Ride the Trend
October 09, 2026
Read Time 6 MIN
Key Takeaways
- AI is the trend to ride, in our view, with overweight positions in compute bottlenecks and real assets to capture the physical buildout.
- Bubble concerns can drive short-term sentiment, so we believe investors should focus on tuning out the noise.
- AI leadership changes every 6 to 8 weeks, so rather than pick winners, we focus on the power, metals and infrastructure every competitor needs.
The views expressed are for illustrative purposes only, subject to change without notice, do not constitute investment advice, recommendations or calls to action, and are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
AI is the biggest trend, in our view, and we will continue to ride it. The opportunity extends from the technology itself to the physical economy required to support it. Diversification gives us the flexibility to pursue both while managing risk.
Tune Out the Noise
Wall Street is always on bubble watch with its pin ready to prick. But calling a bubble is easier than knowing when a trend will end. We believe the real cost is borne by investors who listen and get shaken out of perfectly good trends.
Meta is worth monitoring closely. Wall Street doubted its plans to spend $130 billion to $145 billion on AI and its core business in 2026, with investors asking when the payoff would arrive.
Then came Muse and a clearer picture of how Meta could monetize its AI investments, alongside the benefits already flowing through targeted advertising. By late September, Meta had gained roughly $424 billion in market capitalization month to date, equivalent to the entire market capitalization of Costco.
Meta Rallied on AI Catalysts
META vs. Nasdaq-100 ETF (QQQ), rebased to 100 on Aug 31, 2026
Source: FactSet (daily closes through Oct 6, 2026); event context per Barchart/Yahoo Finance (Sep 25, 2026). Correlation with news timing is not proof of cause. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
The Race Keeps Accelerating
The hype is real. AI is meeting or exceeding human performance on a growing range of complex benchmarks, with other capabilities rapidly closing the gap.
AI Performance vs. Human Baseline on Selected Benchmarks
Earlier benchmarks, ImageNet, VQA, SQuAD 2.0 and SuperGLUE, cleared the human baseline years ago and no longer separate one model from the next
Source: Stanford HAI, AI Index Report 2026 (Figure 2.1.1). Values are top reported model scores indexed to the human baseline (100%); series values read from the published figure.
Technology is moving fast, and it may never slow down again. It will also never move this slowly again, in our view. The competition is relentless, fueling a technology and capex race on an extraordinary scale.
Leadership repeatedly changes among OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, with new model leadership emerging every 6 to 8 weeks.
AI Leadership is Constantly Changing
Epoch Capabilities Index (ECI) Score by Model Release Date, 2023-2026
Source: Epoch AI, Epoch Capabilities Index (epoch.ai/eci). ECI is scaled so Claude 3.5 Sonnet = 130 and GPT-5 = 150 by definition; point positions, the frontier line and milestone scores are digitized approximations from the published scatter chart and are illustrative, not exact benchmark values.
Humility is required when attempting to pick the winners of a technology whose full potential is still not understood. That is why we focus on what the competitors all need.
Recommended subscription
The Bottlenecks Are Physical
We remain overweight technology with a heavy bias toward the bottlenecks in compute. The models will keep competing, but they all need computing capacity. And regardless of who wins, they all have an electric bill to pay.
The IEA projects data center electricity demand will roughly double by 2030. Scaling the digital world requires building the physical one, and that takes power, metals, infrastructure, labor and capital.
IEA Scenarios of Electricity Demand From Data Centres
Global Data Centre Electricity Consumption (TWh). Four IEA Scenarios for 2030 and 2035
Note: 2035 figures are exploratory given the high level of uncertainty around data centre demand growth.
Data source: IEA, Key Questions on Energy and AI (2026).
We also remain overweight real assets. They are the building blocks of growth and the ultimate long term bottlenecks to scaling technology. Clearing those bottlenecks requires capital investment and time.
