485APOS 1 c63779_485apos.htm
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 7, 2011
Securities Act File No. 333-123257
Investment Company Act File No. 811-10325



United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 


 

 

FORM N-1A

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Registration Statement Under the Securities Act of 1933

x

Pre-Effective Amendment No.

o

Post Effective Amendment No. 233

x

and/or

 

Registration Statement Under the Investment Company Act of 1940

x

Amendment No. 237

x


 

 

 

 


 

MARKET VECTORS ETF TRUST

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 


 

335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10017
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(212) 293-2000
Registrant’s Telephone Number
Joseph J. McBrien, Esq.
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Van Eck Associates Corporation

335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10017

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

 

 

 


 

Copy to:
Stuart M. Strauss, Esq.
Dechert LLP
1095 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036

 

 

 

 


 

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

 

 

 

 


 

IT IS PROPOSED THAT THIS FILING WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE (CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX)

 

 

o

Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

o

On [date] pursuant to paragraph (b)

o

60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

o

On [date] pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

x

75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

o

On [date] pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485




The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. The Trust may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus dated January 7, 2011

 

 

 

(MARKET VECTORS LOGO)

 

 

 

 

 

[LOGOS]

 

(PROSPECTUS LOGO)

Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF (     )

 

[          ], 2011

 

 

 

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange for the Fund: NYSE Arca, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. Shares of the Fund (“Shares”) are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other agency of the U.S. Government, nor are Shares deposits or obligations of any bank. Such Shares in the Fund involve investment risks, including the loss of principal.

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

Summary Information

 

3

Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF

 

3

Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks

 

9

Portfolio Holdings

 

16

Management of the Fund

 

16

Portfolio Manager

 

17

Shareholder Information

 

17

Index Providers

 

22

UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index

 

23

License Agreement and Disclaimers

 

25

Financial Highlights

 

26

Premium/Discount Information

 

27

General Information

 

28



SUMMARY INFORMATION

MARKET VECTORS CM COMMODITY INDEX ETF

Investment Objective

The Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index (the “Index”).

Fund Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Shares of the Fund. When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, which are not reflected in the table.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

 

None

 

Management Fee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Other Expenses(a)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(b)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(b)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(b)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 


(a)

“Other Expenses” are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

 

 

(b)

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 interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding ___% of the Fund’s average daily net assets per year until at least __________, 2012. During such time, 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.

Expense Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual 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:

 

 

 

1 YEAR

 

3 YEARS

$

 

$

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.

3


These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, no portfolio turnover figures are available.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in instruments that derive their value from the performance of the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index, as described below, and in bonds, debt securities and other fixed income instruments (“Fixed Income Instruments”) issued by various U.S. public- or private-sector entities. The Fund invests in commodity-linked derivative instruments, including commodity index-linked notes, swap agreements, commodity futures contracts and options on futures contracts that provide economic exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets, as represented by the Index and its constituents. Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, metals, and agricultural products. A commodity-linked derivative is a derivative instrument whose value is linked to the movement of a commodity, commodity index, commodity option or futures contract. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by overall market movements and other factors affecting the value of a particular industry or commodity, such as weather, disease, embargoes, or political and regulatory developments.

The Index is a rules-based, composite benchmark index diversified across 26 commodities from the following five sectors: energy, precious metals, industrial metals, agriculture and livestock. The Index is comprised of futures contracts with maturities ranging from around three months to over three years for each commodity, depending on liquidity. The overall return of the Index reflects a combination of (i) the returns on the futures contracts comprising the Index; and (ii) the daily fixed-income return that would be earned on a hypothetical portfolio of 91-day U.S. Treasury bills theoretically deposited as margin for the hypothetical positions in the futures contracts comprising the Index. The selection and relative weightings of the components of the Index are designed to reflect the economic significance and market liquidity of each commodity, as determined based on global economic data, consumption data, commodity futures prices, open interest and volume data. The maturity of each commodity component in the Index remains fixed at a predefined time interval at all times by means of a continuous rolling process, in which a weighted percentage of shorter dated contracts for each commodity are swapped for longer dated contracts on a daily basis. The Index is rebalanced monthly back to the target weightings of the commodity components of the Index and the target weightings of all commodity components are revised twice per year.

The Fund will seek to track the returns of the Index by entering into swap contracts and commodity index-linked notes with one or more counterparties, which contracts and notes will rise and fall in value in response to changes in the value of the Index. As of the date of this prospectus, UBS was the only available counterparty with which the Fund may enter into such swap contracts on the Index. The Fund may enter into such contracts and notes directly or indirectly through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund (the “Subsidiary”). Commodity index-linked notes are derivative debt instruments with principal and/or coupon payments linked to the performance of commodity indices (such as the Index). These commodity index-linked notes are sometimes referred to as “structured notes” because the terms of these notes may be structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note. The Fund may also seek to gain exposure to the individual commodity components of the Index by investing in futures contracts that comprise the Index, either directly or indirectly through the Subsidiary.

4


The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Index. The Adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index before fees and expenses will be 95% or better. A figure of 100% would indicate perfect correlation.

For tax reasons, it may be advantageous for the Fund to create and maintain its exposure to the commodity markets, in whole or in part, by investing in the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary has the same investment objective as the Fund and the portfolio of the Subsidiary is managed by the Adviser for the exclusive benefit of the Fund. As discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus, the Subsidiary (unlike the Fund) may invest without limitation in commodity-linked swap agreements and other commodity-linked derivative instruments including futures. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in the Subsidiary.

The derivative instruments in which the Fund and the Subsidiary primarily intend to invest are instruments linked to commodity indices, such as the Index, and instruments linked to the value of a particular commodity or commodity futures contract, or a subset of commodities or commodity futures contracts. These instruments may specify exposure to commodity futures with different roll dates, reset dates or contract months than those specified by a particular commodity index. As a result, the commodity-linked derivatives component of the Fund’s portfolio may deviate from the returns of any particular commodity index. The Fund or the Subsidiary may over-weight or under-weight its exposure to a particular commodity index, or a subset of commodities, such that the Fund has greater or lesser exposure to that index than the value of the Fund’s net assets, or greater or lesser exposure to a subset of commodities than is represented by a particular commodity index. Such deviations may be the result of temporary market fluctuations, and under normal circumstances, the Fund will seek to maintain notional exposure to one or more commodity indices within 5% (plus or minus) of the value of the Fund’s net assets. To the extent the Index is concentrated in a particular industry (or one or more commodities that comprise an industry) the Fund will necessarily be concentrated in that industry.

Assets not invested in commodity-linked derivative instruments or the Subsidiary may be invested in Fixed Income Instruments, including derivative Fixed Income Instruments. The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.

The average duration of the portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments will vary based on interest rates and, under normal market conditions, is not expected to exceed five years. Duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed income security that is used to determine the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates. Similarly, a fund with a longer average portfolio duration will be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a fund with a shorter average portfolio duration. By way of example, the price of a bond fund with an average duration of five years would be expected to fall approximately 5% if interest rates rose by one percentage point. The Fund will invest primarily in securities of the U.S. Government and its agencies and investment grade bonds of private issuers rated Baa or higher or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. The Fund may, without limitation, seek to obtain market exposure to the securities in which it primarily invests by entering into a series of purchase and sale contracts or by using other investment techniques (such as buy back or dollar rolls, repurchase agreements or reverse repurchase agreements). The Fund may also invest, without limitation, in money market funds.

5


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. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

Cash Transactions. Unlike most other ETFs, the Fund expects to effect creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF.

Commodities and Commodity-Linked Derivatives. Exposure to the commodities markets, such as precious metals, industrial metals, gas and other energy products and natural resources, may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The commodities markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events and policies, war, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. Because the value of a commodity-linked derivative instrument and structured note typically are based upon the price movements of physical commodities, the value of these securities will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodities or related index of investment.

Counterparty. A loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of another party to a contract (usually referred to as a “counterparty”) to make required payments or otherwise comply with a contract’s terms. The Fund also bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, and as of the date of this prospectus, UBS was the only available counterparty with which the Fund may enter into such swap contracts on the Index. The Fund may invest in commodity-linked structured notes issued by a limited number of issuers that will act as counterparties. The Fund’s use of one or a limited number of counterparties and its investments in commodity-linked structured notes issued by only a limited number of issuers increases the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Swap agreements also may be considered to be illiquid. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties are willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.

Debt Securities. Debt securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt security will be unable to make interest payments or repay principal when it becomes due. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a debt security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.

Derivatives. The use of swap agreements, options, futures contracts and structured notes, presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, commodity, asset, index or reference rate. Derivative strategies often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Fund to lose more money than it would have lost had it invested in the underlying security. Also, a liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund’s derivative positions at times when the Fund might wish to terminate or sell such positions and over the counter instruments may be illiquid.

6


Industry Concentration. The Fund may be subject to greater risks and market fluctuations than a fund whose portfolio has exposure to a broader range of industries. The Fund may be susceptible to financial, economic, political or market events, as well as government regulation, impacting a particular industry.

Market. Market risk refers to the risk that the market prices of securities, commodities and related instruments that the Fund holds will rise or fall, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. In general, equity securities and commodities tend to have greater price volatility than debt securities.

Non-Diversification. A non-diversified fund’s greater investment in a single issuer makes the fund more susceptible to financial, economic or market events impacting such issuer. A decline in the value of or default by a single security in the non-diversified fund’s portfolio may have a greater negative effect than a similar decline or default by a single security in a diversified portfolio.

Regulatory. Changes in the laws of and government regulation by the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could adversely affect the operations of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary and impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Repurchase and Reverse Repurchase Agreements. A repurchase agreement exposes the Fund to the risk that the party that sells the security may default on its obligation to repurchase it. The Fund may lose money if it cannot sell the security at the agreed-upon time and price or the security loses value before it can be sold. A reverse repurchase agreement involves the risk that the market value of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase under the agreement may decline below the repurchase price.

Subsidiary. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved.

Tracking Error. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index due to, among other factors, the Fund incurring operating expenses, and not being fully invested at all times as a result of cash inflows and cash reserves to meet redemptions.

Performance

The Fund has not yet commenced operations and therefore does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund’s performance information will be accessible on the Fund’s website at vaneck.com/etf.

Portfolio Management

Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.

Portfolio Manager. The following individual is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name

 

 

Title with Adviser

 

 

Date Began Managing the Fund

 









Michael Mazier

 

 

Portfolio Manager

 

 

Since inception

 









7


Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund issues and redeem Shares at NAV only in a large specified number of Shares each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof. A Creation Unit consists of 50,000 Shares.

Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are expected to be approved for listing, subject to notice of issuance, on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) and because Shares will 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’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

8


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

Investment Objective

The Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index.

The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees without shareholder approval. The Fund has adopted a policy that requires the Fund to provide shareholders with 60 days’ prior written notice before its investment objective can be changed (to the extent practicable).

Additional Investment Strategies

Investing Defensively

The Fund may take temporary defensive positions in anticipation of or in an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. Such a position could have the effect of reducing any benefit the Fund may receive from a market increase.

Securities Lending

The Fund may lend its securities as permitted under the 1940 Act, including by participating in securities lending programs managed by broker-dealers or other institutions. Securities lending allows the Fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrowings must be collateralized in full with cash, U.S. government securities or high-quality letters of credit.

The Fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the securities lending collateral. If the Fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the Fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased. Cash received as collateral and which is invested is subject to market appreciation and depreciation.

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. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

 

 

 

 

COMMODITIES AND COMMODITY-LINKED DERIVATIVES

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

Commodities include precious metals (such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium in the form of bullion and coins), industrial metals, gas and other energy products and natural resources. The value of a commodity-linked derivative investment generally is based upon the price movements of a physical commodity (such as energy, mineral, or agricultural products), a

9



 

 

 

 

 

 

commodity futures contract or commodity index, or other economic variable based upon changes in the value of commodities or the commodities markets. The Fund may seek exposure to the commodity markets through investments in leveraged or unleveraged commodity-linked or index-linked notes, which are derivative debt instruments with principal and/or coupon payments linked to the value of commodities, commodity futures contracts or the performance of commodity indices. These notes are sometimes referred to as “structured notes” because the terms of these notes may be structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The commodities markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events and policies, war, acts of terrorism and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. Prices of various commodities may also be affected by factors such as drought, floods, weather, embargoes, tariffs and other regulatory developments. The prices of commodities can also fluctuate widely due to supply and demand disruptions in major producing or consuming regions. Certain commodities may be produced in a limited number of countries and may be controlled by a small number of producers. As a result, political, economic and supply related events in such countries could have a disproportionate impact on the prices of such commodities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity-Linked “Structured” Securities. Because the value of a commodity-linked derivative instrument typically is based upon the price movements of a physical commodity, the value of the commodity-linked derivative instrument may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry. The value of these securities will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index of investment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structured Notes. Structured notes expose the Fund economically to movements in commodity prices. The performance of a structured note is determined by the price movement of the commodity underlying the note. A highly liquid secondary market may not exist for structured notes, and there can be no assurance that one will develop. These notes are often leveraged, increasing the volatility of each note’s market value relative to changes in the underlying commodity, commodity futures contract or commodity index.

 

 

 

 

COUNTERPARTY

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

A counterparty is the other party that participates in a transaction, e.g. the other party to a contract.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

The Fund may invest in financial instruments involving counterparties for the purpose of attempting to gain exposure to a particular group of securities, commodities or asset class without actually purchasing those securities or investments, or to hedge a position. Such financial instruments include, but are not limited to total return, index, interest rate, and credit default swap

10



 

 

 

 

 

 

agreements, and structured notes. The Fund will use counterparty agreements to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized in particular predetermined investments or instruments. The Fund will not enter into any agreement involving a counterparty unless the Adviser believes that the other party to the transaction is creditworthy. A loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of a counterparty to make required payments or otherwise comply with a contract’s terms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The use of swap agreements and structured notes involves risks that are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. For example, the Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. The Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, and as of the date of this prospectus, UBS was the only available counterparty with which the Fund may enter into such swap agreements on the Index. The Fund may invest in commodity-linked structured notes issued by a limited number of issuers that will act as counterparties. The Fund’s use of one or a limited number of counterparties and its investments in commodity-linked structured notes issued by only a limited number of issuers increases the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Swap agreements also may be considered to be illiquid. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties are willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.

 

 

 

 

DEBT SECURITIES

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

Debt securities may include bonds and other forms of debentures or obligations. When an issuer sells debt securities, it sells them for a certain price, and for a certain term. Over the term of the security, the issuer promises to pay the buyer a certain rate of interest, then to repay the principal at maturity. Debt securities are also bought and sold in the a “secondary market” — that is, they are traded by people other than their original issuers.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

Debt securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt security will be unable to make interest payments or repay principal when it becomes due. Various factors could affect the issuer’s ability to make timely interest or principal payments, including changes in the issuer’s financial condition or in general economic conditions. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a debt security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates rise, the value of debt securities will tend to fall, and if interest rates fall, the values of debt securities will tend to rise. Changes in the value of a debt security usually will not affect the amount of income the Fund receives from it but may affect the value of the Fund’s shares.

 

 

 

 

DERIVATIVES

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

The term “derivatives” covers a broad range of financial instruments, including swap agreements, options, warrants, futures contracts, currency

11



 

 

 

 

 

 

forwards and structured notes, whose values are derived, at least in part, from the value of one or more indicators, such as a security, asset, index or reference rate.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, commodity, asset, index or reference rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives. Derivative strategies often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Fund to lose more money than it would have lost had it invested in the underlying security. The values of derivatives may move in unexpected ways, especially in unusual market conditions, and may result in increased volatility, among other consequences. The use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders. Other risks arise from the Fund’s potential inability to terminate or sell derivative positions. A liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund’s derivative positions at times when the Fund might wish to terminate or sell such positions. Over the counter instruments (investments not traded on an exchange) may be illiquid, and transactions in derivatives traded in the over-the counter market are subject to the risk that the other party will not meet its obligations. The use of derivatives also involves the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying security, asset, index or reference rate.

 

 

 

 

 

Futures Contracts. Futures contracts and options on futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. Index futures are futures contracts for various indices that are traded on registered securities exchanges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options. The buyer of an option acquires the right to buy (a call option) or sell (a put option) a certain quantity of a security (the underlying security) or instrument at a certain price up to a specified point in time. The seller or writer of an option is obligated to sell (a call option) or buy (a put option) the underlying security. When writing (selling) call options on securities, the Fund may cover its positions by owning the underlying security on which the option is written or by owning a call option on the underlying security. Alternatively, the Fund may cover its positions by maintaining, in a segregated account, cash or liquid securities equal in value to the exercise price of the call options written by the Fund.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The risks associated with the Fund’s use of futures and options contracts include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fund experiencing losses that exceed losses experienced by funds that do not use futures contracts and options.

12



 

 

 

 

 

 

There may be an imperfect correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to market conditions, there may not always be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract. As a result, the Fund may be unable to close out its futures contracts at a time which is advantageous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange, and government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and options.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because option premiums paid or received by the Fund are small in relation to the market value of the investments underlying the options, buying and selling put and call options can be more speculative than investing directly in securities.

 

 

 

 

INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

To the extent the Index is concentrated in a particular industry the Fund will necessarily be concentrated in that industry.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

The Fund may be subject to greater risks and market fluctuations than a fund whose portfolio has exposure to a broader range of industries. The Fund may be susceptible to financial, economic, political or market events, as well as government regulation, impacting a particular industry.

 

 

 

 

MARKET

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

An investment in the Fund involves “market risk”— the risk that the prices of securities, commodities and related instruments will rise or fall.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

Market risk refers to the risk that the market prices of securities, commodities and related instruments that the Fund holds will rise or fall, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Security prices may decline over short or even extended periods not only because of company-specific developments but also due to an economic downturn, a change in interest or currency rates or a change in investor sentiment. In general, equity securities and commodities tend to have greater price volatility than debt securities.

