—and positively viewed—stocks online.

To explore the index and monthly rebalances, visit VanEck.com or BuzzIndexes.com .