VANECK VECTORS® AMT-FREE INTERMEDIATE MUNICIPAL INDEX ETF
Ticker: ITM®
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2018
ITMSUM
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund online at http://www.vaneck.com/ library/etfs/. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800.826.2333, or by sending an email request to info@vaneck.com. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated September 1, 2018, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck Vectors® AMT-Free Intermediate Municipal Index ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg Barclays AMT-Free Intermediate Continuous Municipal Index (the “Intermediate Index”).
FUND FEES AND EXPENSES
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (“Shares”).
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Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) |
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None |
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fee |
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0.24 |
% |
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Other Expenses(a) |
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0.00 |
% |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a) |
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0.24 |
% |
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(a) |
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 September 1, 2019. |
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EXPENSE EXAMPLE
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling Shares of the Fund.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% annual return and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
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YEAR |
EXPENSES |
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1 |
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$ |
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25 |
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3 |
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$ |
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77 |
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5 |
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$ |
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135 |
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10 |
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$ |
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306 |
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PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund will pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or
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in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 9% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in fixed income securities that comprise the Intermediate Index. The Intermediate Index is comprised of publicly traded municipal bonds that cover the U.S. dollar denominated intermediate term tax-exempt bond market. This 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
The Fund has adopted a fundamental investment policy to invest at least 80% of its assets in investments suggested by its name. For purposes of this policy, the term “assets” means net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes. This percentage limitation applies at the time of the investment.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Intermediate Index. Because of the practical difficulties and expense of purchasing all of the securities in the Intermediate Index, the Fund does not purchase all of the securities in the Intermediate Index. Instead, the Adviser utilizes a “sampling” methodology in seeking to achieve the Fund’s objective. As such, the Fund may purchase a subset of the bonds in the Intermediate Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of bonds with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Intermediate Index.
The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Intermediate Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of April 30, 2018, each of the special tax (i.e., revenue bonds backed by a specific tax), transportation and water and sewer sectors represented a significant portion of the Fund.
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND
Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund’s Shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund, each of which could significantly and adversely affect the value of an investment in the Fund.
Municipal Securities Risk. Municipal securities are subject to the risk that litigation, legislation or other political events, local business or economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuer’s ability to make payments of principal and/or interest or otherwise affect the value of such securities. Certain municipalities may have difficulty meeting their obligations due to, among other reasons, changes in underlying demographics. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to government regulation, taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders. Because many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects, especially those relating to education, health care, transportation, utilities and water and sewer, conditions in those sectors can affect the overall municipal market. In addition, changes in the financial condition of an individual municipal insurer can affect the overall municipal market. Municipal securities may include revenue bonds, which are generally backed by revenue from a specific project or tax. The issuer of a revenue bond makes interest and principal payments from revenues generated from a particular source or facility, such as a tax on particular property or revenues generated from a municipal water or sewer utility or an airport. Revenue bonds generally are not backed by the full faith and credit and general taxing power of the issuer. The market for municipal bonds may be less liquid than for taxable bonds. The value and liquidity of many municipal securities have decreased as a result of the recent financial crisis, which has also adversely affected many municipal securities issuers and may continue to do so. There may be less information available on the financial condition of issuers of municipal securities than for public corporations.
Credit Risk. Bonds are subject to credit risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable and/or unwilling to make timely interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt or to otherwise honor its obligations and/or default completely. Bonds are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, depending on the issuer’s financial condition and on the terms of the securities, which may be reflected in credit ratings. There is a possibility that the credit rating of a bond may be downgraded after purchase or the perception of an issuer’s credit worthiness may decline, which may adversely affect the value of the security.
Interest Rate Risk. Bonds are also subject to interest rate risk. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a bond resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most bonds go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most bonds go up. The historically low interest rate environment increases the risk associated with rising interest rates, including the potential for periods of volatility and increased redemptions. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk, since the U.S. Federal Reserve Board ended its quantitative easing program in 2014 and began raising rates in December 2015. In addition, bonds
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with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes, usually making them more volatile than bonds with shorter durations.
Call Risk. The Fund may invest in callable bonds. If interest rates fall, it is possible that issuers of callable securities will “call” (or prepay) their bonds before their maturity date. If a call were exercised by the issuer during or following a period of declining interest rates, the Fund is likely to have to replace such called security with a lower yielding security or securities with greater risks or other less favorable features. If that were to happen, it would decrease the Fund’s net investment income.
California Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in municipal obligations of issuers located in the State of California. Consequently, the Fund may be affected by political, economic, regulatory and other developments within California and by the financial condition of California’s political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities and public authorities.
New York Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in municipal obligations of issuers located in the State of New York and, therefore, will have greater exposure to negative political, economic, regulatory or other factors within the State of New York, including the financial condition of its public authorities and political subdivisions, than a fund that invests in a broader base of securities. Unfavorable developments in any economic sector may have a substantial impact on the overall New York municipal market. Certain issuers of New York municipal bonds have experienced serious financial difficulties in the past and reoccurrence of these difficulties may impair the ability of certain New York issuers to pay principal or interest on their obligations.
Special Tax Bond Risk. Special tax bonds are usually backed and payable through a single tax, or series of special taxes such as incremental property taxes. To the extent that the special tax sector continues to represent a significant portion of the Fund, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the special tax sector. The failure of the tax levy to generate adequate revenue to pay the debt service on the bonds may cause the value of the bonds to decline. Adverse conditions and developments affecting a particular project may result in lower revenues to the issuer of the municipal securities, which may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.
Transportation Bond Risk. Transportation debt may be issued to finance the construction of airports, toll roads, highways or other transit facilities. To the extent that the transportation sector continues to represent a significant portion of the Fund, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the transportation sector. Airport bonds are dependent on the general stability of the airline industry and on the stability of a specific carrier who uses the airport as a hub. Air traffic generally follows broader economic trends and is also affected by the price and availability of fuel. Toll road bonds are also affected by the cost and availability of fuel as well as toll levels, the presence of competing roads and the general economic health of an area. Fuel costs and availability also affect other transportation related securities, as do the presence of alternate forms of transportation, such as public transportation. Municipal securities that are issued to finance a particular transportation project often depend solely on revenues from that project to make principal and interest payments. Adverse conditions and developments affecting a particular project may result in lower revenues to the issuer of the municipal securities.
Water and Sewer Bond Risk. Water and sewer revenue bonds are often considered to have relatively secure credit as a result of their issuer’s importance, monopoly status and generally unimpeded ability to raise rates. Despite this, lack of water supply due to insufficient rain, run off or snow pack is a concern that has led to past defaults. Further, public resistance to rate increases, costly environmental litigation and federal environmental mandates are challenges faced by issuers of water and sewer bonds. To the extent that the water and sewer bond sector continues to represent a significant portion of the Fund, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the water and sewer bond sector.
Market Risk. The prices of the securities in the Fund are subject to the risks associated with investing in municipal securities, including general economic conditions and sudden and unpredictable drops in value. An investment in the Fund may lose money.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures.
Sampling Risk. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach will result in its holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Intermediate Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in net asset value (“NAV”) than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Intermediate Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to an issuer of securities in the Intermediate Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform the Intermediate Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.
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Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Intermediate Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Intermediate Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Intermediate Index, which are not factored into the return of the Intermediate Index. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s NAV to the extent not offset by the transaction fee payable by an Authorized Participant (“AP”). Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Intermediate Index. Errors in Intermediate Index data, Intermediate Index computations and/or the construction of the Intermediate Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Intermediate Index provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. In addition, the Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach may cause the Fund to not be as well correlated with the return of the Intermediate Index as would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the securities in the Intermediate Index in the proportions in which they are represented in the Intermediate Index. The Fund’s performance may also deviate from the return of the Intermediate Index due to certain NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) listing standards or legal restrictions or limitations (such as diversification requirements). The Fund may value certain of its investments based on fair value prices. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the Fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Intermediate Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Intermediate Index. Changes to the composition of the Intermediate Index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the Intermediate Index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.
Tax Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s income will be exempt from U.S. federal or state income taxes. Events occurring after the date of issuance of a municipal bond or after the Fund’s acquisition of a municipal bond may result in a determination that interest on that bond is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes retroactively to its date of issuance. Such a determination may cause a portion of prior distributions by the Fund to its shareholders to be taxable to those shareholders in the year of receipt. Federal or state changes in income or alternative minimum tax rates or in the tax treatment of municipal bonds may make municipal bonds less attractive as investments and cause them to lose value.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. The Fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that act as APs, none of which are obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. To the extent that those APs exit the business, or are unable to or choose not to process creation and/or redemption orders, and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for Shares or Shares may trade like closed-end funds at a discount (or premium) to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or de-listing. The AP concentration risk may be heightened in scenarios where APs have limited or diminished access to the capital required to post collateral.