 

 

 

 

NON-DIVERSIFICATION

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

A non-diversified fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in a single issuer. A “diversified” fund is required by the 1940 Act, generally, with respect to 75% of its total assets, to invest not more than 5% of such assets in the securities of a single issuer.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

A non-diversified fund’s greater investment in a single issuer makes the fund more susceptible to financial, economic or market events impacting such issuer. A decline in the value of or default by a single security in the non-diversified fund’s portfolio may have a greater negative effect than a similar

13



 

 

 

 

 

 

decline or default by a single security in a diversified portfolio.

 

 

 

 

REGULATORY

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

The Fund and the Subsidiary are subject to the laws and regulated by the governments of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, respectively.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

Changes in the laws of and government regulation by the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could adversely affect the operations of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary and impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REPURCHASE AND REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

In a repurchase agreement, the Fund acquires a security for a short time while agreeing to sell it back at a designated price and time. The agreement creates a fixed rate of return not subject to market fluctuations. In a reverse repurchase agreement, the Fund sells a security subject to the obligation of a buyer to resell and a Fund to repurchase such security at a fixed time and price. The Fund enters into these agreements generally with member banks of the Federal Reserve System or certain non-bank dealers; these counterparties collateralize the transaction.

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

A repurchase agreement exposes the Fund to the risk that the party that sells the security may default on its obligation to repurchase it. The Fund may lose money if it cannot sell the security at the agreed-upon time and price or the security loses value before it can be sold. A reverse repurchase agreement involves the risk that the market value of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase under the agreement may decline below the repurchase price. In the event the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, the Fund’s use of proceeds of the agreement may be restricted pending a determination by the other party, or its trustee or receiver, whether to enforce the Fund’s obligation to repurchase the securities.

 

 

 

 

SUBSIDIARY

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The derivatives and other investments held by the Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the Fund. These risks are described elsewhere in this prospectus. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Risk

 

The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the

14



 

 

 

 

 

1940 Act. In addition, changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this prospectus and the SAI and could adversely affect the Fund.

 

 

 

TRACKING ERROR

 

 

 

 

Definition

 

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index.

 

 

 

Risks

 

The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index due to, among other factors, the Fund incurring operating expenses, and not being fully invested at all times as a result of cash inflows and cash reserves to meet redemptions.

Additional Risks

Absence of Prior Active Market. The Fund is a newly organized series of an investment company and thus has no operating history. While the Fund’s Shares are expected to be listed on NYSE Arca, there can be no assurance that active trading markets for the Shares will develop or be maintained. Van Eck Securities Corporation, the distributor of the Fund’s Shares (the “Distributor”), does not maintain a secondary market in the Shares.

Cash Transactions. Unlike most other ETFs, the Fund expects to effect creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF. Other ETFs generally are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gain on the distributed portfolio securities at the Fund level. Because the Fund currently intends to effect redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind distributions, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which involves transaction costs. If the Fund recognizes gain on these sales, this generally will cause the Fund to recognize gain it might not otherwise have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required. The Fund generally intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the Fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than, if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares principally in-kind, will be passed on to purchasers and redeemers of Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. See “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units” in the Fund’s SAI. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s Shares than for more conventional ETFs.

Fluctuation of NAV. The NAV of the Shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV and supply and demand on NYSE Arca. The Adviser cannot predict whether Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the securities of the Fund’s Index trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that

15


Shares can be created and redeemed daily in Creation Units at NAV (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their NAV), the Adviser believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of the Shares are not likely to be sustained over the long-term. In addition, disruptions to creations and redemptions or the existence of extreme market volatility may result in trading prices that differ significantly from NAV. 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 sustain losses.

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.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio is available in the Fund’s SAI.

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees of the Trust has responsibility for the general oversight of the management of the Fund, including general supervision of the Adviser and other service providers, but is not involved in the day-to-day management of the Trust. A list of the Trustees and the Trust officers, and their present positions and principal occupations, is provided in the Fund’s SAI.

Investment Adviser. Under the terms of an Investment Management Agreement between the Trust and Van Eck Associates Corporation with respect to the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), Van Eck Associates Corporation serves as the adviser to the Fund and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, will be responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the Fund. As of December 31, 2010, the Adviser managed approximately $[   ] billion in assets. The Adviser has been an investment adviser since 1955 and also acts as adviser or sub-adviser to other ETFs, mutual funds, hedge funds, pension plans and other investment accounts. The Adviser’s principal business address is 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

A discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Investment Management Agreement is available in the Trust’s semi-annual report for the period ended June 30, 2011.

For the services provided to the Fund under the Investment Management Agreement, the Fund will pay the Adviser monthly fees based on a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets at the annual rate of ___%. From time to time, the Adviser may waive all or a portion of its fee. Until at least __________, 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 interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding ___% of its average daily net assets per year. Offering costs excluded from the expense caps are: (a) legal fees pertaining to the Fund’s Shares offered for sale; (b) SEC and state registration fees; and (c) initial fees paid for Shares of the Fund to be listed on an exchange.

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The Fund is responsible for all of its expenses, including the investment advisory fees, costs of transfer agency, custody, legal, audit and other services, interest, taxes, any distribution fees or expenses, offering fees or expenses and extraordinary expenses.

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent. Van Eck Associates Corporation is the administrator for the Fund (the “Administrator”), and The Bank of New York Mellon is the custodian of the Fund’s assets and provides transfer agency and fund accounting services to the Fund. The Administrator is responsible for certain clerical, recordkeeping and/or bookkeeping services which are provided pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement.

Distributor. Van Eck Securities Corporation is the distributor of the Shares. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in less than Creation Units, and does not maintain a secondary market in the Shares. The Shares are traded in the secondary market.

PORTFOLIO MANAGER

The portfolio manager who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio and the Subsidiary’s portfolio is Michael Mazier. Mr. Mazier has been employed by the Adviser since August 2007. Prior to joining the Adviser, Mr. Mazier served as a bond analyst in the Fixed Income Research department of Morgan Stanley. He was also Vice President at Merrill Lynch Global Research Department, where he covered closed-end funds. Mr. Mazier graduated from Syracuse University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Electrical Engineering; graduated from Villanova University in 1986 with a Master of Science in Computer Engineering; and graduated from Columbia Business School in 1990 with a Master of Business Administration. Mr. Mazier is on the investment team for another fund of the Trust and serves as portfolio manager for certain other investment companies advised by the Adviser. Mr. Mazier has served as the portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception. See the Fund’s SAI for additional information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and his ownership of Shares of the Fund.

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

Determination of NAV

The NAV per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the management fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources.

The Fund’s investments are generally valued based on market quotations. When market quotations are not readily available for a portfolio security, or in the opinion of the Adviser do not reflect the security’s value, the Fund will use the security’s “fair value” as determined in good faith in accordance with the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures, which have been approved by the Board of Trustees. As a general principle, the current fair value of a security is the amount which the Fund might reasonably expect to receive for the security upon its current sale.

Factors that may cause the Fund to use the fair value of a portfolio security to calculate the Fund’s NAV include, but are not limited to: (1) market quotations are not readily available because a portfolio security is not traded in a public market or the principal market in which the

17


security trades is closed, (2) trading in a portfolio security is limited or suspended and not resumed prior to the time at which the Fund calculates its NAV, (3) the market for the relevant security is thin, or the price is “stale” (e.g., because its price doesn’t change in five consecutive business days), (4) the Adviser determines that a market quotation is inaccurate, for example, because price movements are highly volatile and cannot be verified by a reliable alternative pricing source, or (5) where a significant event affecting the value of a portfolio security is determined to have occurred between the time of the market quotation provided for a portfolio security and the time at which the Fund calculates its NAV.

In determining the fair value of securities, the Adviser will consider, among other factors, the fundamental analytical data relating to the security, the nature and duration of any restrictions on disposition of the security, and the forces influencing the market in which the security is traded.

Foreign securities in which the Fund invests may be traded in markets that close before the time that the Fund calculates its NAV. Foreign securities are normally priced based upon the market quotation of such securities as of the close of their respective principal markets, as adjusted to reflect the Adviser’s determination of the impact of events, such as a significant movement in the U.S. markets occurring subsequent to the close of such markets but prior to the time at which the Fund calculates its NAV.

Certain of the Fund’s portfolio securities are valued by an outside pricing service approved by the Board of Trustees. The pricing service may utilize an automated system incorporating a model based on multiple parameters, including a security’s local closing price (in the case of foreign securities), relevant general and sector indices, currency fluctuations, and trading in depository receipts and futures, if applicable, and/or research evaluations by its staff, in determining what it believes is the fair valuation of the portfolio securities valued by such pricing service.

There can be no assurance that the Fund could purchase or sell a portfolio security at the price used to calculate the Fund’s NAV. Because of the inherent uncertainty in fair valuations, and the various factors considered in determining value pursuant to the Fund’s fair value procedures, there can be significant deviations between a fair value price at which a portfolio security is being carried and the price at which it is purchased or sold. Furthermore, changes in the fair valuation of portfolio securities may be less frequent, and of greater magnitude, than changes in the price of portfolio securities valued by an independent pricing service, or based on market quotations.

Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares

The Shares of the Fund are expected to be approved for listing on NYSE Arca, subject to notice of issuance. If you buy or sell Shares in the secondary market, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In times of severe market disruption or low trading volume in the Fund’s Shares, this spread can increase significantly. It is anticipated that the Shares will trade in the secondary market at prices that may differ to varying degrees from the NAV of the Shares. Given, however, that Shares can be created and redeemed daily in Creation Units, the Adviser believes that large discounts and premiums to NAV should not be sustained for very long.

The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) serves as securities depository for the Shares. (The Shares may be held only in book-entry form; stock certificates will not be issued.) DTC, or its nominee, is the record or registered owner of all outstanding Shares. Beneficial ownership of Shares will be shown on the records of DTC or its participants (described below). Beneficial

18


owners of Shares are not entitled to have Shares registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of certificates in definitive form and are not considered the registered holder thereof. Accordingly, to exercise any rights of a holder of Shares, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of: (i) DTC; (ii) “DTC Participants,” i.e., securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC; and (iii) “Indirect Participants,” i.e., brokers, dealers, banks and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly, through which such beneficial owner holds its interests. The Trust understands that under existing industry practice, in the event the Trust requests any action of holders of Shares, or a beneficial owner desires to take any action that DTC, as the record owner of all outstanding Shares, is entitled to take, DTC would authorize the DTC Participants to take such action and that the DTC Participants would authorize the Indirect Participants and beneficial owners acting through such DTC Participants to take such action and would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners owning through them. As described above, the Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the owner of all Shares for all purposes. For more information, see the section entitled “Book Entry Only System” in the Fund’s SAI.

The NYSE Arca is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its Shares, the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s Shares.

Market Timing and Related Matters. The Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions. The Board of Trustees considered the nature of the Fund (i.e., a fund whose shares are expected to trade intra-day), that the Fund fair values all or a substantial portion of its securities, that the Adviser monitors the trading activity of authorized participants for patterns of abusive trading, and that the Fund reserves the right to reject orders that may be disruptive to the management of or otherwise not in the Fund’s best interests. Given this structure, the Board of Trustees determined that it is not necessary to impose restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions for the Fund at the present time.

Notice for Authorized Participants who are Not Qualified Institutional Buyers

An authorized participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, will not be able to receive, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

Distributions

Dividends and capital gains distributions are generally declared and paid annually in December. See your tax adviser for details. Short-term capital gains are treated like dividends and follow that schedule. Occasionally, a dividend and/or capital gain distribution may be made outside of the normal schedule.

Dividends and Capital Gains Distribution Schedule

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fund

 

Dividends and
Short-Term Capital
Gains

 

Distribution of
Long-Term Capital
Gains

 







Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF

 

December

 

December

 







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Tax Information

Taxation of Dividends and Capital Gains Distributions You Receive. For tax-reportable accounts, dividends and capital gains distributions are normally taxable even if they are reinvested. Certain dividends may be treated as qualified dividend income, taxable at long-term capital gain rates. Other dividends and short-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains are taxed at long-term capital gain rates. Tax laws and regulations are subject to change.

Taxation of Shares You Sell. For tax-reportable accounts, when you redeem your shares you may incur a capital gain or loss on the proceeds. The amount of gain or loss, if any, is the difference between the amount you paid for your shares (including reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions) and the amount you receive from your redemption. Be sure to keep your regular statements; they contain the information necessary to calculate the capital gain or loss. An exchange of shares from one Fund to another will be treated as a sale and purchase of Fund shares. It is therefore a taxable event.

Investments in the Fund’s Wholly-Owned Subsidiary. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary. It is expected that the Subsidiary will invest primarily in commodity and financial futures and option contracts, as well as fixed income securities and other investments intended to serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiary’s derivatives positions.

Investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal income tax requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Subchapter M requires, among other things, that at least 90% of the Fund’s gross income be derived from securities or derived with respect to its business of investing in securities (typically referred to as “qualifying income”). Income from certain of the commodity-linked derivatives in which the Fund invests may not be treated as “qualifying income” for purposes of the 90% income requirement. The Fund has received private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service confirming that income from the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary and income derived from certain commodity-linked notes will constitute “qualifying income” for purposes of Subchapter M.

Non-Resident Aliens. Dividends and short-term capital gains, if any, paid to non-resident aliens generally are subject to a withholding tax (or lower tax treaty rates for certain countries). The Internal Revenue Service considers these dividends U.S. source income. Currently, the Fund is not required to withhold tax from distributions of long-term capital gains or redemption proceeds if non-resident alien status is properly certified.

Taxes on the Sale or Cash Redemption of Exchange Listed Shares. Currently, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that capital gain dividends were paid with respect to such Shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited. A redemption of a shareholder’s Fund Shares for cash is normally treated as a sale for tax purposes.

Taxes on Creations and Redemptions of Creation Units. To the extent a person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the amount of

20


any cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of primarily securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax adviser with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible and the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

Under current U.S. federal income tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for one year or less.

If you create or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Shares you created or sold and at what price.

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INDEX PROVIDERS

The Index is published by UBS and Bloomberg (the “Index Providers”). The Index Providers do not sponsor, endorse, or promote the Fund and bear no liability with respect to the Fund or any security.

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UBS BLOOMBERG CONSTANT MATURITY COMMODITY TOTAL RETURN INDEX

The Index is weighted across both commodities and maturities. The Index, which is rebalanced monthly, represents a basket of futures contracts on 26 underlying commodities with a series of up to five different investment maturities for each individual commodity using the calculation methodology of constant maturity forwards. Traditional commodity indices tend to focus on front-month contracts with short tenors (time to maturity) whereas the Index is based on commodity futures contracts with tenors ranging from around three months to over three years. The Index also offers continuous roll mechanisms for each constant maturity with respect to each commodity. This is in contrast to the rolling of near-term contracts over a short, pre-defined period of time that is offered in other commodity indices. The commodities represented in the Index currently include agricultural products, energy products, metals and minerals. The exchanges include the New York Mercantile Exchange (including the COMEX division), Chicago Board of Trade, London Metal Exchange, New York Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Kansas City Board of Trade, ICE Futures and Euronext.Liffe.

The overall return on the Index is generated by two components: (i) uncollateralized returns from holding and rolling of futures contracts comprising the Index and (ii) a daily fixed-income return, which reflect the interest earned on a hypothetical 91-day Treasury Bill portfolio theoretically deposited as margin for hypothetical positions in the futures contracts comprising the Index.

As of __________, 2011, the Index consisted of the following commodity sectors with the following relative target weights: Energy (—%), Agriculture (—%), Industrial Metals (—%), Precious Metals (—%) and Livestock (—%).

For a commodity contract to be included in the Index, the following primary and secondary requirements have to be satisfied:

 

 

 

 

The “primary requirements” involve satisfying certain criteria related to the nature of the instrument as well as some technical characteristics including country of origin, trading characteristics, foreign exchange controls, availability and accuracy of contract, price and volume data.

 

 

 

 

The “secondary requirements” involve satisfying a series of purely financial thresholds based on liquidity, including, among other things, open interest and market volume. Open interest, which reflects positions in contracts that remain open on an overnight or multi-day basis, is used to assess past and future liquidity. Market volume, which reflects the number of contracts traded in a given period of time, indicates immediate interest, and over a period of time provides a usable measure of liquidity.

The weighting process for the Index is designed to reflect the economic significance and market liquidity of each commodity. The Index sponsors use a two-step approach to determine target weights: first, economic indicators (regional Consumer Price Indexes (CPI), Producer Price Indexes (PPI) and Gross Domestic Projects (GDP)), along with liquidity analysis, are used to determine the sector weights (the five sectors of the Index are currently agriculture, livestock, energy, precious metals and industrial metals); then global consumption data in conjunction with further liquidity analysis is used to calculate the individual component weights. In order to ensure a high level of diversification and avoid unnecessary dilution, the weight of any individual index component is limited to 20% and any commodity with a weight that is lower than 0.60% is excluded from the Index.

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The Index Governance Committee (in consultation with the Index Advisory Committee) reviews the selection and weightings of the futures contracts in the Index bi-annually, in October and April, or at any special meeting called by the Index Advisory Committee. Thus, weights are potentially reassigned whenever a regular or special meeting of the Index Governance Committee is held, subject to ratification by the Index Sponsors.

The Index represents a weighted average of all availably Index constant maturities (ranging from three months to over three years). The distribution of weightings to available tenors (time to maturity) is a function of relative liquidity of the underlying futures contracts. As of __________, 2011, the average tenor of the futures contracts comprising the Index is approximately ___ months. As with most asset classes, the liquidity of commodity futures contracts tends to reduce as time to maturity increases.

Due to price movements, the weight of each component in the Index will move away from its Target Weight over time. The weight of each Index component is therefore rebalanced over the final three Index Business Days of each month in order to bring each underlying commodity and tenor back to its Target Weight. The process is automatic and is implemented via a pre-defined methodology.

In addition, twice annually in January and July there is a maintenance period at which time the Target Weights themselves are adjusted according to decisions of the Index Governance Committee as ratified by the Index Sponsors.

The Index is calculated and disseminated by _____ approximately every fifteen seconds (assuming the Index level has changed within such fifteen-second interval) from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., New York City time, and a daily closing Index level is published between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., New York City time, on each Trading Day, Index information is available from Bloomberg on pages CUBS + GO, CMCN or CMCX and from Reuters on page UBSCMCI.