The VanEck Real Assets ETF (RAAX) is our preferred way to invest in the physical buildout. It provides diversified exposure to the entire supply chain, from the commodities themselves to power generation and to the companies building the data centers.
Ride the trend. Remain diversified. And tune out the noise.
| Standardized Performance | Inception Date | 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | Since Inception |
| Wealth Builder Plus Conservative Strategy | 7/1/2024 | |||||||
| Net | -1.99 | -2.02 | 2.00 | 3.05 | -- | -- | 6.87 | |
| Gross | -1.99 | -2.02 | 2.00 | 3.05 | -- | -- | 6.87 | |
| 20% ACWI/80% ICE US Broad Market Index | -2.29 | -2.49 | 0.13 | 1.52 | -- | -- | 5.54 | |
| Wealth Builder Plus Moderate Strategy | 7/1/2024 | |||||||
| Net | -1.29 | -0.65 | 8.23 | 10.03 | -- | -- | 12.89 | |
| Gross | -1.29 | -0.65 | 8.23 | 10.03 | -- | -- | 12.89 | |
| 60% ACWI/40% ICE US Broad Market Index | -1.77 | -0.61 | 5.90 | 8.26 | -- | -- | 11.11 | |
| Wealth Builder Plus Aggressive Strategy | 7/1/2024 | |||||||
| Net | -0.96 | -0.15 | 11.39 | 13.72 | -- | -- | 16.05 | |
| Gross | -0.96 | -0.15 | 11.39 | 13.72 | -- | -- | 16.05 | |
| 80% ACWI/20% ICE US Broad Market Index | -1.51 | 0.33 | 8.85 | 11.72 | -- | -- | 13.89 | |
| Thematic Disruption Strategy | 12/24/2021 | |||||||
| Net | 1.68 | -0.80 | 24.42 | 24.15 | 29.69 | -- | 10.06 | |
| Gross | 1.69 | -0.77 | 24.52 | 24.28 | 29.86 | -- | 10.36 | |
| MSCI ACWI IMI Growth Index | -0.64 | -1.02 | 10.51 | 13.53 | 23.00 | -- | 9.86 | |
| Real Assets Strategy | 07/01/2020 | |||||||
| Net | -3.51 | 3.78 | 16.98 | 22.10 | 21.15 | 14.24 | 17.37 | |
| Gross | -3.51 | 3.78 | 16.98 | 22.10 | 21.20 | 14.50 | 17.70 | |
| Bloomberg Commodity Index | 0.61 | 16.19 | 32.87 | 40.64 | 15.63 | 11.27 | 16.85 | |
| Real Assets Plus Strategy | 4/16/2024 | |||||||
| Net | -3.18 | 4.85 | 16.01 | 19.24 | -- | -- | 20.62 | |
| Gross | -3.18 | 4.85 | 16.01 | 19.24 | -- | -- | 20.62 | |
| Bloomberg Commodity Index | 0.61 | 16.19 | 32.87 | 40.64 | -- | -- | 18.90 | |
| Select Opportunities Strategy | 12/20/2024 | |||||||
| Net | 1.21 | 0.55 | 19.64 | 21.96 | -- | -- | 25.96 | |
| Gross | 1.21 | 0.55 | 19.64 | 21.96 | -- | -- | 25.96 | |
| MSCI ACWI Index | -1.11 | 1.60 | 13.03 | 16.75 | -- | -- | 20.14 | |
| Income Builder Strategy | 12/1/2025 | |||||||
| Net | -2.86 | -2.45 | -1.04 | -- | -- | -- | -1.18 | |
| Gross | -2.86 | -2.45 | -1.04 | -- | -- | -- | -1.18 | |
| ICE BofA US Broad Market Index | -2.55 | -3.43 | -2.69 | -- | -- | -- | -2.97 |
The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Performance may be lower or higher than performance data quoted. Performance figures presented herein are preliminary and may differ slightly from final performance figures. Net and gross performance may be substantially similar when VanEck does not overlay a fee. Please contact us at [email protected] for additional information.