No Guarantee of Active Trading Market. While Shares are listed on NYSE Arca, there can be no assurance that active trading markets for the Shares will be maintained. Further, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because market makers and APs may step away from making a market in the Shares and in executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the Fund’s market price from its NAV.
Trading Issues. Trading in Shares on NYSE Arca may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of NYSE Arca, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on NYSE Arca is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to NYSE Arca’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.
Passive Management Risk. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund invested in bonds, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. However, because the Fund is not “actively” managed, unless a specific security is removed from the Intermediate Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer was in financial trouble. Therefore, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.
Fund Shares Trading, Premium/Discount Risk and Liquidity Risk of Fund Shares. The market prices of the Shares may fluctuate in response to the Fund’s NAV, the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings and supply and demand for Shares. The Adviser cannot predict whether Shares will trade above, below, or at their most recent NAV. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares (including through a trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may pay significantly
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more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Shares that were bought or sold or the shareholder may be unable to sell his or her Shares. The securities held by the Fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than NYSE Arca. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when NYSE Arca is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid-ask spreads on NYSE Arca and the resulting premium or discount to the Shares’ NAV may widen. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. There are various methods by which investors can purchase and sell Shares and various orders that may be placed. Investors should consult their financial intermediary before purchasing or selling Shares of the Fund.
Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to the extent the Intermediate Index concentrates in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. To the extent that the Fund is concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries, the Fund will be subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on that sector or sectors or industry or group of industries may negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of sectors or industries.
PERFORMANCE
The bar chart that follows shows how the Fund performed for the calendar years shown. The table below the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual returns (before and after taxes). The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by comparing the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for the one year, five year and ten year periods compared with the Fund’s benchmark index and a broad measure of market performance. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available online at www.vaneck.com.
Annual Total Returns (%)—Calendar Years
The year-to-date total return as of June 30, 2018 was -1.06%.
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Best Quarter: |
7.30% |
3Q ’09 |
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Worst Quarter: |
-5.27% |
4Q ’10 |
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2017
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
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Past |
Past |
Past |
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VanEck Vectors AMT-Free Intermediate Municipal Index ETF |
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6.21 |
% |
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2.85 |
% |
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4.47 |
% |
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VanEck Vectors AMT-Free Intermediate Municipal Index ETF |
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6.21 |
% |
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2.85 |
% |
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4.47 |
% |
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VanEck Vectors AMT-Free Intermediate Municipal Index ETF |
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4.52 |
% |
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2.74 |
% |
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4.16 |
% |
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Bloomberg Barclays AMT-Free Intermediate Continuous Municipal Index |
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6.57 |
% |
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3.48 |
% |
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5.21 |
% |
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Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index |
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3.54 |
% |
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2.10 |
% |
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4.01 |
% |
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See “License Agreements and Disclaimers” for important information about the Fund’s benchmark index.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Portfolio Manager. The following individual is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
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Name |
Title with Adviser |
Date Began Managing the Fund |
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James T. Colby III |
Portfolio Manager |
December 2007 |
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PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in a large specified number of Shares, each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof. A Creation Unit consists of 100,000 Shares of the Fund.
Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed on NYSE Arca and because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund expects to distribute net investment income at least monthly, and any net realized long-term or short-term capital gains annually. The Fund may also pay a special distribution at any time to comply with U.S. federal tax requirements. Dividends paid by the Fund that are properly reported as exempt-interest dividends will not be subject to regular U.S. federal income tax. The Fund intends to invest its assets in a manner such that a significant portion of its dividend distributions to shareholders will generally be exempt from U.S. federal income taxes, including the federal alternative minimum tax for noncorporate shareholders. Such distributions will generally be subject to state income taxes.
Distributions from the Fund’s net investment income (other than net tax-exempt income), including any net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The Adviser and its related companies may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as a bank) for the sale of the Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker-dealer or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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800.826.2333
vaneck.com
(09/18)