The Index is a “total return” index. In addition to uncollateralized returns generated from the futures contracts comprising the Index, a daily fixed-income return is added, which reflects the interest earned on a hypothetical 91-day Treasury Bill portfolio theoretically deposited as margin for hypothetical positions in the futures contracts comprising the Index. The rate used to calculate the daily fixed-income return is the 91-day U.S. Treasury Bill auction rate, as published by the “Treasury Security Auction Results” report, published by the Bureau of the Public Debt currently available on the website: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/annceresult/press/press.htm. The rate is generally published once per week on Monday and generally made effective with respect to the Index on the following Trading Day.

24


LICENSE AGREEMENT AND DISCLAIMERS

The Adviser has entered into a licensing agreement with UBS AG, London and Bloomberg Finance L.P. to use the Index. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sub-licensing arrangement with the Adviser.

UBS and Bloomberg own or exclusively license, solely or jointly as agreed between them all proprietary rights with respect to the Index. Any third-party product based on or related to the Index (“Product”) may only be issued upon the prior joint written approval of UBS and Bloomberg upon the execution of a license agreement between UBS, Bloomberg and the party intending to launch a Product (a “Licensee”). In no way do UBS or Bloomberg sponsor or endorse, nor are they otherwise involved in the issuance and offering of a Product nor do either of them make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the holders of the Product or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in the Product or commodities generally or in futures particularly, or as to results to be obtained from the use of the Index or from the Product. Further, neither UBS or Bloomberg provides investment advice to any Licensee specific to the Product, other than providing the Index as agreed in the license agreement with the Licensee, and which will be done without consideration of the particular needs of the Product or the Licensee. UBS and Bloomberg each specifically disclaim any liability to any party for any inaccuracy in the data on which the Index is based, for any mistakes, errors, omissions or interruptions in the calculation and/or dissemination of the Index, or for the manner in which such is applied in connection with the issuance and offering of a Product. In no event shall UBS or Bloomberg have any liability to any party for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special or consequential damages or losses.

THIS IS NOT AN OFFER OR SOLICITATION BY UBS OR BLOOMBERG OF AN OFFER TO BUY OR SELL ANY SECURITY OR INVESTMENT. PAST PERFORMANCE OF THE INDEX IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.

25


FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The Fund has not yet commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, and therefore they do not have financial histories.

26


PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION

The Fund has not yet commenced operations and, therefore, does not have information about the differences between the Fund’s daily market price on NYSE Arca and its NAV. Information regarding how often the Shares of the Fund traded on NYSE Arca at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, as applicable, can be found at vaneck.com/etf.

27


GENERAL INFORMATION

Continuous Offering

The method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Trust on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), may occur at any point. Broker dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

For example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares, and sells such Shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

Broker dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with Shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the Shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to Shares are reminded that, under Rule 153 of the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on NYSE Arca is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at NYSE Arca upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.

Other Information

The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on March 15, 2001. Its Declaration of Trust currently permits the Trust to issue an unlimited number of Shares of beneficial interest. If shareholders are required to vote on any matters, each Share outstanding would be entitled to one vote. Annual meetings of shareholders will not be held except as required by the 1940 Act and other applicable law. See the Fund’s SAI for more information concerning the Trust’s form of organization. Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including Shares of the Fund. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund.

28


Dechert LLP serves as counsel to the Trust, including the Fund. Ernst & Young LLP serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and will audit the Fund’s financial statements annually.

29


Additional Information

This Prospectus does not contain all the information included in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC with respect to the Fund’s Shares. Information about the Fund can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1.202.551.8090. The Fund’s Registration Statement, including this Prospectus, the Fund’s SAI and the exhibits may be examined at the offices of the SEC (100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549) or on the EDGAR database at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520. These documents and other information concerning the Trust also may be inspected at the offices of NYSE Arca (20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005).

The SAI for the Fund, which has been filed with the SEC, provides more information about the Fund. The SAI for the Fund is incorporated herein by reference and is legally part of this Prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, when available, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. The SAI and the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports may be obtained without charge by writing to the Fund at Van Eck Securities Corporation, the Fund’s distributor, at 335 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017 or by calling the distributor at the following number: Investor Information: 1.888.MKT.VCTR (658-8287).

Shareholder inquiries may be directed to the Fund in writing to 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017 or by calling 1.888.MKT.VCTR (658-8287).

The Fund’s SAI will be available at vaneck.com/etf.

(Investment Company Act file no. 811-10325)

30


The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. The Trust may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion

Preliminary Statement of Additional Information dated January 7, 2011

MARKET VECTORS ETF TRUST
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Dated __________, 2011

          This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus dated __________, 2011 (the “Prospectus”) for the Market Vectors ETF Trust (the “Trust”), relating to the series of the Trust listed below, as it may be revised from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fund

 

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange

 

Ticker


 

 


 


Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF

 

NYSE Arca, Inc.

 

 

          A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust or the Distributor. The Trust’s address is 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017. Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

 

 


 

 

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST

 

1

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RESTRICTIONS

 

2

 

Below Investment Grade Securities

 

3

 

Borrowing; Leverage

 

3

 

Convertible Securities

 

4

 

Debt Securities

 

4

 

Derivatives

 

5

 

Equity Securities

 

6

 

Futures, Warrant and Subscription Rights

 

6

 

Indexed Securities and Structured Notes

 

8

 

Options

 

9

 

Investments in Other Investment Companies

 

9

 

Preferred Stock

 

9

 

Repurchase and Reverse Repurchase Agreements

 

10

 

Rule 144A and Section 4(2) Securities

 

10

 

Securities Lending

 

11

 

Subsidiary

 

11

 

Swaps

 

12

 

Tracking Error

 

12

 

U.S. Government and Related Obligations

 

13

 

When, As and If Issued Securities

 

13

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE INDEX

 

13

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND RISKS

 

 

 

General

 

 

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

 

18

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST

 

20

 

Trustees and Officers of the Trust

 

20

 

Independent Trustees

 

21

 

Interested Trustee

 

21

 

Officer Information

 

22

 

Remuneration of Trustees

 

25

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE

 

26

- i -


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO SCHEDULE

 

26

CODE OF ETHICS

 

26

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

 

26

MANAGEMENT

 

28

 

Investment Adviser

 

28

 

The Administrator

 

28

 

Custodian and Transfer Agent

 

29

 

The Distributor

 

29

 

Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers

 

30

 

Portfolio Manager Compensation

 

30

 

Portfolio Manager Share Ownership

 

30

BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS

 

31

BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM

 

32

CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

 

34

 

General

 

34

 

Fund Deposit

 

34

 

Procedures for Creation of Creation Units

 

35

 

Placement of Creation Orders Using Clearing Process

 

36

 

Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process—Domestic Funds

 

37

 

Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process—Foreign Funds

 

37

 

Acceptance of Creation Order

 

38

 

Creation Transaction Fee

 

38

 

Redemption of Creation Units

 

39

 

Redemption Transaction Fee

 

39

 

Placement of Redemption Orders Using Clearing Process

 

40

 

Placement of Redemption Orders Outside Clearing Process—Domestic Funds

 

40

 

Placement of Redemption Orders Outside Clearing Process—Foreign Funds

 

41

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

 

43

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

 

45

 

General Policies

 

45

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT SERVICE

 

45

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

 

45

TAXES

 

46

 

Taxation of the Fund in General

 

46

 

Taxation of the Fund’s Investments

 

47

- ii -


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

Taxation of the Shareholders

 

49

 

Reportable Transactions

 

51

CAPITAL STOCK AND SHAREHOLDER REPORTS

 

51

COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

52

LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND DISCLAIMERS

 

53

APPENDIX A VAN ECK GLOBAL PROXY VOTING POLICIES

 

54

- iii -


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST

          The Trust is an open-end management investment company. The Trust currently consists of __ investment portfolios. This SAI relates to one investment portfolio: Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF (the “Fund”). The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on March 15, 2001. The shares of the Fund are referred to herein as “Shares.”

          The Fund will offer and issue Shares at its net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (a “Creation Unit”). Similarly, Shares are redeemable by the Fund only in Creation Units, and generally in exchange for cash. The Shares of the Fund are expected to be approved for listing, subject to notice of issuance, on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”), and will trade in the secondary market at market prices that may differ from the Shares’ NAV. A Creation Unit consists of 50,000 Shares of the Fund.

          In each instance of cash creations or redemptions, the Trust may impose transaction fees based on transaction expenses related to the particular exchange that will be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind purchases or redemptions.


INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RESTRICTIONS

          The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in instruments that derive their value from the performance of the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index (the “Index”), as described below, and in bonds, debt securities and other fixed income instruments (“Fixed Income Instruments”) issued by various U.S. public- or private-sector entities. The Fund invests in commodity-linked derivative instruments, including commodity index-linked notes, swap agreements, commodity futures contracts and options on futures contracts that provide economic exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets, as represented by the Index and its constituents. A derivative is an investment whose value depends on (or is derived from) that value of an underlying security. Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, metals, and agricultural products. A commodity-linked derivative is a derivative instrument whose value is linked to the movement of a commodity, commodity index, commodity option or futures contract. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by overall market movements and other factors affecting the value of a particular industry or commodity, such as weather, disease, embargoes, or political and regulatory developments.

          The Index is a rules-based, composite benchmark index diversified across 26 commodities from the following five sectors: energy, precious metals, industrial metals, agriculture and livestock. The Index is comprised of futures contracts with maturities ranging from around three months to over three years for each commodity, depending on liquidity. The overall return of the Index reflects a combination of (i) the returns on the futures contracts comprising the Index; and (ii) the daily fixed-income return that would be earned on a hypothetical portfolio of 91-day U.S. Treasury bills theoretically deposited as margin for the hypothetical positions in the futures contracts comprising the Index. The selection and relative weightings of the components of the Index are designed to reflect the economic significance and market liquidity of each commodity, as determined based on global economic data, consumption data, commodity futures prices, open interest and volume data. The maturity of each commodity component in the Index remains fixed at a predefined time interval from the current date at all times by means of a continuous rolling process, in which a weighted percentage of shorter dated contracts for each commodity are swapped for longer dated contracts on a daily basis. The Index is rebalanced monthly back to the target weightings of the commodity components of the Index and the target weightings of all commodity components are revised twice per year. A more detailed description of the Index is contained in the section of this SAI entitled “Additional Information About the Index.”

          The Fund will seek to track the returns of the Index by entering into swap contracts and commodity index-linked notes with one or more counterparties, which contracts and notes will rise and fall in value in response to changes in the value of the Index. As of the date of this SAI, UBS was the only available counterparty with which the Fund may enter into such swap contracts on the Index. The Fund may enter into such contracts and notes directly or indirectly through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund (the “Subsidiary”). Commodity index-linked notes are derivative debt instruments with principal and/or coupon payments linked to the performance of commodity indices (such as the Index). These commodity index-linked notes are sometimes referred to as “structured notes” because the terms of these notes may be structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note. The Fund may also seek to gain exposure to the individual commodity components of the Index by investing in futures contracts that comprise the Index, either directly or indirectly through the Subsidiary.

          The following is additional information regarding the investment policies and strategies used by the Fund in attempting to achieve its objective, and should be read with the sections of the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Summary Information – Principal Investment Strategies”, “Summary Information – Principal

2


Risks of Investing in the Fund” and “Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks.”

          Appendix B to this SAI contains an explanation of the rating categories of Moody’s Investors Service Inc. (“Moody’s”) and Standard & Poor’s Corporation (“S&P”) relating to the fixed-income securities and preferred stocks in which the Fund may invest.

BELOW INVESTMENT GRADE SECURITIES

          Investments in securities rated below investment grade that are eligible for purchase by the Fund are described as “speculative” by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch. Investment in lower rated corporate debt securities (“high yield securities” or “junk bonds”) generally provides greater income and increased opportunity for capital appreciation than investments in higher quality securities, but they also typically entail greater price volatility and principal and income risk.

          These high yield securities are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. Analysis of the creditworthiness of issuers of debt securities that are high yield may be more complex than for issuers of higher quality debt securities.

          High yield securities may be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than investment grade securities. The prices of high yield securities have been found to be less sensitive to interest-rate changes than higher-rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic downturns or individual corporate developments. A projection of an economic downturn or of a period of rising interest rates, for example, could cause a decline in high yield security prices because the advent of a recession could lessen the ability of a highly leveraged company to make principal and interest payments on its debt securities. If an issuer of high yield securities defaults, in addition to risking payment of all or a portion of interest and principal, the Fund by investing in such securities may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. In the case of high yield securities structured as zero-coupon or pay-in-kind securities, their market prices are affected to a greater extent by interest rate changes, and therefore tend to be more volatile than securities which pay interest periodically and in cash.

          The secondary market on which high yield securities are traded may be less liquid than the market for higher grade securities. Less liquidity in the secondary trading market could adversely affect the price at which the Fund could sell a high yield security, and could adversely affect the daily net asset value of the shares. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield securities, especially in a thinly-traded market. When secondary markets for high yield securities are less liquid than the market for higher grade securities, it may be more difficult to value the securities because such valuation may require more research, and elements of judgment may play a greater role in the valuation because there is less reliable, objective data available.

BORROWING; LEVERAGE

          Borrowing to invest more is called “leverage.” The Fund may borrow from banks provided that the amount of borrowing is no more than one third of the net assets of the Fund plus the amount of the borrowings. The Fund is required to be able to restore borrowing to its permitted level within three days, if it should increase to more than one-third as stated above. Methods that may be used to restore borrowings in this context include selling securities, even if the sale hurts the Fund’s investment performance. Leverage exaggerates the effect of rises or falls in prices of securities bought with borrowed

3


money. Borrowing also costs money, including fees and interest. The Fund expects to borrow only through negotiated loan agreements with commercial banks or other institutional lenders.

CONVERTIBLE SECURITIES

          The Fund may invest in securities that are convertible into common stock or other securities of the same or a different issuer or into cash within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. Convertible securities are generally fixed income securities (but may include preferred stock) and generally rank senior to common stocks in a corporation’s capital structure and, therefore, entail less risk than the corporation’s common stock. The value of a convertible security is a function of its “investment value” (its value as if it did not have a conversion privilege), and its “conversion value” (the security’s worth if it were to be exchanged for the underlying security, at market value, pursuant to its conversion privilege).

          To the extent that a convertible security’s investment value is greater than its conversion value, its price will be primarily a reflection of such investment value and its price will be likely to increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise, as with a fixed-income security (the credit standing of the issuer and other factors may also have an effect on the convertible security’s value). If the conversion value exceeds the investment value, the price of the convertible security will rise above its investment value and, in addition, will sell at some premium over its conversion value. (This premium represents the price investors are willing to pay for the privilege of purchasing a fixed-income security with a possibility of capital appreciation due to the conversion privilege.) At such times the price of the convertible security will tend to fluctuate directly with the price of the underlying equity security. Convertible securities may be purchased by the Fund at varying price levels above their investment values and/or their conversion values in keeping with the Fund’s objective.

DEBT SECURITIES

          The Fund may invest in debt securities. The market value of debt securities generally varies in response to changes in interest rates and the financial condition of each issuer and the value of a hard asset if linked to the value of a hard asset. Debt securities with similar maturities may have different yields, depending upon several factors, including the relative financial condition of the issuers. A description of debt securities ratings is contained in Appendix B to the SAI. High grade means a rating of A or better by Moody’s or S&P, or of comparable quality in the judgment of the Adviser or if no rating has been given by either service. Many securities of foreign issuers are not rated by these services. Therefore, the selection of such issuers depends to a large extent on the credit analysis performed by the Adviser. During periods of declining interest rates, the value of debt securities generally increases. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the value of such securities generally declines. These changes in market value will be reflected in the Fund’s net asset value. Debt securities with similar maturities may have different yields, depending upon several factors, including the relative financial condition of the issuers. For example, higher yields are generally available from securities in the lower rating categories of S&P or Moody’s.

          However, the values of lower-rated securities generally fluctuate more than those of high-grade securities. Many securities of foreign issuers are not rated by these services. Therefore the selection of such issuers depends to a large extent on the credit analysis performed by the Adviser.

          New issues of certain debt securities are often offered on a when-issued basis. That is, the payment obligation and the interest rate are fixed at the time the buyer enters into the commitment, but delivery and payment for the securities normally take place after the date of the commitment to purchase. The

4


value of when-issued securities may vary prior to and after delivery depending on market conditions and changes in interest rate levels. However, the Fund does not accrue any income on these securities prior to delivery. The Fund will maintain in a segregated account with its Custodian an amount of cash or high quality securities equal (on a daily marked-to-market basis) to the amount of its commitment to purchase the when-issued securities. The Fund may also invest in low rated or unrated debt securities. Low rated debt securities present a significantly greater risk of default than do higher rated securities, in times of poor business or economic conditions, the Fund may lose interest and/or principal on such securities.

          The Fund may also invest in various money market securities for cash management purposes or when assuming a temporary defensive position. Money market securities may include commercial paper, bankers’ acceptances, bank obligations, corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit, U.S. government securities and obligations of savings institutions.

DERIVATIVES

          The Fund may also use futures contracts and options, forward contracts and swaps as part of various investment techniques and strategies, such as creating non-speculative “synthetic” positions (covered by segregation of liquid assets) or implementing “cross-hedging” strategies. A “synthetic” position is the duplication of cash market transaction when deemed advantageous by the Adviser for cost, liquidity or transactional efficiency reasons. A cash market transaction is the purchase or sale of the security or other asset for cash. “Cross-hedging” involves the use of one currency to hedge against the decline in the value of another currency. The use of such instruments as described herein involves several risks. First, there can be no assurance that the prices of such instruments and the hedge security or the cash market position will move as anticipated. If prices do not move as anticipated, the Fund may incur a loss on its investment, may not achieve the hedging protection it anticipated and/or may incur a loss greater than if it had entered into a cash market position. Second, investments in such instruments may reduce the gains which would otherwise be realized from the sale of the underlying securities or assets which are being hedged. Third, positions in such instruments can be closed out only on an exchange that provides a market for those instruments. There can be no assurance that such a market will exist for a particular futures contract or option. If the Fund cannot close out an exchange traded futures contract or option which it holds, it would have to perform its contract obligation or exercise its option to realize any profit and would incur transaction cost on the sale of the underlying assets. In addition, the use of derivative instruments involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the derivatives contract to make required payments or otherwise comply with the contract’s terms.