Source: VanEck. As of 9/30/2026. Returns greater than 1 year are annualized.
The views expressed are for illustrative purposes only, subject to change without notice, do not constitute investment advice or recommendations, and are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
To receive more Model Portfolio insights, sign up in our subscription center.
Important Disclosures
This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities, financial instruments or digital assets mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, tax advice, or any call to action. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are for illustrative purposes only, are valid as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change without notice. Actual future performance of any assets or industries mentioned are unknown. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. VanEck does not guarantee the accuracy of third party data. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees.
The models are not mutual funds or other types of securities and will not be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and no units or shares of the models will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, nor will they be registered with any state securities regulator. Accordingly, the models are not subject to compliance with the requirements of such acts.
VanEck Real Assets ETF (“RAAX”): An investment in the Fund may be subject to risks which include, among others, risks related to investing in real assets ETPs, which may subject the Fund to commodities, gold, natural resources companies, MLPs, real estate sector, infrastructure, ETP-related equity securities, small- and medium-capitalization companies, foreign securities, emerging market issuers, ETP-related foreign currency, credit, interest rate, call, concentration and derivative risks, all of which may adversely affect the Fund. The Fund may also be subject to fund of funds, affiliated fund, U.S. Treasury securities, subsidiary investment, commodity regulatory, subsidiary tax, liquidity, gap, cash transactions, high portfolio turnover, data, active management, operational, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, market, fund shares trading, premium/discount risk and liquidity of fund shares risks. Foreign investments are subject to risks, which include changes in economic and political conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in foreign regulations, and changes in currency exchange rates which may negatively impact the Fund's returns. Small- and medium-capitalization companies may be subject to elevated risks.
Fund Holdings may vary. Visit vaneck.com/RAAX for a complete list of holdings.
The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is held in the VanEck Wealth Builder Core and Wealth Builder Plus strategies as of September 30, 2026. QQQ holds Meta Platforms, Inc., so those strategies have exposure to Meta. Holdings are subject to change without notice and may differ across strategies and client accounts
Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of a Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contain this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
© Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation.
An investment in the strategies may be subject to risks which include, among others, equity securities, market, volatility, futures contract, investments related to bitcoin and bitcoin futures, derivatives, social media analytics, information technology, communication services, consumer discretionary, software and internet software, financials and semiconductor industries, emerging market securities, counterparty, foreign securities, foreign currency, non-U.S. issuers, investment capacity, target exposure and rebalancing, small- and medium-capitalization companies, borrowing and leverage, indirect investment, credit, interest rate, illiquidity, investing in other investment companies, management, non-diversified, operational, portfolio turnover, regulatory, repurchase agreements, tax, cash transactions, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, fund shares trading, premium/discount and liquidity of fund shares, U.S. government securities, debt securities, municipal securities, securitized/asset-backed securities, and sovereign bond risks, all of which could significantly and adversely affect the strategies.
Digital asset investments are subject to significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Digital asset prices are highly volatile, and the value of digital assets, can rise or fall dramatically and quickly. If their value goes down, there's no guarantee that it will rise again. As a result, there is a significant risk of loss of your entire principal investment.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. As with any investment strategy, there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met and investors may lose money. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
.
GIPS Disclosures
Van Eck Associates Corporation ("VanEck") is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. VanEck, which commenced operations 1985 (predecessor company in 1955), provides investment advisory services to registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, separate institutional clients, and private investment accounts.
VanEck claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. VanEck has been independently verified for the periods January 1, 2006 through September 30, 2026. The verification reports are available upon request. A firm that claims compliance with the GIPS standards must establish policies and procedures for complying with all the applicable requirements of the GIPS standards. Verification provides assurance on whether the firm's policies and procedures related to composite and pooled fund maintenance, as well as the calculation, presentation, and distribution of performance, have been designed in compliance with the GIPS standards and have been implemented on a firm-wide basis. Verification does not provide assurance on the accuracy of any specific performance report. The Wealth Builder Models (Proprietary) composite's inception date is July 1, 2024 and the creation date is July 1, 2024. GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.
