Risks of Circular Economy ETF: Key Risks: Investors can lose some or all of the capital invested. Main Risk Factors are Equity market risk, Industry or Sector Concentration Risk and Foreign Currency Risk as described below, in the KID and in the sales prospectus. Evolving of the market not guaranteed. Investors must consider all the fund's characteristics or objectives as detailed in the prospectus or related documents before making an investment decision.
Our take-make-waste economy consumes more than 100 billion tons of materials a year and wastes over 90% of those. Over 70% of global waste is still not recycled, with the majority of waste being disposed uncontrolled1. VanEck’s Circular Economy ETF invests in companies at the forefront of planet’s battle with waste by enabling recycling and reuse-related solutions and producing goods from recycled materials.
1 Circularity Gap Report 2025
Circular Economy does not only help the planet, but can also carry tangible economic benefits for companies that implement resource-efficient productions. Using steel scrap in the production process could reduce carbon emissions by 58% and save 72% of the energy compared to production from raw resources. At the same time, recycled aluminium and copper require 95% and 85% less energy respectively, compared to primary material production.2
Circular Economy also offers opportunities for companies willing to adjust their supply chain or contribute resource-efficient services and raw materials for production. Such activities are not limited to recycling itself, but can also include sustainable design, sourcing, usage optimization as well as platforms enabling reuse and redistribution of goods. This new economic model is backed by the Circular Economy ETF. One should however note, that circular-economy companies can be highly sensitive to regulatory change, technological disruption and commodity-price swings, which can materially affect their share prices.
2 Source: EuRIC AISBL – Recycling: Bridging Circular Economy & Climate Policy, 2020
Through investment in companies, active in the fields of Waste Management, Water Purification and Treatment, Biofuels, and Services and Goods related to recirculated materials and products, the VanEck Circular Innovators UCITS ETF aims to provide exposure to companies contributing to various forms resource efficiency. Below you can find the examples of companies comprising the Circular Economy ETF by VanEck.
Darling Ingredients Inc. collects and recycles animal processing by-products and used restaurant cooking oil. The Company also provides grease trap collection services to restaurants. Darling processes such raw materials into finished products such as tallow, meat and bone meal, and yellow grease for sale in the United States and overseas.
Kurita Water Industries Ltd. manufactures, sells, and maintains water treatment equipment and systems. The Company's products include water purification and wastewater treatment equipment as well as soil remediation systems. Kurita also manufactures and sells chemicals for water treatment related to sanitation, air-conditioning and construction.
Waste Management Inc. provides waste management services including collection, transfer, recycling, resource recovery, and disposal services, and operates waste-to-energy facilities. The Company serves municipal, commercial, industrial, and residential customers throughout North America.
UPM is a Finnish company manufacturing forestry products. The Company, included in the Circular Economy ETF, focuses on fine and specialty papers, siliconized papers, industrial wrappings, packaging and biofuels with a significant share of raw materials coming from recycled fiber.
Tomra Systems ASA develops, manufactures, and markets recycling machines. The Company's solutions are used for automated waste and metal sorting, as wells as reverse vending (bottle collection) machines using sensors, X-rays and object recognition.
Brambles Limited is a global logistics company, which provides pallet and plastic container pooling services. Brambles provides standardised pallets, crates and containers to customers, who use this equipment and Brambles’ support services to transport goods through the supply chain. Customers either arrange for the equipment’s return to Brambles or transfer it to another participant for reuse.
Befesa SA provides hazardous waste recycling services. The company is active in steel dust and aluminium salts recycling, whereby it collects waste from its clients, recycles it and reintroduces as raw materials to the market.
Umicore SA is a materials technology company. The company operates metals and advanced materials recycling facilities. Umicore works with metals, that are crucial for the carbon-free energy transition, including, but not limited to, copper, cobalt, lithium and rare earths. This is another firm included in the VanEck Circular Economy ETF.
The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in one or more particular sectors or industries. The Fund may be subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on the relevant sectors or industries will negatively impact the Fund's performance to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of sectors or industries.
The prices of the securities in the Fund are subject to the risks associated with investing in the securities market, including general economic conditions and sudden and unpredictable drops in value. An investment in the Fund may lose money.
Because all or a portion of the Fund are being invested in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund’s exposure to foreign currencies and changes in the value of foreign currencies versus the base currency may result in reduced returns for the Fund, and the value of certain foreign currencies may be subject to a high degree of fluctuation.