          When the Fund intends to acquire securities (or gold bullion or coins as the case may be) for its portfolio, it may use call options or futures contracts as a means of fixing the price of the security (or gold) it intends to purchase at the exercise price (in the case of an option) or contract price (in the case of futures contracts). An increase in the acquisition cost would be offset, in whole or part, by a gain on the option or futures contract. Options and futures contracts requiring delivery of a security may also be useful to the Fund in purchasing a large block of securities that would be more difficult to acquire by direct market purchases. If the Fund holds a call option rather than the underlying security itself, the Fund is partially protected from any unexpected decline in the market price of the underlying security and in such event could allow the call option to expire, incurring a loss only to the extent of the premium paid for the option. Using a futures contract would not offer such partial protection against market declines and the Fund would experience a loss as if it had owned the underlying security.

5


EQUITY SECURITIES

          The Fund may invest directly in equity securities. Equity securities, such as common stock, represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer.

          Common stock generally takes the form of shares in a corporation. The value of a company’s stock may fall as a result of factors directly relating to that company, such as decisions made by its management or lower demand for the company’s products or services. A stock’s value also may fall because of factors affecting not just the company, but also companies in the same industry or in a number of different industries, such as increases in production costs. The value of a company’s stock also may be affected by changes in financial markets that are relatively unrelated to the company or its industry, such as changes in interest rates or currency exchange rates. In addition, a company’s stock generally pays dividends only after the company invests in its own business and makes required payments to holders of its bonds, other debt and preferred stock. For this reason, the value of a company’s stock will usually react more strongly than its bonds, other debt and preferred stock to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Stocks of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies. Stocks of companies that the portfolio manager believes are fast-growing may trade at a higher multiple of current earnings than other stocks. The value of such stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the values of other stocks.

          Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy and/or insolvency of the issuer. In addition to common stock, equity securities may include preferred stock, convertible securities and warrants, which are discussed elsewhere in the Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information. Equity securities other than common stock are subject to many of the same risks as common stock, although possibly to different degrees.

FUTURES, WARRANTS AND SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS

          The Fund may buy and sell futures contracts which may include financial futures, security and interest-rate futures, stock and bond index futures contracts, foreign currency futures contracts and commodity futures. The Fund may engage in these transactions for hedging purposes and for other purposes. A security or interest-rate futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a specified security at a set price on a future date. An index futures contract is an agreement to take or make delivery of an amount of cash based on the difference between the value of the index at the beginning and at the end of the contract period. A foreign currency futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified amount of a currency for a set price on a future date. A commodity futures contract is an agreement to take or make delivery of a specified amount of a commodity, such as gold, at a set price on a future date.

          The Fund will not commit more than 5% of its total assets to initial margin deposits on futures contracts and premiums on options on futures contracts, except that margin deposits for futures positions entered into for bona fide hedging purposes, as that term is defined in the Commodity Exchange Act, are excluded from the 5% limitation. As the value of the underlying asset fluctuates, either party to the contract is required to make additional margin payments, known as “variation margin,” to cover any additional obligation it may have under the contract. In addition, cash or high quality securities equal in value to the current value of the underlying securities less the margin requirement will be segregated, as may be required, with the Fund’s custodian to ensure that the Fund’s position is unleveraged. This segregated account will be marked-to-market daily to reflect changes in the value of the underlying futures contract.

          Pursuant to a notice of eligibility claiming exclusion from the definition of Commodity Pool Operator filed with the National Futures Association on behalf of the Fund, neither the Trust nor the

6


individual Fund is deemed to be a “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), and, accordingly, they are not subject to registration or regulation as such under the CEA.

          The use of financial futures contracts and commodity futures contracts, options on such futures contracts and commodities, may reduce the Fund’s exposure to fluctuations in the prices of portfolio securities and may prevent losses if the prices of such securities decline. Similarly, such investments may protect the Fund against fluctuation in the value of securities in which the Fund is about to invest.

          The use of financial futures and commodity futures contracts and options on such futures contracts and commodities as hedging instruments involves several risks. First, there can be no assurance that the prices of the futures contracts or options and the hedged security or the cash market position will move as anticipated. If prices do not move as anticipated, the Fund may incur a loss on its investment, may not achieve the hedging protection anticipated and/or incur a loss greater than if it had entered into a cash market position. Second, investments in options, futures contracts and options on futures contracts may reduce the gains which would otherwise be realized from the sale of the underlying securities or assets which are being hedged. Third, positions in futures contracts and options can be closed out only on an exchange that provides a market for those instruments. There can be no assurances that such a market will exist for a particular futures contract or option. If the Fund cannot close out an exchange traded futures contract or option which it holds, it would have to perform its contractual obligation or exercise its option to realize any profit, and would incur transaction costs on the sale of the underlying assets.

          Warrants are instruments that permit, but do not obligate, the holder to subscribe for other securities. Subscription rights are similar to warrants, but normally have a short duration and are distributed directly by the issuer to its shareholders. Warrants and rights are not dividend-paying investments and do not have voting rights like common stock. They also do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. As a result, warrants and rights may be considered more speculative than direct equity investments. In addition, the value of warrants and rights do not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities and may cease to have value if they are not exercised prior to their expiration dates.

          It is the policy the Fund to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) to qualify as a regulated investment company, to prevent double taxation of the Fund and its shareholders. One of the requirements is that at least 90% of the Fund’s gross income be derived from dividends, interest, payment with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks or other securities. Gains from commodity futures contracts do not currently qualify as income for purposes of the 90% test. The extent to which the Fund may engage in options and futures contract transactions may be materially limited by this test.

          Risks Associated With Commodity Futures Contracts. The Fund may engage in transactions in commodity futures contracts. There are several additional risks associated with such transactions which are discussed below:

 

 

 

Storage. Unlike the financial futures markets, in the commodity futures markets there are costs of physical storage associated with purchasing the underlying commodity. The price of the commodity futures contract will reflect the storage costs of purchasing the physical commodity, including the time value of money invested in the physical commodity. To the extent that the storage costs for an underlying commodity change while the Fund is invested in futures contracts on that commodity, the value of the futures contract may change proportionately.

 

 

 

Reinvestment. In the commodity futures markets, producers of the underlying commodity may decide

7



 

 

 

to hedge the price risk of selling the commodity by selling futures contracts today to lock in the price of the commodity at delivery tomorrow. In order to induce speculators to purchase the other side of the same futures contract, the commodity producer generally must sell the futures contract at a lower price than the expected future spot price. Conversely, if most hedgers in the futures market are purchasing futures contracts to hedge against a rise in prices, then speculators will only sell the other side of the futures contract at a higher futures price than the expected future spot price of the commodity. The changing nature of the hedgers and speculators in the commodity markets will influence whether futures prices are above or below the expected future spot price, which can have significant implications for the Fund. If the nature of hedgers and speculators in futures markets has shifted when it is time for the Fund to reinvest the proceeds of a maturing contract in a new futures contract, the Fund might reinvest at higher or lower futures prices, or choose to pursue other investments.

 

 

 

Other Economic Factors. The commodities which underlie commodity futures contracts may be subject to additional economic and non-economic variables, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments. These factors may have a larger impact on commodity prices and commodity-linked instruments, including futures contracts, than on traditional securities. Certain commodities are also subject to limited pricing flexibility because of supply and demand factors. Others are subject to broad price fluctuations as a result of the volatility of the prices for certain raw materials and the instability of supplies of other materials. These additional variables may create additional investment risks which subject the Fund’s investments to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities.

 

 

 

Combined Positions. The Fund may purchase and write options in any combination. For example, the Fund may purchase a put option and write a call option on the same underlying instrument, in order to construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, in order to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.

INDEXED SECURITIES AND STRUCTURED NOTES

          The Fund may invest in indexed securities, i.e., structured notes securities and index options, whose value is linked to one or more currencies, interest rates, commodities, or financial or commodity indices. An indexed security enables the investor to purchase a note whose coupon and/or principal redemption is linked to the performance of an underlying asset. Indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed (i.e., their value may increase or decrease if the underlying instrument appreciates). Indexed securities may have return characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying instrument or to one or more options on the underlying instrument. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instrument itself, and present many of the same risks as investing in futures and options. Indexed securities are also subject to credit risks associated with the issuer of the security with respect to both principal and interest.

          Indexed securities may be publicly traded or may be two-party contracts (such two-party agreements are referred to hereafter collectively as structured notes). When the Fund purchases a structured note, it will make a payment of principal to the counterparty. Some structured notes have a guaranteed repayment of principal while others place a portion (or all) of the principal at risk. The Fund will purchase structured notes only from counterparties rated A or better by S&P, Moody’s or another

8


nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The Adviser will monitor the liquidity of structured notes under the supervision of the Board. Notes determined to be illiquid will be aggregated with other illiquid securities and will be subject to the Fund’s limitations on illiquid securities.

OPTIONS

          The Fund may write, purchase or sell covered call or put options. An options transaction involves the writer of the option, upon receipt of a premium, giving the right to sell (call option) or buy (put option) an underlying asset at an agreed upon exercise price. The holder of the option has the right to purchase (call option) or sell (put option) the underlying asset at the exercise price. If the option is not exercised or sold, it becomes worthless at its expiration date and the premium payment is lost to the option holder. As the writer of an option, the Fund keeps the premium whether or not the option is exercised. When the Fund sells a covered call option, which is a call option with respect to which the Fund owns the underlying assets, the Fund may lose the opportunity to realize appreciation in the market price of the underlying asset, or may have to hold the underlying asset, which might otherwise have been sold to protect against depreciation. A covered put option written by the Fund exposes it during the term of the option to a decline in the price of the underlying asset. A put option sold by the Fund is covered when, among other things, cash or short-term liquid securities are placed in a segregated account to fulfill the obligations undertaken. Covering a put option sold does not reduce the risk of loss.

          The Fund may invest in options which are either listed on a domestic securities exchange or traded on a recognized foreign exchange. In addition, the Fund may purchase or sell over-the-counter options for dealers or banks to hedge securities or currencies as approved by the Board. In general, exchange traded options are third party contracts with standardized prices and expiration dates. Over-the-counter options are two party contracts with price and terms negotiated by the buyer and seller, are generally considered illiquid, and will be subject to the limitation on investments in illiquid securities.

INVESTMENTS IN OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES

          The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies, including open end and closed end funds and exchanged traded funds (“ETFs”), subject to the limitations under the 1940 Act. The Fund may invest in investment companies which are sponsored or advised by the Adviser and/or its affiliates (each, a “Van Eck Investment Company”). However, in no event will the Fund invest more than 5% of its net assets in any single Van Eck Investment Company.

          The Fund’s investment in another investment company may subject the Fund indirectly to the underlying risks of the investment company. The Fund also will bear its share of the underlying investment company’s fees and expenses, which are in addition to the Fund’s own fees and expenses. Shares of closed-end funds and ETFs may trade at prices that reflect a premium above or a discount below the investment company’s net asset value, which may be substantial in the case of closed-end funds. If investment company securities are purchased at a premium to net asset value, the premium may not exist when those securities are sold and the Fund could incur a loss.

PREFERRED STOCK

          The may invest in preferred stock. Preferred stock represents an equity interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of other stocks such as common stocks, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company. Some preferred stocks also entitle their holders to receive additional liquidation proceeds on the same basis as holders of a company’s common stock, and thus also represent an ownership interest in that company.

9


          Preferred stocks may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred stock is subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred stock generally pays dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred stock will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred stock of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred stock of larger companies.

REPURCHASE AND REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS

          The Fund may enter into repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements. It is the current policy of the Fund not to invest in repurchase or reverse repurchase agreements that do not mature within seven days if any such investment, together with any other illiquid assets held by the Fund, amounts to more than 15% of its net assets.

          Repurchase agreements, which may be viewed as a type of secured lending by the Fund, typically involve the acquisition by the Fund of debt securities from a selling financial institution such as a bank, savings and loan association or broker-dealer. The agreement provides that the Fund will sell back to the institution, and that the institution will repurchase, the underlying security serving as collateral at a specified price and at a fixed time in the future, usually not more than seven days from the date of purchase. The collateral will be marked-to-market daily to determine that the value of the collateral, as specified in the agreement, does not decrease below the purchase price plus accrued interest. If such decrease occurs, additional collateral will be requested and, when received, added to the account to maintain full collateralization. The Fund will accrue interest from the institution until the time when the repurchase is to occur. While repurchase agreements involve certain risks not associated with direct investments in debt securities, the Fund will only enter into a repurchase agreement where (i) the underlying securities are of the type which the Fund’s investment policies would allow it to purchase directly, (ii) the market value of the underlying security, including accrued interest, will be at all times be equal to or exceed the value of the repurchase agreement, and (iii) payment for the underlying securities is made only upon physical delivery or evidence of book-entry transfer to the account of the custodian or a bank acting as agent.

          The Fund may also enter into reverse repurchase agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve sales by the Fund of portfolio assets concurrently with an agreement by the Fund to repurchase the same assets at a later date at a fixed price. Generally, the effect of such a transaction is that the Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while the Fund will be able to keep the interest income associated with those portfolio securities. Such transactions are advantageous only if the interest cost to the Fund of the reverse repurchase transaction is less than the cost of obtaining the cash otherwise. Opportunities to achieve this advantage may not always be available, and the Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when it will be advantageous to the Fund.

RULE 144A AND SECTION 4(2) SECURITIES

          The Fund may invest in securities which are subject to restrictions on resale because they have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, or which are otherwise not readily marketable.

          Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 allows a broader institutional trading market for securities otherwise subject to restriction on resale to the general public. Rule 144A establishes a “safe

10


harbor” from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 of resale of certain securities to qualified institutional buyers.

          The Adviser will monitor the liquidity of restricted securities in the Fund’s holdings under the supervision of the Board. In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser will consider, among other things, the following factors: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (2) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (3) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (4) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanisms of the transfer).

          In addition, commercial paper may be issued in reliance on the “private placement” exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. Such commercial paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws and, therefore, any resale of such securities must be effected in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. Such commercial paper is normally resold to other investors through or with the assistance of the issuer or investment dealers who make a market in such securities, thus providing liquidity.

          Securities eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 and commercial paper issued in reliance on the Section 4(2) exemption under the 1940 Act may be determined to be liquid in accordance with guidelines established by the Board for purposes of complying with investment restrictions applicable to investments by the Fund in illiquid securities. To the extent such securities are determined to be illiquid, they will be aggregated with other illiquid investments for purposes of the limitation on illiquid investments.

SECURITIES LENDING

          The Fund may lend securities to parties such as broker-dealers or other institutions. Securities lending allows the Fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the Fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The Fund maintains the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, the Fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If the Fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the Fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased. Cash received as collateral through loan transactions will generally be invested in shares of a money market fund. Investing this cash subjects that investment, as well as the securities loaned, to market appreciation or depreciation

SUBSIDIARY

          Investments in the Subsidiary are expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodity markets within the limitations of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code and recent IRS revenue rulings, as discussed below under “Taxation.” The Subsidiary is a company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and is overseen by its own board of directors. The Fund is the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary, and it is not currently expected that shares of the Subsidiary will be sold or offered to other investors. It is expected that the Subsidiary will invest primarily in commodity-linked derivative instruments, including swap agreements, futures and options on futures. To the extent that the Fund

11


invests in the Subsidiary, the Fund may be subject to the risks associated with those derivative instruments and other securities.

          While the Subsidiary may be considered similar to investment companies, it is not registered under the 1940 Act and, unless otherwise noted in the applicable Prospectus and this SAI, is not subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act and other U.S. regulations. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in the applicable Prospectus and this SAI and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.

SWAPS

          The Fund may enter into swap agreements. A swap is a derivative in the form of an agreement to exchange the return generated by one instrument for the return generated by another instrument. The payment streams are calculated by reference to a specified index and agreed upon notional amount. The term “specified index” includes currencies, fixed interest rates, prices, total return on interest rate indices, fixed income indices, stock indices and commodity indices (as well as amounts derived from arithmetic operations on these indices). For example, the Fund may agree to swap the return generated by a fixed income index for the return generated by a second fixed income index. The currency swaps in which the Fund may enter will generally involve an agreement to pay interest streams in one currency based on a specified index in exchange for receiving interest streams denominated in another currency. Such swaps may involve initial and final exchanges that correspond to the agreed upon notional amount. The swaps in which the Fund may engage also include rate caps, floors and collars under which one party pays a single or periodic fixed amount(s) (or premium), and the other party pays periodic amounts based on the movement of a specified index.

          Swaps do not involve the delivery of securities, other underlying assets, or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to swaps is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a swap defaults, the Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive. Currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Therefore, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations. If there is a default by the counterparty, the Fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. In addition, as of the date of this SAI, UBS was the only available counterparty with which the Fund may enter into swap contracts on the Index. Accordingly, this increases the Fund’s exposure to these counterparty risks.

          The use of swaps is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary fund securities transactions. If the Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, interest rates, and currency exchange rates, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if this investment technique were not used. Also, if a counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, the value of the swap would likely decline.

TRACKING ERROR

          The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index due to, among other factors, the Fund incurring operating expenses, and not being fully invested at all times as a result of cash inflows and cash reserves to meet redemptions.

12


U.S. GOVERNMENT AND RELATED OBLIGATIONS

          U.S. Government obligations include U.S. Treasury obligations and securities issued or guaranteed by various agencies of the U.S. Government or by various instrumentalities which have been established or sponsored by the U.S. Government. U.S. Treasury obligations and securities issued or guaranteed by various agencies of the U.S. Government differ in their interest rates, maturities and time of issuance, as well as with respect to whether they are guaranteed by the U.S. Government. U.S. Government and related obligations may be structured as fixed-, variable- or floating-rate obligations.

          While U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Government, securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. These securities may be supported by the ability to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality and, as a result, may be subject to greater credit risk than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury. Obligations of U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities and sponsored enterprises historically have involved limited risk of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to any of these entities if it is not obligated to do so by law.