Wealth Builder Plus Moderate (Proprietary) is a diversified, risk-balanced portfolio of U.S. listed ETFs that gains exposure to key asset classes. These include, U.S., developed international and emerging market equities, U.S. investment grade, high yield and emerging market debt, and commodity futures, gold bullion and natural resource equities. Additionally, the strategy may gain exposure, through U.S. listed ETFs, to more differentiated assets, such as digital assets and high yield alternatives. The strategy will re-balance periodically to maintain diversification and its overall risk profile. The Wealth Builder Plus Moderate (Proprietary) risk level is moderate. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
60% ACWI 40% US Broad Market Index (6040MOD) is a blended index of 60% MSCI ACWI and 40% ICE BofA US Broad Market Index. MSCI All Country World Index (MXWD) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of developed and emerging markets countries. ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
Wealth Builder Plus Conservative (Proprietary) is a diversified, risk-balanced portfolio of U.S. listed ETFs that gains exposure to key asset classes. These include, U.S., developed international and emerging market equities, U.S. investment grade, high yield and emerging market debt, and commodity futures, gold bullion and natural resource equities. Additionally, the strategy may gain exposure, through U.S. listed ETFs, to more differentiated assets, such as digital assets and high yield alternatives. The strategy will re-balance periodically to maintain diversification and its overall risk profile. The Wealth Builder Plus Conservative (Proprietary) risk level is conservative. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
20% ACWI 80% US Broad Market Index (2080CON) is a blended index of 20% MSCI ACWI and 80% ICE BofA US Broad Market Index. MSCI All Country World Index (MXWD) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of developed and emerging markets countries. ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
Wealth Builder Plus Aggressive (Proprietary) is a diversified, risk-balanced portfolio of U.S. listed ETFs that gains exposure to key asset classes. These include, U.S., developed international and emerging market equities, U.S. investment grade, high yield and emerging market debt, and commodity futures, gold bullion and natural resource equities. Additionally, the strategy may gain exposure, through U.S. listed ETFs, to more differentiated assets, such as digital assets and high yield alternatives. The strategy will re-balance periodically to maintain diversification and its overall risk profile. The Wealth Builder Plus Aggressive (Proprietary) risk level is aggressive. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
80% ACWI 20% US Broad Market Index (8020AGG) is a blended index of 80% MSCI ACWI and 20% ICE BofA US Broad Market Index. MSCI All Country World Index (MXWD) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of developed and emerging markets countries. ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
The Thematic Disruption Strategy (Proprietary) composite is focused on disruptive, innovative and forward thinking themes across a wide array of industries, including technology, finance, healthcare, energy and retail. This strategy is adaptive and take advantage of economic opportunities as a result of novel and transformative discoveries. The portfolio construction process will simultaneously allow for overweighting the most financially lucrative innovations and managing risk vis a vis the correlations and volatilities of the ETFs in the investible universe. Effective November 29, 2024 the benchmark was changed from the Russell 1000 Growth Total Return Index to the MSCI ACWI IMI Growth. The MSCI ACWI IMI Growth Index is designed to capture large, mid, and small-cap securities exhibiting overall growth style characteristics across both Developed Markets (DM) and Emerging Markets (EM) countries. The growth investment style characteristics for index construction are defined using five variables: long-term forward earnings per share (EPS) growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend, and long-term historical sales per share growth trend.
Real Assets (Proprietary) seeks long-term total return. In pursuing long-term total return, the composite seeks to maximize real returns while seeking to reduce downside risk during sustained market declines by allocating primarily to exchange-traded products that provides exposure to real assets, which include commodities, real estate, natural resources, and infrastructure. The composite seeks to reduce downside risk by using a rules based approach to determine when to allocate a portion or all of the composite's assets to cash and cash equivalents. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOMTR) (the "index") and comprises exchange-traded future contracts on more than 20 commodities which are weighted to account for economic significance and market liquidity.
VanEck Income Builder Composite seeks enhanced returns relative to traditional core fixed income, while maintaining a comparable risk profile. The strategy will pursue this objective by: incorporating thematic sources of yield and total return; applying quantitatively informed portfolio construction focused on diversification and hedging; and embedding comprehensive risk management throughout the investment process.
The ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Van Eck Associates Corporation. Copyright © 2026 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, Inc., and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. For more information on any of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC's indices please visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/. S&P® is a registered trademark of S&P Global and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein.
The S&P 500® Index consists of 500 widely held common stocks covering industrial, utility, financial and transportation sector; as an Index, it is unmanaged and is not a security in which investments can be made.
The composite returns represent the total returns of all fully discretionary portfolios within the strategies' mandate. The returns of the portfolio are time-weighted, based on trade date accounting. VanEck's policy is to accrue interest income and recognize dividend income and short dividend expense as reported on ex-dividend date. Interest income is recognized when received. Interest, dividends, and capital gains accrued on foreign securities are reported net of non-reclaimable foreign withholding taxes. Portfolio valuations are based on market values and expressed in US Dollars.
Composite returns are shown gross and net of management fees while including the reinvestment of all income. Brokerage and transaction expenses such as exchange, duty, and commission fees are deducted from trade amounts to determine net transaction costs/proceeds which are reflected in both gross and net returns. Net of fee performance is calculated by deducting actual management fees and in some instances, performance based fees charged to each account.
Van Eck Associates Corporation (the "Adviser") has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses). The expense limitation is expected to continue until the Fund's Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such expense limitation. A complete list of composite and limited distribution pooled fund descriptions and list of broad distribution pooled funds is available upon request.
The significant cash flow policy has been suspended for this composite since its inception.
© Van Eck Associates Corporation
Intelligently-designed exposure across asset classes for diversified portfolios
Important Disclosures
This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities, financial instruments or digital assets mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, tax advice, or any call to action. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are for illustrative purposes only, are valid as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change without notice. Actual future performance of any assets or industries mentioned are unknown. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. VanEck does not guarantee the accuracy of third party data. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees.
The models are not mutual funds or other types of securities and will not be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and no units or shares of the models will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, nor will they be registered with any state securities regulator. Accordingly, the models are not subject to compliance with the requirements of such acts.
VanEck Real Assets ETF (“RAAX”): An investment in the Fund may be subject to risks which include, among others, risks related to investing in real assets ETPs, which may subject the Fund to commodities, gold, natural resources companies, MLPs, real estate sector, infrastructure, ETP-related equity securities, small- and medium-capitalization companies, foreign securities, emerging market issuers, ETP-related foreign currency, credit, interest rate, call, concentration and derivative risks, all of which may adversely affect the Fund. The Fund may also be subject to fund of funds, affiliated fund, U.S. Treasury securities, subsidiary investment, commodity regulatory, subsidiary tax, liquidity, gap, cash transactions, high portfolio turnover, data, active management, operational, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, market, fund shares trading, premium/discount risk and liquidity of fund shares risks. Foreign investments are subject to risks, which include changes in economic and political conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in foreign regulations, and changes in currency exchange rates which may negatively impact the Fund's returns. Small- and medium-capitalization companies may be subject to elevated risks.
Fund Holdings may vary. Visit vaneck.com/RAAX for a complete list of holdings.
The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is held in the VanEck Wealth Builder Core and Wealth Builder Plus strategies as of September 30, 2026. QQQ holds Meta Platforms, Inc., so those strategies have exposure to Meta. Holdings are subject to change without notice and may differ across strategies and client accounts
Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of a Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contain this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
© Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation.