WHEN, AS AND IF ISSUED SECURITIES

          The Fund may purchase securities on a “when, as and if issued” basis, under which the issuance of the security depends upon the occurrence of a subsequent event, such as approval of a merger, corporate reorganization or debt restructuring. The commitment for the purchase of any such security will not be recognized by the Fund until the Adviser determines that issuance of the security is probable. At that time, the Fund will record the transaction and, in determining its net asset value, will reflect the value of the security daily. At that time, the Fund will also earmark or establish a segregated account on the Fund’s books in which it will maintain cash, cash equivalents or other liquid portfolio securities equal in value to recognized commitments for such securities. The value of the Fund’s commitments to purchase the securities of any one issuer, together with the value of all securities of such issuer owned by the Fund, may not exceed 5% (2% in the case of warrants which are not listed on an exchange) of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the time the initial commitment to purchase such securities is made. An increase in the percentage of the Fund assets committed to the purchase of securities on a “when, as and if issued” basis may increase the volatility of its net asset value. The Fund may also sell securities on a “when, as and if issued” basis provided that the issuance of the security will result automatically from the exchange or conversion of a security owned by the Fund at the time of sale.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE INDEX

          The following is a more complete description of the Index, including, without limitation, information about the composition, weighting, method of calculation and procedures for changes in components and weights.

Overview of the Index

          The Index is weighted across both commodities and maturities. The Index, which is rebalanced monthly, represents a basket of futures contracts on 26 components representing 24 underlying commodities (as of __________, 2011) with a series of up to five different investment maturities for each individual commodity using the calculation methodology of constant maturity forwards. Traditional commodity indices tend to focus on front-month contracts with short tenors (time to maturity) whereas

13


the Index is based on commodity futures contracts with tenors ranging from around three months to over three years. The Index also offers continuous roll mechanisms for each constant maturity with respect to each commodity. This is in contrast to the rolling of near-term contracts over a short, pre-defined period of time that is offered in other commodity indices. The commodities represented in the Index currently include agricultural products, energy products, metals and minerals. The exchanges include the New York Mercantile Exchange (including the COMEX division), Chicago Board of Trade, London Metal Exchange, New York Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Kansas City Board of Trade, ICE Futures and Euronext.Liffe.

          The overall return on the Index is generated by two components: (i) uncollateralized returns from holding and rolling of futures contracts comprising the Index and (ii) a daily fixed-income return, which reflect the interest earned on a hypothetical 91-day Treasury Bill portfolio theoretically deposited as margin for hypothetical positions in the futures contracts comprising the Index.

          As of __________, 2011, the Index consisted of the following commodity sectors with the following relative target weights: Energy (____%), Agriculture (____%), Industrial Metals (____%), Precious Metals (____%) and Livestock (____%).

Component Selection and Target Weights

          For a commodity contract to be included in the Index, the following primary and secondary requirements have to be satisfied:

 

 

 

The “primary requirements” involve satisfying certain criteria related to the nature of the instrument as well as some technical characteristics including country of origin, trading characteristics, foreign exchange controls, availability and accuracy of contract, price and volume data.

 

 

 

The “secondary requirements” involve satisfying a series of purely financial thresholds based on liquidity, including, among other things, open interest and market volume. Open interest, which reflects positions in contracts that remain open on an overnight or multi-day basis, is used to assess past and future liquidity. Market volume, which reflects the number of contracts traded in a given period of time, indicates immediate interest, and over a period of time provides a usable measure of liquidity.

Index Weightings

          The weighting process for the Index is designed to reflect the economic significance and market liquidity of each commodity. The Index sponsors use a two-step approach to determine target weights: first, economic indicators (regional Consumer Price Indexes (CPI), Producer Price Indexes (PPI) and Gross Domestic Projects (GDP)), along with liquidity analysis, are used to determine the sector weights (the five sectors of the Index are currently agriculture, livestock, energy, precious metals and industrial metals); then global consumption data in conjunction with further liquidity analysis is used to calculate the individual component weights. In order to ensure a high level of diversification and avoid unnecessary dilution, the weight of any individual index component is limited to 20% and any commodity with a weight that is lower than 0.60% is excluded from the Index.

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Changes in the Weights and/or Index Composition

          The CMCI Governance Committee (in consultation with the CMCI Advisory Committee) reviews the selection and weightings of the futures contracts in the Index bi-annually, in October and April, or at any special meeting called by the CMCI Advisory Committee. Thus, weights are potentially reassigned whenever a regular or special meeting of the CMCI Governance Committee is held, subject to ratification by the Index Sponsors.

Tenors of Contracts

          The Index represents a weighted average of all availably Index constant maturities (ranging from three months to three years). The distribution of weightings to available tenors (time to maturity) is a function of relative liquidity of the underlying futures contracts. As of January 1, 2010, the average tenor of the futures contracts comprising the Index is approximately 8.35 months. As with most assert classes, the liquidity of commodity futures contracts tends to reduce as time to maturity increases.

Rebalancing of the Index Components

          Due to price movements, the weight of each component in the Index will move away from its Target Weight over time. The weight of each Index component is therefore rebalanced over the final three Index Business Days of each month in order to bring each underlying commodity and tenor back to its Target Weight. The process is automatic and is implemented via a pre-defined methodology.

          In addition, twice annually in January and July there is a maintenance period at which time the Target Weights themselves are adjusted according to decisions of the CMCI Governance Committee as ratified by the Index Sponsors.

Calculation of the Index

          The Index is calculated and disseminated by UBS approximately every fifteen seconds (assuming the Index level has changed within such fifteen-second interval) from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., New York City time, and a daily closing Index level is published between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., New York City time, on each Trading Day, Index information is available from Bloomberg on pages CUBS, CMCN or CMCX and from Reuters on page UBSCMCI.

          Index information is also available on the Bloomberg website: http://www.bloomberg.com (Select “COMMODITIES” from the drop-down menu entitle “Market Data”). For further information on the Index, investors can go the http://www.usb.com/cmci. Index values can also be found at http://www.ubs.com/keyinvest, choose “United States,” and then click on the “Commodities” tab.

Total Return

          The Index is a “total return” index. In addition to uncollateralized returns generated from the futures contracts comprising the Index, a daily fixed-income return is added, which reflects the interest earned on a hypothetical 91-day Treasury Bill portfolio theoretically deposited as margin for hypothetical positions in the futures contracts comprising the Index. The rate used to calculate the daily fixed-income return is the 91-day U.S. Treasury Bill auction rate, as published by the “Treasury Security Auction Results” report, published by the Bureau of the Public Debt currently available on the website: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/annceresult/press/press.htm. The rate is generally published once per week on Monday and generally made effective with respect to the Index on the following Trading Day.

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Investment Restrictions

          The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Fund. These restrictions cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund means the vote, at an annual or a special meeting of the security holders of the Trust, of the lesser of (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. Under these restrictions:

 

 

 

 

1.

The Fund may not make loans, except that the Fund may (i) lend portfolio securities, (ii) enter into repurchase agreements, (iii) purchase all or a portion of an issue of debt securities, bank loan or participation interests, bank certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, debentures or other securities, whether or not the purchase is made upon the original issuance of the securities and (iv) participate in an interfund lending program with other registered investment companies;

 

 

 

 

2.

The Fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulation from time to time;

 

 

 

 

3.

The Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulation from time to time;

 

 

 

 

4.

The Fund may not purchase or sell real estate, except that the Fund may (i) invest in securities of issuers that invest in real estate or interests therein; (ii) invest in mortgage-related securities and other securities that are secured by real estate or interests therein; and (iii) hold and sell real estate acquired by the Fund as a result of the ownership of securities;

 

 

 

 

5.

The Fund may not engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with its investments in other investment companies;

 

 

 

 

6.

The Fund may not purchase or sell commodities, unless acquired as a result of owning securities or other instruments, but it may purchase, sell or enter into financial options and futures, forward and spot currency contracts, swap transactions and other financial contracts or derivative instruments and may invest in securities or other instruments backed by commodities; and

 

 

 

 

7.

Purchase any security if, as a result of that purchase, 25% or more of its total assets would be invested in securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that this restriction does not limit the Fund’s investments in (i) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, (ii) securities of other investment companies, and provided further that (iii) to the extent the benchmark index for the Fund is concentrated in a particular industry, the Fund will necessarily be concentrated in that industry.

          In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, the Fund observes the following restrictions, which may be changed by the Board without a shareholder vote.

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The Fund will not purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies except in compliance with the 1940 Act, although the Fund may not acquire any securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

          If a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction, except that the percentage limitations with respect to the borrowing of money and illiquid securities will be continuously complied with.

17


EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

          A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Fund’s Prospectus under the headings “Summary Information—Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund,” “Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks—Risks of Investing in the Fund,” “Shareholder Information—Determination of NAV” and “Shareholder Information—Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the Prospectus.

          The Shares of the Fund are expected to be approved for listing on NYSE Arca, subject to notice of issuance, and will trade in the secondary market at prices that may differ to some degree from their NAV. The Exchange may but is not required to remove the Shares of the Fund from listing if: (1) following the initial twelve-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial holders of the Shares for 30 or more consecutive trading days, (2) the value of the Fund’s Index or portfolio of securities on which the Fund is based is no longer calculated or available or (3) such other event shall occur or condition exists that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. In addition, the Exchange will remove the Shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Trust. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares of the Fund will continue to be met.

          As in the case of other securities traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

          In order to provide investors with a basis to gauge whether the market price of the Shares on the Exchange is approximately consistent with the current value of the assets of the Fund on a per Share basis, an updated Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value is disseminated intra-day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association’s Network B. Indicative Per Share Portfolio Values are disseminated every 15 seconds during regular Exchange trading hours based on the most recently reported prices of Fund Securities. As the respective international local markets close, the Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value will continue to be updated for foreign exchange rates for the remainder of the U.S. trading day at the prescribed 15 second interval. The Fund is not involved in or responsible for the calculation or dissemination of the Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value and make no warranty as to the accuracy of the Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value.

          The Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value has an equity securities value component and a net other assets value component, each of which are summed and divided by the total estimated Fund Shares outstanding, including Shares expected to be issued by the Fund on that day, to arrive at an Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value.

          The equity securities value component of the Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value represents the estimated value of the portfolio securities held by the Fund on a given day. While the equity securities value component estimates the current market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities, it does not necessarily reflect the precise composition or market value of the current portfolio of securities held by the Trust for the Fund at a particular point in time. Therefore, the Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value disseminated during Exchange trading hours should be viewed only as an estimate of the Fund’s NAV per share, which is calculated at the close of the regular trading session on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each Business Day.

          In addition to the equity securities value component described in the preceding paragraph, the Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value for the Fund includes a net other assets value component consisting

18


of estimates of all other assets and liabilities of the Fund including, among others, current day estimates of dividend income and expense accruals.

19


BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST

Trustees and Officers of the Trust

          The Board of the Trust consists of four Trustees, three of whom are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act), of the Trust (the “Independent Trustees”). Mr. David H. Chow, an Independent Trustee, serves as Chairman of the Board. The Board is responsible for overseeing the management and operations of the Trust, including general supervision of the duties performed by the Adviser and other service providers to the Trust. The Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day administration and business affairs of the Trust.

          The Board believes that each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees lead to the conclusion that the Board possesses the requisite skills and attributes to carry out its oversight responsibilities with respect to the Trust. The Board believes that the Trustees’ ability to review, critically evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with the Adviser, other service providers, counsel and independent auditors, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties, support this conclusion. The Board also has considered the following experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills, among others, of its members in reaching its conclusion: such person’s character and integrity; length of service as a board member of the Trust; such person’s willingness to serve and willingness and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee; and as to each Trustee other than Mr. van Eck, his status as not being an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust. In addition, the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills apply as to each Trustee: Mr. Chow, significant business and financial experience, particularly in the investment management industry, experience with trading and markets through his involvement with the Pacific Stock Exchange, and service as a chief executive officer, board member, partner or executive officer of various businesses and non-profit organizations; Mr. Short, business and financial experience, particularly in the investment management industry, and service as a president, board member or executive officer of various businesses; Mr. Stamberger, business and financial experience and service as the president, chief executive officer and board member of SmartBrief Inc., a media company; and Mr. van Eck, business and financial experience, particularly in the investment management industry, and service as a president, executive officer and/or board member of various businesses, including the Adviser, Van Eck Securities Corporation, and Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation. References to the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), do not constitute holding out of the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.

          The Trustees of the Trust, their addresses, positions with the Trust, ages, term of office and length of time served, principal occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex overseen by each Trustee and other directorships, if any, held by the Trustees, are set forth below.

20


Independent Trustees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name, Address1 and Age

 

Position(s)
Held with
the Trust

 

Term of
Office2
and
Length of
Time
Served

 

Principal Occupation(s) During
Past Five Years

 

Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex3
Overseen

 

Other
Directorships
Held By
Trustee


 


 


 


 


 


David H. Chow, 52*†

 

Chairman
Trustee

 

Since 2008
Since 2006

 

Founder and CEO, DanCourt Management LLC (strategy consulting firm), March 1999 to present.

 

 

Director, Forward Management, LLC; Director, ReFlow Management Co., LLC; Trustee, Berea College of Kentucky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R. Alastair Short, 57*†

 

Trustee

 

Since 2006

 

President, Apex Capital Corporation (personal investment vehicle), January 1988 to present; Vice Chairman, W.P. Stewart & Co., Inc. (asset management firm), September 2007 to September 2008; and Managing Director, The GlenRock Group, LLC (private equity investment firm), May 2004 to September 2007.

 

 

Director, Kenyon Review; Director, The Medici Archive Project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard D. Stamberger,
51*†

 

Trustee

 

Since 2006

 

Director, President and CEO, SmartBrief, Inc. (media company).

 

 

None.


 

 

 


 

1

The address for each Trustee and officer is 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

2

Each Trustee serves until resignation, death, retirement or removal. Officers are elected yearly by the Trustees.

3

The Fund Complex consists of the Van Eck Funds, Van Eck VIP Trust and the Trust.

*

Member of the Audit Committee.

Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Interested Trustee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name, Address1 and Age

 

Position(s)
Held with
the Trust

 

Term of
Office2
and
Length of
Time
Served

 

Principal Occupation(s) During
Past Five Years

 

Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex3
Overseen

 

Other
Directorships
Held By
Trustee


 


 


 


 


 


Jan F. van Eck, 474

 

Trustee, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

Trustee (Since 2006); President and Chief Executive Officer (Since 2009)

 

Director, Executive Vice President and Owner of the Adviser, Van Eck Associates Corporation; Director and Executive Vice President, Van Eck Securities Corporation (“VESC”); Director and President, Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corp. (“VEARA”).

 

 

None.


 

 

 


 

1

The address for each Trustee and officer is 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

21



 

 

2

Each Trustee serves until resignation, death, retirement or removal. Officers are elected yearly by the Trustees.

3

The Fund Complex consists of the Van Eck Funds, Van Eck VIP Trust and the Trust.

4

“Interested person” of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act. Mr. van Eck is an officer of the Adviser.

Officer Information

          The Officers of the Trust, their addresses, positions with the Trust, ages and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Officer’s Name,
Address1 and Age

 

Position(s) Held
with the Trust

 

Term of
Office
2 and
Length of
Time Served

 

Principal Occupation(s) During The Past Five Years


 


 


 


Russell G. Brennan, 45

 

Assistant Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

 

Since 2008

 

Assistant Vice President of the Adviser (Since 2008); Manager (Portfolio Administration) of the Adviser (September 2005-October 2008); Vice President, Robeco Investment Management (July1990-September 2005); Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles T. Cameron, 50

 

Vice President

 

Since 2006

 

Director of Trading (Since 1995) and Portfolio Manager (Since 1997) for the Adviser; Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John J. Crimmins, 53

 

Treasurer

 

Since 2009

 

Vice President of Portfolio Administration of the Adviser (Since 2009); Vice President of VESC and VEARA (Since 2009); Chief Financial, Operating and Compliance Officer, Kern Capital Management LLC (September 1997-February 2009); Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan C. Lashley, 55

 

Vice President

 

Since 2006

 

Vice President of the Adviser and VESC; Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas K. Lynch, 54

 

Chief Compliance Officer

 

Since 2007

 

Chief Compliance Officer of the Adviser and VEARA (Since December 2006) and of VESC (Since August 2008); Vice President of the Adviser, VEARA and VESC; Treasurer (April 2005-December 2006); Second Vice President of Investment Reporting, TIAA-CREF (January 1996-April 2005); Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura I. Martínez, 30

 

Assistant Vice President and Assistant Secretary

 

Since 2008

 

Assistant Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Adviser, VESC and VEARA (Since 2008); Associate, Davis Polk & Wardwell (October 2005-June 2008); Stanford Law School (September 2002-June 2005); Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joseph J. McBrien, 62

 

Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer

 

Since 2006

 

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Adviser, VESC and VEARA (Since December 2005); Managing Director, Chatsworth Securities LLC (March 2001-November 2005); Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

22



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Officer’s Name,
Address
1 and Age

 

Position(s) Held
with the Trust

 

Term of
Office
2 and
Length of
Time Served

 

Principal Occupation(s) During The Past Five Years


 


 


 


Jonathan R. Simon, 36

 

Vice President and Assistant Secretary

 

Since 2006

 

Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Adviser, VESC and VEARA (Since 2006); Associate, Schulte Roth & Zabel (July 2004-July 2006); Associate, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP (September 2001-July 2004); Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruce J. Smith, 55

 

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

Since 2006

 

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Controller of the Adviser, VESC and VEARA (Since 1997); Officer of other investment companies advised by the Adviser.


 

 

 


 

1

The address for each Officer is 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

2

Officers are elected yearly by the Trustees.