An investment in the strategies may be subject to risks which include, among others, equity securities, market, volatility, futures contract, investments related to bitcoin and bitcoin futures, derivatives, social media analytics, information technology, communication services, consumer discretionary, software and internet software, financials and semiconductor industries, emerging market securities, counterparty, foreign securities, foreign currency, non-U.S. issuers, investment capacity, target exposure and rebalancing, small- and medium-capitalization companies, borrowing and leverage, indirect investment, credit, interest rate, illiquidity, investing in other investment companies, management, non-diversified, operational, portfolio turnover, regulatory, repurchase agreements, tax, cash transactions, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, fund shares trading, premium/discount and liquidity of fund shares, U.S. government securities, debt securities, municipal securities, securitized/asset-backed securities, and sovereign bond risks, all of which could significantly and adversely affect the strategies.
Digital asset investments are subject to significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Digital asset prices are highly volatile, and the value of digital assets, can rise or fall dramatically and quickly. If their value goes down, there's no guarantee that it will rise again. As a result, there is a significant risk of loss of your entire principal investment.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. As with any investment strategy, there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met and investors may lose money. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
.
GIPS Disclosures
Van Eck Associates Corporation ("VanEck") is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. VanEck, which commenced operations 1985 (predecessor company in 1955), provides investment advisory services to registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, separate institutional clients, and private investment accounts.
VanEck claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. VanEck has been independently verified for the periods January 1, 2006 through September 30, 2026. The verification reports are available upon request. A firm that claims compliance with the GIPS standards must establish policies and procedures for complying with all the applicable requirements of the GIPS standards. Verification provides assurance on whether the firm's policies and procedures related to composite and pooled fund maintenance, as well as the calculation, presentation, and distribution of performance, have been designed in compliance with the GIPS standards and have been implemented on a firm-wide basis. Verification does not provide assurance on the accuracy of any specific performance report. The Wealth Builder Models (Proprietary) composite's inception date is July 1, 2024 and the creation date is July 1, 2024. GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.
Wealth Builder Plus Moderate (Proprietary) is a diversified, risk-balanced portfolio of U.S. listed ETFs that gains exposure to key asset classes. These include, U.S., developed international and emerging market equities, U.S. investment grade, high yield and emerging market debt, and commodity futures, gold bullion and natural resource equities. Additionally, the strategy may gain exposure, through U.S. listed ETFs, to more differentiated assets, such as digital assets and high yield alternatives. The strategy will re-balance periodically to maintain diversification and its overall risk profile. The Wealth Builder Plus Moderate (Proprietary) risk level is moderate. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
60% ACWI 40% US Broad Market Index (6040MOD) is a blended index of 60% MSCI ACWI and 40% ICE BofA US Broad Market Index. MSCI All Country World Index (MXWD) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of developed and emerging markets countries. ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
Wealth Builder Plus Conservative (Proprietary) is a diversified, risk-balanced portfolio of U.S. listed ETFs that gains exposure to key asset classes. These include, U.S., developed international and emerging market equities, U.S. investment grade, high yield and emerging market debt, and commodity futures, gold bullion and natural resource equities. Additionally, the strategy may gain exposure, through U.S. listed ETFs, to more differentiated assets, such as digital assets and high yield alternatives. The strategy will re-balance periodically to maintain diversification and its overall risk profile. The Wealth Builder Plus Conservative (Proprietary) risk level is conservative. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
20% ACWI 80% US Broad Market Index (2080CON) is a blended index of 20% MSCI ACWI and 80% ICE BofA US Broad Market Index. MSCI All Country World Index (MXWD) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of developed and emerging markets countries. ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
Wealth Builder Plus Aggressive (Proprietary) is a diversified, risk-balanced portfolio of U.S. listed ETFs that gains exposure to key asset classes. These include, U.S., developed international and emerging market equities, U.S. investment grade, high yield and emerging market debt, and commodity futures, gold bullion and natural resource equities. Additionally, the strategy may gain exposure, through U.S. listed ETFs, to more differentiated assets, such as digital assets and high yield alternatives. The strategy will re-balance periodically to maintain diversification and its overall risk profile. The Wealth Builder Plus Aggressive (Proprietary) risk level is aggressive. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
80% ACWI 20% US Broad Market Index (8020AGG) is a blended index of 80% MSCI ACWI and 20% ICE BofA US Broad Market Index. MSCI All Country World Index (MXWD) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of developed and emerging markets countries. ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
The Thematic Disruption Strategy (Proprietary) composite is focused on disruptive, innovative and forward thinking themes across a wide array of industries, including technology, finance, healthcare, energy and retail. This strategy is adaptive and take advantage of economic opportunities as a result of novel and transformative discoveries. The portfolio construction process will simultaneously allow for overweighting the most financially lucrative innovations and managing risk vis a vis the correlations and volatilities of the ETFs in the investible universe. Effective November 29, 2024 the benchmark was changed from the Russell 1000 Growth Total Return Index to the MSCI ACWI IMI Growth. The MSCI ACWI IMI Growth Index is designed to capture large, mid, and small-cap securities exhibiting overall growth style characteristics across both Developed Markets (DM) and Emerging Markets (EM) countries. The growth investment style characteristics for index construction are defined using five variables: long-term forward earnings per share (EPS) growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend, and long-term historical sales per share growth trend.
Real Assets (Proprietary) seeks long-term total return. In pursuing long-term total return, the composite seeks to maximize real returns while seeking to reduce downside risk during sustained market declines by allocating primarily to exchange-traded products that provides exposure to real assets, which include commodities, real estate, natural resources, and infrastructure. The composite seeks to reduce downside risk by using a rules based approach to determine when to allocate a portion or all of the composite's assets to cash and cash equivalents. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.
Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOMTR) (the "index") and comprises exchange-traded future contracts on more than 20 commodities which are weighted to account for economic significance and market liquidity.
VanEck Income Builder Composite seeks enhanced returns relative to traditional core fixed income, while maintaining a comparable risk profile. The strategy will pursue this objective by: incorporating thematic sources of yield and total return; applying quantitatively informed portfolio construction focused on diversification and hedging; and embedding comprehensive risk management throughout the investment process.
The ICE BofA US Broad Market Index (US00) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade debt publicly issued and settled in the US domestic market, including US Treasury, quasi-government, corporate, securitized and collateralized securities.
The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Van Eck Associates Corporation. Copyright © 2026 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, Inc., and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. For more information on any of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC's indices please visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/. S&P® is a registered trademark of S&P Global and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein.
The S&P 500® Index consists of 500 widely held common stocks covering industrial, utility, financial and transportation sector; as an Index, it is unmanaged and is not a security in which investments can be made.
The composite returns represent the total returns of all fully discretionary portfolios within the strategies' mandate. The returns of the portfolio are time-weighted, based on trade date accounting. VanEck's policy is to accrue interest income and recognize dividend income and short dividend expense as reported on ex-dividend date. Interest income is recognized when received. Interest, dividends, and capital gains accrued on foreign securities are reported net of non-reclaimable foreign withholding taxes. Portfolio valuations are based on market values and expressed in US Dollars.
Composite returns are shown gross and net of management fees while including the reinvestment of all income. Brokerage and transaction expenses such as exchange, duty, and commission fees are deducted from trade amounts to determine net transaction costs/proceeds which are reflected in both gross and net returns. Net of fee performance is calculated by deducting actual management fees and in some instances, performance based fees charged to each account.
Van Eck Associates Corporation (the "Adviser") has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses). The expense limitation is expected to continue until the Fund's Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such expense limitation. A complete list of composite and limited distribution pooled fund descriptions and list of broad distribution pooled funds is available upon request.
The significant cash flow policy has been suspended for this composite since its inception.
© Van Eck Associates Corporation