          The Board of the Trust met five times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

          The Board has an Audit Committee consisting of three Trustees who are Independent Trustees. Messrs. Chow, Short and Stamberger currently serve as members of the Audit Committee and each has been designated as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under Item 407 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Mr. Short is the Chairman of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to: (i) oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Trust and its internal control over financial reporting; (ii) oversee the quality and integrity of the Trust’s financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (iii) oversee or, as appropriate, assist the Board’s oversight of the Trust’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements that relate to the Trust’s accounting and financial reporting, internal control over financial reporting and independent audit; (iv) approve prior to appointment the engagement of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm; and (v) act as a liaison between the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and the full Board. The Audit Committee met four times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

          The Board also has a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consisting of three Independent Trustees. Messrs. Chow, Short and Stamberger currently serve as members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Stamberger is the Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to: (i) evaluate, as necessary, the composition of the Board, its committees and sub-committees and make such recommendations to the Board as deemed appropriate by the Committee; (ii) review and define Independent Trustee qualifications; (iii) review the qualifications of individuals serving as Trustees on the Board and its committees; (iv) evaluate, recommend and nominate qualified individuals for election or appointment as members of the Board and recommend the appointment of members and chairs of each Board committee and subcommittee; and (v) review and assess, from time to time, the performance of the committees and subcommittees of the Board and report the results to the Board. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

          The Board has determined that its leadership structure is appropriate given the business and nature of the Trust. In connection with its determination, the Board considered that the Chairman of the

23


Board is an Independent Trustee. The Chairman of the Board can play an important role in setting the agenda of the Board and also serves as a key point person for dealings between management and the other Independent Trustees. The Independent Trustees believe that the Chairman’s independence facilitates meaningful dialogue between the Adviser and the Independent Trustees. The Board also considered that the Chairman of each Board committee is an Independent Trustee, which yields similar benefits with respect to the functions and activities of the various Board committees. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet outside the presence of management and are advised by independent legal counsel. The Board has determined that its committees help ensure that the Trust has effective and independent governance and oversight. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from management of the Trust, including the Adviser. The Board reviews its structure on an annual basis.

          As an integral part of its responsibility for oversight of the Trust in the interests of shareholders, the Board, as a general matter, oversees risk management of the Trust’s investment programs and business affairs. The function of the Board with respect to risk management is one of oversight and not active involvement in, or coordination of, day-to-day risk management activities for the Trust. The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Trust can be identified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Trust’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Trustees that may relate to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information.

          The Board exercises oversight of the risk management process primarily through the Audit Committee, and through oversight by the Board itself. The Trust faces a number of risks, such as investment-related and compliance risks. The Adviser’s personnel seek to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Trust. Under the overall supervision of the Board or the applicable Committee of the Board, the Trust, the Adviser, and the affiliates of the Adviser employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify such possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as various personnel of the Adviser and other service providers such as the Trust’s independent accountants, may report to the Audit Committee and/or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management, as well as events and circumstances that have arisen and responses thereto.

          The officers and Trustees of the Trust, in the aggregate, own less than 1% of the Shares of the Fund.

          For each Trustee, the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustee in the Trust and in all registered investment companies advised by the Adviser (“Family of Investment Companies”) that are overseen by the Trustee is shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name of Trustee

 

Dollar Range of Equity
Securities in Market Vectors
CM Commodity Index ETF
(As of December 31, 2009)

 

Aggregate Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in all
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen By
Trustee In Family of
Investment Companies
(As of December 31, 2009)

 


 


 


 

David H. Chow

 

None

 

Over $100,000

 

R. Alastair Short

 

None

 

$10,001-$50,000

 

Richard D. Stamberger

 

None

 

Over $100,000

 

24



 

 

 

 

 

 

Name of Trustee

 

Dollar Range of Equity
Securities in Market Vectors
CM Commodity Index ETF
(As of December 31, 2009)

 

Aggregate Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in all
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen By
Trustee In Family of
Investment Companies
(As of December 31, 2009)

 


 


 


 

Jan F. van Eck

 

None

 

Over $100,000

 

          As to each Independent Trustee and his immediate family members, no person owned beneficially or of record securities in an investment manager or principal underwriter of the Fund, or a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment manager or principal underwriter of the Fund.

Remuneration of Trustees

          The Trust pays each Independent Trustee an annual retainer of $40,000, a per meeting fee of $15,000 for scheduled quarterly meetings of the Board and each special meeting of the Board and a per meeting fee of $7,500 for telephonic meetings. The Trust pays the Chairman of the Board an annual retainer of $42,875, the Chairman of the Audit Committee an annual retainer of $18,375 and the Chairman of the Governance Committee an annual retainer of $12,250. The Trust also reimburses each Trustee for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending such meetings. No pension or retirement benefits are accrued as part of Trustee compensation.

          The table below shows the estimated compensation that is contemplated to be paid to the Trustees by the Trust for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. Annual Trustee fees may be reviewed periodically and changed by the Trust’s Board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name of Trustee

 

Aggregate
Compensation
From the Trust

 

Deferred
Compensation

From the Trust

 

Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Accrued
as Part of the
Trust’s Expenses
(2)

 

Estimated Annual
Benefits Upon
Retirement

 

Total
Compensation
From the Trust
and the Fund
Complex
(1) Paid to
Trustee
(2)

 


 


 


 


 


 


 

David H. Chow

 

$

0

 

$

165,375

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

$

165,375

 

R. Alastair Short

 

$

140,875

 

$

0

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

$

140,875

 

Richard D. Stamberger

 

$

67,375

 

$

67,375

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

$

134,750

 

Jan F. van Eck(3)

 

$

0

 

$

0

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

$

0

 


 

 

 


 

(1)

The “Fund Complex” consists of Van Eck Funds, Van Eck VIP Trust and the Trust.

(2)

Because the funds of the Fund Complex have different fiscal year ends, the amounts shown are presented on a calendar year basis.

(3)

“Interested person” under the 1940 Act.

25


PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE

          The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet web sites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Creation Units, together with estimates and actual cash components is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (the “NSCC”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC. The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund. The Trust, Adviser, Custodian and Distributor will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO SCHEDULE

          The Trust is required to disclose, after its first and third fiscal quarters, the complete schedule of the Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-Q. Form N-Q for the Fund will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Form N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 202.551.8090. The Fund’s Form N-Q will be available through the Fund’s website, at www.vaneck.com or by writing to 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

CODE OF ETHICS

          The Fund, the Adviser and the Distributor have each adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, designed to monitor personal securities transactions by their personnel (the “Personnel”). The Code of Ethics requires that all trading in securities that are being purchased or sold, or are being considered for purchase or sale, by the Fund must be approved in advance by the Head of Trading, the Director of Research and the Chief Compliance Officer of the Adviser. Approval will be granted if the security has not been purchased or sold or recommended for purchase or sale for the Fund on the day that the Personnel of the Adviser requests pre-clearance, or otherwise if it is determined that the personal trading activity will not have a negative or appreciable impact on the price or market of the security, or is of such a nature that it does not present the dangers or potential for abuses that are likely to result in harm or detriment to the Fund. At the end of each calendar quarter, all Personnel must file a report of all transactions entered into during the quarter. These reports are reviewed by a senior officer of the Adviser.

          Generally, all Personnel must obtain approval prior to conducting any transaction in securities. Independent Trustees, however, are not required to obtain prior approval of personal securities transactions. Personnel may purchase securities in an initial public offering or private placement, provided that he or she obtains preclearance of the purchase and makes certain representations.

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

          The Fund’s proxy voting record will be available upon request and on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Proxies for the Fund’s portfolio securities are voted in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting policies and procedures, which are set forth in Appendix A to this SAI.

          The Trust is required to disclose annually the Fund’s complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX covering the period July 1 through June 30 and file it with the SEC no later than August 31. Form N-PX for the Fund will be available through the Fund’s website, at www.vaneck.com, or by writing

26


to 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017. The Fund’s Form N-PX will also be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

27


MANAGEMENT

          The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Management of the Fund.”

Investment Adviser

          Van Eck Associates Corporation acts as investment adviser to the Trust and, subject to the general supervision of the Board, is responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the Fund. The Adviser is a private company with headquarters in New York and manages other mutual funds and separate accounts.

          The Adviser serves as investment adviser to the Fund pursuant to an investment management agreement between the Trust and the Adviser (the “Investment Management Agreement”). Under the Investment Management Agreement, the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Board and in conformity with the stated investment policies of the Fund, manages the investment of the Fund’s assets. The Adviser is responsible for placing purchase and sale orders and providing continuous supervision of the investment portfolio of the Fund.

          Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, the Trust has agreed to indemnify the Adviser for certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations and duties.

          Compensation. As compensation for its services under the Investment Management Agreement, the Adviser is paid a monthly fee based on a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets at the annual rate of _____%. From time to time, the Adviser may waive all or a portion of its fees. Until at least __________, 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 interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding _____% of its average daily net assets per year. Offering costs excluded from the expense caps are: (a) legal fees pertaining to the Fund’s Shares offered for sale; (b) SEC and state registration fees; and (c) initial fees paid for Shares of the Fund to be listed on an exchange.

          Term. The Investment Management Agreement is subject to annual approval by (1) the Board or (2) a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, provided that in either event such continuance also is approved by a majority of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Investment Management Agreement is terminable without penalty, on 60 days notice, by the Board or by a vote of the holders of a majority (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. The Investment Management Agreement is also terminable upon 60 days notice by the Adviser and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

The Administrator

          Van Eck Associates Corporation also serves as administrator for the Trust pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement. Under the Investment Management Agreement, the Adviser is obligated on a continuous basis to provide such administrative services as the Board of the Trust reasonably deems necessary for the proper administration of the Trust and the Fund. The Adviser will generally assist in all aspects of the Trust’s and the Fund’s operations; supply and maintain office

28


facilities, statistical and research data, data processing services, clerical, bookkeeping and record keeping services (including without limitation the maintenance of such books and records as are required under the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, except as maintained by other agents), internal auditing, executive and administrative services, and stationery and office supplies; prepare reports to shareholders or investors; prepare and file tax returns; supply financial information and supporting data for reports to and filings with the SEC and various state Blue Sky authorities; supply supporting documentation for meetings of the Board; provide monitoring reports and assistance regarding compliance with the Declaration of Trust, by-laws, investment objectives and policies and with federal and state securities laws; arrange for appropriate insurance coverage; calculate NAVs, net income and realized capital gains or losses; and negotiate arrangements with, and supervise and coordinate the activities of, agents and others to supply services.

Custodian and Transfer Agent

          The Bank of New York Mellon (“The Bank of New York”), located at 101 Barclay Street, New York, NY 10286, serves as custodian for the Fund pursuant to a Custodian Agreement. As Custodian, The Bank of New York holds the Fund’s assets. The Bank of New York serves as the Fund’s transfer agent pursuant to a Transfer Agency Agreement. The Bank of New York may be reimbursed by the Fund for its out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, The Bank of New York provides various accounting services to the Fund pursuant to a fund accounting agreement.

The Distributor

          Van Eck Securities Corporation (the “Distributor”) is the principal underwriter and distributor of Shares. Its principal address is 335 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017 and investor information can be obtained by calling 1-888-MKT-VCTR. The Distributor has entered into an agreement with the Trust which will continue from its effective date unless terminated by either party upon 60 days’ prior written notice to the other party by the Trust and the Adviser, or by the Distributor, or until termination of the Trust or the Fund offering its Shares, and which is renewable annually thereafter (the “Distribution Agreement”), pursuant to which it distributes Shares. Shares will be continuously offered for sale by the Trust through the Distributor only in Creation Units, as described below under “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units—Procedures for Creation of Creation Units.” Shares in less than Creation Units are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver a prospectus to persons purchasing Shares in Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Exchange Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). The Distributor has no role in determining the investment policies of the Trust or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust.

          The Distributor may also enter into sales and investor services agreements with broker-dealers or other persons that are Participating Parties and DTC Participants (as defined below) to provide distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services but must pay such broker-dealers or other persons, out of its own assets.

          The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty: (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) by vote of a majority (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, on at least 60 days’ written notice to the Distributor. The Distribution Agreement is also terminable upon 60 days’ notice by the Distributor and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

29


Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Manager

          As of the date of this SAI, Mr. Mazier managed other registered investment companies, pooled investment vehicles or other accounts.

          Below is a table of the number of other accounts managed within each of the following categories and the total assets in the accounts managed within each category, as of __________, 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name of
Portfolio
Manager

 

Category of
Account

 

Other Accounts Managed
(As of
__________, 2011)

 

Accounts with respect to which the advisory
fee is based on the performance of the account

 

 


 


 

 

Number of
Accounts

 

Total Assets in
Accounts

 

Number of Accounts

 

Total Assets in
Accounts


 


 


 


 


 


Michael
Mazier

 

Registered investment companies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other pooled investment vehicles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other accounts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          Although the funds that are managed by Mr. Mazier may have different investment strategies, each has an investment objective of seeking to replicate, before fees and expenses, its respective underlying index. The Adviser does not believe that management of the various accounts presents a material conflict of interest for Mr. Mazier or the Adviser.

Portfolio Manager Compensation

          The portfolio manager is paid a fixed base salary and a bonus. The bonus is based upon the quality of investment analysis and the management of the funds. The quality of management of the funds includes issues of replication, rebalancing, portfolio monitoring and efficient operation, among other factors. Portfolio managers who oversee accounts with significantly different fee structures are generally compensated by discretionary bonus rather than a set formula to help reduce potential conflicts of interest. At times, the Adviser and its affiliates manage accounts with incentive fees.

Portfolio Manager Share Ownership

          As of the date of this SAI, Mr. Mazier does not beneficially own any Shares of the Fund.

30


BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS

          When selecting brokers and dealers to handle the purchase and sale of portfolio securities, the Adviser looks for prompt execution of the order at a favorable price. Generally, the Adviser works with recognized dealers in these securities, except when a better price and execution of the order can be obtained elsewhere. The Fund will not deal with affiliates in principal transactions unless permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation. The Adviser owes a duty to its clients to provide best execution on trades effected. Since the investment objective of the Fund is investment performance that corresponds to that of an Index, the Adviser does not intend to select brokers and dealers for the purpose of receiving research services in addition to a favorable price and prompt execution either from that broker or an unaffiliated third party.

          The Adviser assumes general supervision over placing orders on behalf of the Trust for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Trust and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable to all by the Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as the Trust is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to the Trust. The primary consideration is best execution.

          Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates are likely to result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses and taxable distributions. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by the Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services.

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BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM

          The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares.”

          The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for the Shares. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Certificates will not be issued for Shares.

          DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the NYSE and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

          Beneficial ownership of Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of Shares.

          Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the Shares holdings of each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding Shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

          Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all Shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in Shares as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

          The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspects of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such Shares, or for

32


maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.

          DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to the Shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such a replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of Shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.

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CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

General

          The Fund issues and sells Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without an initial sales load, at its NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day (as defined herein), of an order in proper form.

          A “Business Day” with respect to the Fund is any day on which the NYSE is open for business. As of the date of the Prospectus, the NYSE observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday), Good Friday, Memorial Day (observed), Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Fund Deposit

          The consideration for a purchase of Creation Units is principally cash. To the extent in-kind creations are effected for the Fund, Creation Units of the Fund will consist of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of equity securities (the “Deposit Securities”) that comprise the Fund’s Index and an amount of cash computed as described below (the “Cash Component”). The Cash Component together with the Deposit Securities, as applicable, are referred to as the “Fund Deposit,”which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for Shares. The Cash Component represents the difference between the NAV of a Creation Unit and the market value of Deposit Securities and may include a Dividend Equivalent Payment. The “Dividend Equivalent Payment” enables the Fund to make a complete distribution of dividends on the next dividend payment date, and is an amount equal, on a per Creation Unit basis, to the dividends on all the instruments held by the Fund “Fund Securities”) with ex-dividend dates within the accumulation period for such distribution (the “Accumulation Period”, net of expenses and liabilities for such period, as if all of the Fund Securities had been held by the Trust for the entire Accumulation Period. The Accumulation Period begins on the ex-dividend date for the Fund and ends on the next ex-dividend date.

          The Administrator, through the NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m. Eastern time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) as well as the Cash Component for the Fund. Such Fund Deposit is applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, in order to effect creations of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced Fund Deposit composition is made available.

          The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities required for a Fund Deposit for the Fund changes as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the securities constituting the Fund’s Index. In addition, the Trust reserves the right to accept a basket of securities or cash that differs from Deposit Securities or to permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash (i.e., a “cash in lieu” amount) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security which may, among other reasons, not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery, not be permitted to be re-registered in the name of the Trust as a result of an in-kind creation order pursuant to local law or market convention or which may not be eligible for transfer through the Clearing Process (described below), or which may not be eligible for trading by a Participating Party (defined below). In light of the foregoing, in order to seek to replicate the in-kind creation order process, the Trust expects to purchase the Deposit Securities represented by the cash in lieu amount in the secondary market (“Market

34


Purchases”). In such cases where the Trust makes Market Purchases because a Deposit Security may not be permitted to be re-registered in the name of the Trust as a result of an in-kind creation order pursuant to local law or market convention, or for other reasons, the Authorized Participant will reimburse the Trust for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities were purchased by the Trust and the cash in lieu amount (which amount, at the Adviser’s discretion, may be capped), applicable registration fees and taxes. Brokerage commissions incurred in connection with the Trust’s acquisition of Deposit Securities will be at the expense of the Fund and will affect the value of all Shares of the Fund; but the Adviser may adjust the transaction fee to the extent the composition of the Deposit Securities changes or cash in lieu is added to the Cash Component to protect ongoing shareholders. The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, in the composition of the Index or resulting from stock splits and other corporate actions.

          In addition to the list of names and numbers of securities constituting the current Deposit Securities of a Fund Deposit, the Administrator, through the NSCC, also makes available (i) on each Business Day, the Dividend Equivalent Payment, if any, and the estimated Cash Component effective through and including the previous Business Day, per outstanding Shares of the Fund, and (ii) on a continuous basis throughout the day, the Indicative Per Share Portfolio Value.

Procedures for Creation of Creation Units

          To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to create Creation Units of the Fund, an entity or person either must be (1) a “Participating Party,” i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the Clearing Process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC; or (2) a DTC Participant (see “Book Entry Only System”); and, in either case, must have executed an agreement with the Trust and with the Distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Units outside the Clearing Process (“Participant Agreement”) (discussed below). A Participating Party and DTC Participant are collectively referred to as an “Authorized Participant.” All Creation Units of the Fund, however created, will be entered on the records of the Depository in the name of Cede & Co. for the account of a DTC Participant.

          All orders to create Creation Units must be placed in multiples of 50,000 Shares (i.e., a Creation Unit). All orders to create Creation Units, whether through the Clearing Process or outside the Clearing Process, must be received by the Distributor no later than the closing time of the regular trading session on NYSE Arca (“Closing Time”) (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the date such order is placed in order for creation of Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of the Fund as determined on such date. A “Custom Order” may be placed by an Authorized Participant in the event that the Trust permits or requires the substitution of an amount of cash to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security which may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or which may not be eligible for trading by such Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting, or other relevant reason. The date on which a creation order (or order to redeem as discussed below) is placed is herein referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” Orders must be transmitted by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, as described below (see “—Placement of Creation Orders Using Clearing Process”). Severe economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure, may impede the ability to reach the Distributor, a Participating Party or a DTC Participant.

          Creation Units may be created in advance of the receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the Fund Deposit. In such cases, the Participating Party will remain liable for the full deposit of the missing portion(s) of the Fund Deposit and will be required to post collateral with the Trust consisting of cash at least equal to a percentage of the marked-to-market value of such missing portion(s) that is specified in

35


the Participant Agreement. The Trust may use such collateral to buy the missing portion(s) of the Fund Deposit at any time and will subject such Participating Party to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Trust of purchasing such securities and the value of such collateral. The Trust will have no liability for any such shortfall. The Trust will return any unused portion of the collateral to the Participating Party once the entire Fund Deposit has been properly received by the Distributor and deposited into the Trust.

          Orders to create Creation Units of the Fund shall be placed with a Participating Party or DTC Participant, as applicable, in the form required by such Participating Party or DTC Participant. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, orders to create Creation Units of the Fund may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through a Participating Party or a DTC Participant who has executed a Participant Agreement. At any given time there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement. Those placing orders to create Creation Units of the Fund through the Clearing Process should afford sufficient time to permit proper submission of the order to the Distributor prior to the Closing Time on the Transmittal Date.

          Orders for creation that are effected outside the Clearing Process are likely to require transmittal by the DTC Participant earlier on the Transmittal Date than orders effected using the Clearing Process. Those persons placing orders outside the Clearing Process should ascertain the deadlines applicable to DTC and the Federal Reserve Bank wire system by contacting the operations department of the broker or depository institution effectuating such transfer of Deposit Securities and Cash Component.

          Orders to create Creation Units of the Fund may be placed through the Clearing Process utilizing procedures applicable to domestic funds for domestic securities (“Domestic Funds”) (see “—Placement of Creation Orders Using Clearing Process”) or outside the Clearing Process utilizing the procedures applicable to either Domestic Funds or foreign funds for foreign securities (see “—Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process—Domestic Funds” and “—Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process—Foreign Funds”). In the event that the Fund includes both domestic and foreign securities, the time for submitting orders is as stated in the “Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process—Foreign Funds” and “Placement of Redemption Orders Outside Clearing Process—Foreign Funds” sections below shall operate.

Placement of Creation Orders Using Clearing Process

          Fund Deposits created through the Clearing Process, if available, must be delivered through a Participating Party that has executed a Participant Agreement with the Distributor and with the Trust (as the same may be from time to time amended in accordance with its terms).

          The Participant Agreement authorizes the Distributor to transmit to NSCC on behalf of the Participating Party such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the Participating Party’s creation order. Pursuant to such trade instructions from the Distributor to NSCC, the Participating Party agrees to transfer the requisite Deposit Securities (or contracts to purchase such Deposit Securities that are expected to be delivered in a “regular way” manner by the third (3rd) Business Day) and the Cash Component to the Trust, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor. An order to create Creation Units of the Fund through the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Distributor on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.

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Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process—Domestic Funds

          Fund Deposits created outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through a DTC Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement with the Distributor and with the Trust. A DTC Participant who wishes to place an order creating Creation Units of the Fund to be effected outside the Clearing Process need not be a Participating Party, but such orders must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the creation of Creation Units will instead be effected through a transfer of securities and cash. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the DTC Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities through DTC to the account of the Trust by no later than 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, of the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities to be delivered, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The cash equal to the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Distributor through the Federal Reserve wire system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Distributor no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, on the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date. An order to create Creation Units of the Fund outside the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Distributor on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date; and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. However, if the Distributor does not receive both the requisite Deposit Securities and the Cash Component in a timely fashion on the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date, such order will be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such cancelled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the current NAV of the Fund. The delivery of Creation Units so created will occur no later than the third (3rd) Business Day following the day on which the creation order is deemed received by the Distributor.

          Additional transaction fees may be imposed with respect to transactions effected outside the Clearing Process (through a DTC participant) and in circumstances in which any cash can be used in lieu of Deposit Securities to create Creation Units. (See “Creation Transaction Fee” section below.)

Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process—Foreign Funds

          The Distributor will inform the Transfer Agent, the Adviser and the Custodian upon receipt of a Creation Order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate custodian. The Custodian will cause the subcustodian of the Fund to maintain an account into which the Deposit Securities (or the cash value of all or part of such securities, in the case of a permitted or required cash purchase or “cash in lieu” amount) will be delivered. Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local custodian. The Trust must also receive, on or before the contractual settlement date, immediately available or same day funds estimated by the Custodian to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component next determined after receipt in proper form of the purchase order, together with the creation transaction fee described below.

          Once the Trust has accepted a creation order, the Trust will confirm the issuance of a Creation Unit of the Fund against receipt of payment, at such NAV as will have been calculated after receipt in proper form of such order. The Distributor will then transmit a confirmation of acceptance of such order.

          Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the subcustodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant subcustodian, the Distributor and the Adviser will be notified of such delivery and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units.

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Acceptance of Creation Order

          The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor if, for any reason, (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the creator or creators, upon obtaining the Shares, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the Fund; (c) the Deposit Securities delivered are not as specified by the Administrator, as described above; (d) the acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; or (g) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and the Adviser make it for all practical purposes impossible to process creation orders. Examples of such circumstances include, without limitation, acts of God or public service or utility problems such as earthquakes, fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; wars; civil or military disturbances, including acts of civil or military authority or governmental actions; terrorism; sabotage; epidemics; riots; labor disputes; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Adviser, the Distributor, DTC, the NSCC or any other participant in the creation process, and similar extraordinary events. The Trust shall notify a prospective creator of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

          All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.

Creation Transaction Fee

          A fixed creation transaction fee of $[     ] payable to the Custodian is imposed on each creation transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased in the transaction. In addition, a variable charge for cash creations or for creations outside the Clearing Process currently of up to four times the basic creation transaction fee will be imposed. In the case of cash creations or where the Trust permits or requires a creator to substitute cash in lieu of depositing a portion of the Deposit Securities, the creator may be assessed an additional variable charge to compensate the Fund for the costs associated with purchasing the applicable securities. (See “Fund Deposit” section above.) The Fund may adjust these fees from time to time based upon actual experience. As a result, in order to seek to replicate the in-kind creation order process, the Trust expects to purchase, in the secondary market or otherwise gain exposure to, the portfolio securities that could have been delivered as a result of an in-kind creation order pursuant to local law or market convention, or for other reasons (“Market Purchases”). In such cases where the Trust makes Market Purchases, the Authorized Participant will reimburse the Trust for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities and/or financial instruments were purchased by the Trust and the cash in lieu amount (which amount, at the Adviser’s discretion, may be capped), applicable registration fees, brokerage commissions and certain taxes. The Adviser may adjust the transaction fee to the extent the composition of the creation securities changes or cash in lieu is added to the Cash Component to protect ongoing shareholders. Creators of Creation Units are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Securities to the account of the Trust.

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Redemption of Creation Units

          Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Distributor, only on a Business Day and only through a Participating Party or DTC Participant who has executed a Participant Agreement. The Trust will not redeem Shares in amounts less than Creation Units. Beneficial Owners also may sell Shares in the secondary market, but must accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit. See the section entitled “Summary Information—Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” and “Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks—Risks of Investing in the Fund” in the Fund’s Prospectus.

          Redemptions are effected principally for cash. To the extent redemptions are effected in-kind, the Administrator, through NSCC, makes available immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m. Eastern time) on each day that the Exchange is open for business, the Fund Securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day. The redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally consist of Fund Securities as announced by the Administrator on the Business Day of the request for redemption, plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities, less the redemption transaction fee and variable fees described below. The redemption transaction fee of $[    ] is deducted from such redemption proceeds. Should the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, a compensating cash payment to the Trust equal to the differential plus the applicable redemption transaction fee will be required to be arranged for by or on behalf of the redeeming shareholder. The Fund reserves the right to honor a redemption request by delivering a basket of securities or cash that differs from the Fund Securities. An Authorized Participant submitting a redemption request is deemed to represent to the Trust that it (or its client) (i) owns outright or has full legal authority and legal beneficial right to tender for redemption the requisite number of Fund Shares to be redeemed and can receive the entire proceeds of the redemption, and (ii) the Fund Shares to be redeemed have not been loaned or pledged to another party nor are they the subject of a repurchase agreement, securities lending agreement or such other arrangement which would preclude the delivery of such Fund Shares to the Trust. The Trust reserves the right to verify these representations at its discretion, but will typically require verification with respect to a redemption request from a fund in connection with higher levels of redemption activity and/or short interest in the Fund. If the Authorized Participant, upon receipt of a verification request, does not provide sufficient verification of its representations as determined by the Trust, the redemption request will not be considered to have been received in proper form and may be rejected by the Trust.

Redemption Transaction Fee

          The basic redemption transaction fees are the same no matter how many Creation Units are being redeemed pursuant to any one redemption request. An additional charge up to four times the redemption transaction fee will be charged with respect to cash redemptions or redemptions outside of the Clearing Process. An additional variable charge for cash redemptions or partial cash redemptions (when cash redemptions are permitted or required for the Fund) may also be imposed to compensate the Fund for the costs associated with selling the applicable securities. The Fund may adjust these fees from time to time based upon actual experience. As a result, in order to seek to replicate the in-kind redemption order process, the Trust expects to sell, in the secondary market, the portfolio securities or settle any financial instruments that may not be permitted to be re-registered in the name of the Participating Party as a result

39


of an in-kind redemption order pursuant to local law or market convention, or for other reasons (“Market Sales”). In such cases where the Trust makes Market Sales, the Authorized Participant will reimburse the Trust for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities and/or financial instruments were sold or settled by the Trust and the cash in lieu amount (which amount, at the Adviser’s discretion, may be capped), applicable registration fees, brokerage commissions and certain taxes. The Adviser may adjust the transaction fee to the extent the composition of the redemption securities changes or cash in lieu is added to the Cash Component to protect ongoing shareholders. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services.

Placement of Redemption Orders Using Clearing Process

          Orders to redeem Creation Units of the Fund through the Clearing Process, if available, must be delivered through a Participating Party that has executed the Participant Agreement with the Distributor and with the Trust (as the case may be from time to time amended in accordance with its terms). An order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund using the Clearing Process is deemed received on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on such Transmittal Date; and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed; such order will be effected based on the NAV of the Fund as next determined. An order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund using the Clearing Process made in proper form but received by the Fund after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, will be deemed received on the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date. The requisite Fund Securities (or contracts to purchase such Fund Securities which are expected to be delivered in a “regular way” manner) and the applicable cash payment will be transferred by the third (3rd) Business Day following the date on which such request for redemption is deemed received.

Placement of Redemption Orders Outside Clearing Process—Domestic Funds

          Orders to redeem Creation Units of the Fund outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through a DTC Participant that has executed the Participant Agreement with the Distributor and with the Trust. A DTC Participant who wishes to place an order for redemption of Creation Units of the Fund to be effected outside the Clearing Process need not be a Participating Party, but such orders must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that redemption of Creation Units of the Fund will instead be effected through transfer of Creation Units of the Fund directly through DTC. An order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund outside the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Administrator on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Administrator not later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on such Transmittal Date; (ii) such order is preceded or accompanied by the requisite number of Shares of Creation Units specified in such order, which delivery must be made through DTC to the Administrator no later than 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, on such Transmittal Date (the “DTC Cut-Off-Time”); and (iii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.

          After the Administrator has deemed an order for redemption outside the Clearing Process received, the Administrator will initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Fund Securities (or contracts to purchase such Fund Securities) which are expected to be delivered within three Business Days and the cash redemption payment to the redeeming Beneficial Owner by the third Business Day following the Transmittal Date on which such redemption order is deemed received by the Administrator. An additional variable redemption transaction fee of up to four times the basic transaction fee is applicable to redemptions outside the Clearing Process.

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Placement of Redemption Orders Outside Clearing Process—Foreign Funds

          Arrangements satisfactory to the Trust must be in place for the Participating Party to transfer the Creation Units through DTC on or before the settlement date. Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits or requires cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Fund could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Deposit Securities under such laws.

          In connection with taking delivery of Shares for Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or entity acting on behalf of a redeeming shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered. If neither the redeeming shareholder nor the entity acting on behalf of a redeeming shareholder has appropriate arrangements to take delivery of the Fund Securities in the applicable foreign jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Fund Securities in such jurisdictions, the Trust may, in its discretion, exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming shareholder will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash.

          Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within three business days. Due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, however, the delivery of redemption proceeds may take longer than three business days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. In such cases, the local market settlement procedures will not commence until the end of the local holiday periods.

          The holidays applicable to the Fund are listed below. The proclamation of new holidays, the treatment by market participants of certain days as “informal holidays” (e.g., days on which no or limited securities transactions occur, as a result of substantially shortened trading hours), the elimination of existing holidays or changes in local securities delivery practices, could affect the information set forth herein at some time in the future. The dates in calendar year 2011 in which the regular holidays affecting the relevant securities markets of the below listed countries are as follows (the following holiday schedule is subject to potential changes in the securities market):

2011

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          The longest redemption cycle for the Fund is a function of the longest redemption cycle among the countries whose securities comprise the Fund. In the calendar year 2011, the dates of regular holidays affecting the following securities markets present the worst-case redemption cycle* for the Fund as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SETTLEMENT PERIODS GREATER THAN
SEVEN DAYS FOR YEAR 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning of Settlement
Period

 

End of Settlement
Period

 

Number of Days in
Settlement Period

 

 


 


 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


*

These worst-case redemption cycles are based on information regarding regular holidays, which may be out of date. Based on changes in holidays, longer (worse) redemption cycles are possible.

          The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (1) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the Fund or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

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DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

          The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Determination of NAV.”

          The NAV per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the management fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange. Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources.

          The value of a financial futures or commodity futures contract equals the unrealized gain or loss on the contract that is determined by marking it to the current settlement price for a like contract acquired on the day on which the commodity futures contract is being valued. A settlement price may not be used if the market makes a limit move with respect to a particular commodity. Securities or futures contracts for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value, which is currently determined using the last reported sale price. If no sales are reported as in the case of most securities traded over-the-counter, securities are valued at the mean of their bid and asked prices at the close of trading on the NYSE. In cases where securities are traded on more than one exchange, the securities are valued on the exchange designated by or under the authority of the Board as the primary market. Short-term investments having a maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market. Options are valued at the last sales price unless the last sales price does not fall within the bid and ask prices at the close of the market, at which time the mean of the bid and ask prices is used. All other securities are valued at their fair value as determined in good faith by the Trustees. Foreign securities or futures contracts quoted in foreign currencies are valued at appropriately translated foreign market closing prices or as the Board may prescribe.

          Generally, trading in foreign securities and futures contracts, as well as corporate bonds, United States Government securities and money market instruments, is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of the NYSE. The values of such securities used in determining the net asset value of the shares of the Fund may be computed as of such times. Foreign currency exchange rates are also generally determined prior to the close of the NYSE. Occasionally, events affecting the value of such securities and such exchange rates may occur between such times and the close of the NYSE which will not be reflected in the computation of the Fund’s net asset values. If events materially affecting the value of such securities occur during such period, then these securities may be valued at their fair value as determined in good faith by the Board.

          The Fund’s investments are generally valued based on market quotations. When market quotations are not readily available for a portfolio security, the Fund must use the security’s “fair value” as determined in good faith in accordance with the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures, which are approved by the Board. As a general principle, the current fair value of a security is the amount which the Fund might reasonably expect to receive for the security upon its current sale.

          Factors that may cause the Fund to use the fair value of a portfolio security to calculate the Fund’s NAV include, but are not limited to: (1) market quotations are not readily available because a portfolio security is not traded in a public market or the principal market in which the security trades is closed, (2) trading in a portfolio security is limited or suspended and not resumed prior to the time at which the Fund calculates its NAV, (3) the market for the relevant security is thin, or “stale” because its price doesn’t

43


change in 5 consecutive business days, (4) the Investment Adviser determines that a market quotation is inaccurate, for example, because price movements are highly volatile and cannot be verified by a reliable alternative pricing source, or (5) where a significant event affecting the value of a portfolio security is determined to have occurred between the time of the market quotation provided for a portfolio security and the time at which the Fund calculates its NAV.

          In determining the fair value of securities, the Adviser will consider, among other factors, the fundamental analytical data relating to the security, the nature and duration of any restrictions on disposition of the security, and the forces influencing the market in which the security is traded.

          Foreign securities in which the Fund invest may be traded in markets that close before the time that the Fund calculates its NAV. Foreign securities are normally priced based upon the market quotation of such securities as of the close of their respective principal markets, as adjusted to reflect the Investment Adviser’s determination of the impact of events, such as a significant movement in the U.S. markets occurring subsequent to the close of such markets but prior to the time at which the Fund calculates its NAV. In such cases, the Pricing Committee will apply a fair valuation formula to all foreign securities based on the Committee’s determination of the effect of the U.S. significant event with respect to each local market.

          The Board authorized the Adviser to retain an outside pricing service to value certain portfolio securities. The pricing service uses an automated system incorporating a model based on multiple parameters, including a security’s local closing price (in the case of foreign securities), relevant general and sector indices, currency fluctuations, and trading in depositary receipts and futures, if applicable, and/or research evaluations by its staff, in determining what it believes is the fair valuation of the portfolio securities valued by such pricing service.

          There can be no assurance that the Fund could purchase or sell a portfolio security at the price used to calculate the Fund’s NAV. Because of the inherent uncertainty in fair valuations, and the various factors considered in determining value pursuant to the Fund’s fair value procedures, there can be significant deviations between a fair value price at which a portfolio security is being carried and the price at which it is purchased or sold. Furthermore, changes in the fair valuation of portfolio securities may be less frequent, and of greater magnitude, than changes in the price of portfolio securities valued by an independent pricing service, or based on market quotations.

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DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

          The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Distributions.”

General Policies

          Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least annually by the Fund. Distributions of net realized capital gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis for the Fund to improve its Index tracking or to comply with the distribution requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act. In addition, the Trust may distribute at least annually amounts representing the full dividend yield on the underlying portfolio securities of the Fund, net of expenses of the Fund, as if the Fund owned such underlying portfolio securities for the entire dividend period in which case some portion of each distribution may result in a return of capital for tax purposes for certain shareholders.

          Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust. The Trust makes additional distributions to the minimum extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the Trust, plus any net capital gains and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Internal Revenue Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT SERVICE

          No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. If this service is used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares of the Fund. Beneficial Owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables.

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

          As of the date of this SAI, no entity beneficially owned any voting securities of the Fund.

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TAXES

          The following summary outlines certain federal income tax considerations relating to an investment in the Fund by a taxable U.S. investor (as defined below). This summary is intended only to provide general information to U.S. investors that hold the shares as a capital asset, is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning, does not address any foreign, state or local tax consequences of an investment in the Fund, and does not address the tax considerations that may be relevant to investors subject to special treatment under the Code. This summary should not be construed as legal or tax advice. This summary is based on the provisions of the Code, applicable U.S. Treasury regulations, administrative pronouncements of the Internal Revenue Service and judicial decisions in effect as of July 2010. Those authorities may be changed, possibly retroactively, or may be subject to differing interpretations so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those summarized herein. Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors concerning the potential federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of an investment in the Fund, with specific reference to their own tax situation.

          As used herein, the term “U.S. investor” means an investor that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is (1) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the U.S., (2) a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, that is created or organized in or under the laws of the U.S. or of any political subdivision thereof, (3) an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source, or (4) a trust if (i) it is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the U.S. and one or more U.S. persons as described in Code Section 7701(a)(30) have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) it has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. If a partnership or other entity treated as a partnership holds the shares, the tax treatment of a partner in such partnership or equity owner in such other entity generally will depend on the status of the partner or equity owner and the activities of the partnership or other entity.

Taxation of the Fund in General

          The Fund intends to operate in a manner that will permit it to qualify each taxable year for taxation as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Code. To so qualify, the Fund must, among other things, (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies; and (b) satisfy certain diversification requirements.

          As a regulated investment company, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on its net investment income and capital gain net income (net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses) that it distributes to shareholders if at least 90% of its net investment company taxable income for the taxable year is distributed. However, if for any taxable year the Fund does not satisfy the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code, all of its taxable income will be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distribution to shareholders, and such distributions will be taxable to shareholders as dividend income to the extent of the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings or profits.

          The Fund will be liable for a nondeductible 4% excise tax on amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement. To avoid the tax, during each calendar year the Fund must distribute, or be deemed to have distributed, (i) at least 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (ii) at least 98% of its capital

46


gains in excess of its capital losses (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the twelve month period ending on October 31 (or December 31, if the Fund so elects), and (iii) all ordinary income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during such years. For this purpose, any income or gain retained by the Fund that is subject to corporate tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions to avoid this 4% excise tax.

          As a result of U.S. federal income tax requirements, the Trust on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for a creation of Shares if the creator (or group of creators) would, upon obtaining the Shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund would have a basis in the Deposit Securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. See “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units – Procedures for Creation of Creation Units.”

Taxation of the Fund’s Investments

          ORIGINAL ISSUE DISCOUNT AND MARKET DISCOUNT. For federal income tax purposes, debt securities purchased by the Fund may be treated as having an original issue discount. Original issue discount represents interest for federal income tax purposes and can generally be defined as the excess of the stated redemption price at maturity of a debt obligation over the issue price. Original issue discount is treated for federal income tax purposes as income earned by the Fund, whether or not any income is actually received, and therefore is subject to the distribution requirements of the Code. Generally, the amount of original issue discount included in the income of the Fund each year is determined on the basis of a constant yield to maturity which takes into account the compounding of accrued interest. Because the Fund must include original issue discount in income, it will be more difficult for the Fund to make the distributions required for it to maintain its status as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code or to avoid the 4% excise tax described above.

          Debt securities may be purchased by the Fund at a discount which exceeds the original issue discount remaining on the securities, if any, at the time the Fund purchased the securities. This additional discount represents market discount for income tax purposes. In the case of any debt security issued after July 18, 1984, having a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issue and having market discount, the gain realized on disposition will be treated as interest to the extent it does not exceed the accrued market discount on the security (unless the Fund elect to include such accrued market discount in income in the tax years to which it is attributable). Generally, market discount is accrued on a daily basis. The Fund may be required to capitalize, rather than deduct currently, part or all of any direct interest expense incurred or continued to purchase or carry any debt security having market discount, unless it makes the election to include market discount currently.

          OPTIONS AND FUTURES TRANSACTIONS. Certain of the Fund’s investments may be subject to provisions of the Code that (i) require inclusion of unrealized gains or losses in the Fund’s income for purposes of the 90% test, the excise tax and the distribution requirements applicable to regulated investment companies, (ii) defer recognition of realized losses, and (iii) characterize both realized and unrealized gain or loss as short-term or long-term gain or loss. Such provisions generally apply to options and futures contracts. The extent to which the Fund makes such investments may be materially limited by these provisions of the Code.

          FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS. Under Section 988 of the Code, special rules are provided for certain foreign currency transactions. Foreign currency gains or losses from foreign currency contracts (whether or not traded in the interbank market), from futures contracts on foreign currencies that

47


are not “regulated futures contracts,” and from unlisted or equity options are treated as ordinary income or loss under Section 988. The Fund may elect to have foreign currency-related regulated futures contracts and listed non-equity options be subject to ordinary income or loss treatment under Section 988. In addition, in certain circumstances, the Fund may elect capital gain or loss treatment for foreign currency transactions. The rules under Section 988 may also affect the timing of income recognized by the Fund. Under future Treasury Regulations, any such transactions that are not directly related to a Fund’s investment in stock or securities (or its options contracts or futures contracts with respect to stock or securities) may have to be limited in order to enable the Fund to satisfy the qualifying income test described above.

          COMMODITY-LINKED DERIVATIVES AND SUBSIDIARY. As described in the Prospectus, the Fund may gain exposure to the commodities markets through investments in commodity index-linked derivative instruments. In Revenue Ruling 2006-1, the IRS concluded that income derived from commodity index-linked derivative contracts is not qualifying income for purposes of the regulated investment company income test described above. As such, the Fund’s ability to utilize commodity index-linked swaps as part of its investment strategy is limited to a maximum of 10 percent of its gross income.

          In a subsequent revenue ruling, Revenue Ruling 2006-31, the IRS clarified the holding of Revenue Ruling 2006-1 by providing that income from certain investment instruments (such as certain commodity index-linked notes) that create commodity exposure may be considered qualifying income under the Internal Revenue Code. The Fund has received a private letter ruling from the IRS that concludes that certain commodity-linked notes held by the Fund will produce qualifying income for purposes of the regulated investment company qualification tests. Based on this ruling, the Fund will continue to seek to gain exposure to the commodity markets primarily through investments in commodity-linked notes and through investments in the Subsidiary (as discussed below).

          The Fund intends to invest a portion of its assets in the Subsidiary, which will be classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Fund has also received a private letter ruling from the IRS that concludes that income from the Fund’s investment in a subsidiary that are structured substantially similarly to the Subsidiary will constitute qualifying income for purposes of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code.

          Foreign corporations, such as the Subsidiary, will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income taxation unless it is deemed to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business. It is expected that the Subsidiary will conduct its activities in a manner so as to meet the requirements of a safe harbor under Section 864(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code under which the Subsidiary may engage in trading in stocks or securities or certain commodities without being deemed to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business. However, if certain of the Subsidiary’s activities were determined not to be of the type described in the safe harbor (which is not expected), then the activities of such Subsidiary may constitute a U.S. trade or business, or be taxed as such.

          In general, foreign corporations, such as the Subsidiary, that do not conduct a U.S. trade or business are nonetheless subject to tax at a flat rate of 30 percent (or lower tax treaty rate), generally payable through withholding, on the gross amount of certain U.S.-source income that is not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. There is presently no tax treaty in force between the U.S. and the Cayman Islands that would reduce this rate of withholding tax. It is not expected that the Subsidiary will derive income subject to such withholding tax.

          The Subsidiary will be treated as a controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”). The Fund will be treated as a “U.S. shareholder” of the Subsidiary. As a result, the Fund will be required to include in gross

48


income for U.S. federal income tax purposes all of the Subsidiary’s “subpart F income,” whether or not such income is distributed by such Subsidiary. It is expected that all of the Subsidiary’s income will be “subpart F income.” The Fund’s recognition of the Subsidiary’s “subpart F income” will increase the Fund’s tax basis in the Subsidiary. Distributions by the Subsidiary to the Fund will be tax-free, to the extent of its previously undistributed “subpart F income,” and will correspondingly reduce the Fund’s tax basis in the Subsidiary. “Subpart F income” is generally treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the Subsidiary’s underlying income. If a net loss is realized by the Subsidiary, such loss is not generally available to offset the income earned by the Subsidiary’s parent Fund.

Taxation of the Shareholders

          Dividends of net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss are generally taxable as ordinary income to shareholders. However, for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, a portion of the dividend income received by the Fund may constitute qualified dividend income eligible for a maximum rate of tax of 15% to individuals, trusts and estates. It is currently unclear whether Congress will extend this treatment for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011. If the aggregate amount of qualified dividend income received by the Fund during any taxable year is less than 95% of the Fund’s gross income (as specifically defined for that purpose), the qualified dividend rule applies only if and to the extent designated by the Fund as qualified dividend income. The Fund may designate such Dividends as qualified dividend income only to the extent the Fund itself has qualified dividend income for the taxable year with respect to which such Dividends are made. Qualified dividend income is generally dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations (e.g., foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, or the stock of which is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States), provided the Fund has held the stock in such corporations for more than 60 days during the 121 day period beginning on the date which is 60 days before the date on which such stock becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (the “holding period requirement”). In order to be eligible for the 15% maximum rate on Dividends from the Fund attributable to qualified dividends, shareholders must separately satisfy the holding period requirement with respect to their Fund shares. Distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that are properly designated by the Fund as such are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain, regardless of the length of time the shares of the Fund have been held by such shareholders, except to the extent of gain from a sale or disposition of collectibles, such as precious metals, taxable currently at a 28% rate. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares within a year from the date of their purchase will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received by shareholders during such period.

          Distributions reinvested in additional Fund Shares through the means of the service (see “Dividend Reinvestment Service”) will nevertheless be taxable dividends to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such dividends had been received in cash.

          Dividends and/or distributions by the Fund result in a reduction in the net asset value of the Fund’s shares. Should a dividend/distribution reduce the net asset value below a shareholder’s cost basis, such dividend/distribution nevertheless would be taxable to the shareholder as ordinary income or long-term capital gain as described above, even though, from an investment standpoint, it may constitute a partial return of capital. In particular, investors should be careful to consider the tax implications of buying shares just prior to a dividend/distribution. The price of shares purchased at that time includes the amount of any forthcoming dividend/distribution. Those investors purchasing shares just prior to a dividend/distribution will then receive a return of their investment upon payment of such dividend/distribution which will nevertheless be taxable to them.

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          The Fund may be subject to a tax on dividend or interest income received from securities of a non-U.S. issuer withheld by a foreign country at the source. The U.S. has entered into tax treaties with many foreign countries that entitle the Fund to a reduced rate of tax or exemption from tax on such income. It is impossible to determine the effective rate of foreign tax in advance since the amount of the Fund’s assets to be invested within various countries is not known. If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the close of a taxable year consists of stocks or securities in foreign corporations, and the Fund satisfies the holding period requirements, the Fund may elect to pass through to its shareholders the foreign income taxes paid thereby. In such case, the shareholders would be treated as receiving, in addition to the distributions actually received by the shareholders, their proportionate share of foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, and will be treated as having paid such foreign taxes. The shareholders generally will be entitled to deduct or, subject to certain limitations, claim a foreign tax credit with respect to such foreign income taxes. A foreign tax credit may be allowed for shareholders who hold shares of the Fund for at least 16 days during the 31-day period beginning on the date that is 15 days before the ex-dividend date. Under certain circumstances, individual shareholders who have been passed through foreign tax credits of no more than $300 ($600 in the case of married couples filing jointly) during a tax year can elect to claim the foreign tax credit for these amounts directly on their federal income tax returns (IRS Forms 1040) without having to file a separate Form 1116 or having to comply with most foreign tax credit limitations, provided certain other requirements are met.

          The Fund may be required to backup withhold federal income tax at a current rate of 28% from dividends paid to any shareholder who fails to furnish a certified taxpayer identification number (“TIN”) or who fails to certify that he or she is exempt from such withholding or who the Internal Revenue Service notifies the Fund as having provided the Fund with an incorrect TIN or failed to properly report interest or dividends for federal income tax purposes. Any such withheld amount will be fully creditable on the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return, provided certain requirements are met. If a shareholder fails to furnish a valid TIN upon request, the shareholder can also be subject to IRS penalties. The rate of backup withholding is set to increase for amount distributed or paid after December 31, 2010.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Investors

          The foregoing summary of certain federal income tax considerations does not apply to potential investors in the Fund that are not U.S. investors (“Non-U.S. investors”). Distributions of ordinary income paid to Non-U.S. investors generally will be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax unless a reduced rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under an applicable treaty. However, withholding tax generally will not apply to any income realized by a non-U.S. investor in respect of any distributions attributable to net income from tax-exempt obligations and designated as “exempt-interest dividends”. Furthermore, for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2010, the Fund may, under certain circumstances, designate all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” (to the extent the Fund pays a dividend related to interest that is not already exempt from U.S. federal income taxes as discussed in the preceding sentence) or a “short-term capital gain dividend.” An interest-related dividend that is received by a Non-U.S. investor generally would be exempt from the 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. A short-term capital gain dividend that is received by a Non-U.S. investor generally would be exempt from the 30% U.S. withholding tax, unless such investor is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year or the distribution is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (or, if an income tax treaty applies, is attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment). The Fund does not expect to pay significant amounts of interest-related dividends. It is currently unclear whether Congress will extend the exemptions from withholding for interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends with respect to taxable years of a fund beginning on or after January 1, 2010 and what the terms

50


of any such extension would be. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the specific tax consequences discussed above.

Reportable Transactions

          Under promulgated Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of the Fund’s Shares of $2 million or more in any one taxable year (or $4 million or more over a period of six taxable years) for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more in any taxable year (or $20 million or more over a period of six taxable years) for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC that engaged in a reportable transaction are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all RICs. In addition, significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

CAPITAL STOCK AND SHAREHOLDER REPORTS

          The Trust currently is comprised of __ investment funds. The Trust issues Shares of beneficial interest with no par value. The Board may designate additional funds of the Trust.

          Each Share issued by the Trust has a pro rata interest in the assets of the corresponding Fund. Shares have no pre-emptive, exchange, subscription or conversion rights and are freely transferable. Each Share is entitled to participate equally in dividends and distributions declared by the Board with respect to the Fund, and in the net distributable assets of the Fund on liquidation.

          Each Share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder and each fractional Share has a proportional fractional vote. Shares of all funds vote together as a single class except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund it will be voted on only by that fund, and if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds, that fund will vote separately on such matter. Under Delaware law, the Trust is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. The policy of the Trust is not to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. All Shares of the Trust have noncumulative voting rights for the election of Trustees. Under Delaware law, Trustees of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders.

          Under Delaware law, shareholders of a statutory trust may have similar limitations on liability as shareholders of a corporation.

          The Trust will issue through DTC Participants to its shareholders semi-annual reports containing unaudited financial statements and annual reports containing financial statements audited by an independent auditor approved by the Trust’s Trustees and by the shareholders when meetings are held and such other information as may be required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. Beneficial Owners also receive annually notification as to the tax status of the Trust’s distributions.

          Shareholder inquiries may be made by writing to the Trust, c/o Van Eck Associates Corporation, 335 Madison Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

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COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

          Dechert LLP, 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, is counsel to the Trust and has passed upon the validity of the Fund’s Shares.

          __________, is the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and audits the Fund’s financial statements and performs other related audit services.

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LICENSE AGREEMENT AND DISCLAIMERS

          Van Eck Associates Corporation (“the Adviser”) has entered into a licensing agreement with UBS AG, London and Bloomberg Finance L.P. to use the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index (the “CMCI”). The Van Eck CM Commodity Index Fund is entitled to use the CMCI pursuant to a sub-licensing arrangement with the Adviser.

          UBS and Bloomberg own or exclusively license, solely or jointly as agreed between them all proprietary rights with respect to the CMCI. Any third-party product based on or related to the CMCI (“Product”) may only be issued upon the prior joint written approval of UBS and Bloomberg and upon the execution of a license agreement between UBS, Bloomberg and the party intending to launch a Product (a “Licensee”). In no way do UBS or Bloomberg sponsor or endorse, nor are they otherwise involved in the issuance and offering of a Product nor do either of them make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the holders of the Product or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in the Product or commodities generally or in futures particularly, or as to results to be obtained from the use of the CMCI or from the Product. Further, neither UBS nor Bloomberg provides investment advice to any Licensee specific to the Product, other than providing the CMCI as agreed in the license agreement with the Licensee, and which will be done without consideration of the particular needs of the Product or the Licensee. UBS and Bloomberg each specifically disclaim any liability to any party for any inaccuracy in the data on which the CMCI is based, for any mistakes, errors, omissions or interruptions in the calculation and/or dissemination of the CMCI, or for the manner in which such is applied in connection with the issuance and offering of a Product. In no event shall UBS or Bloomberg have any liability to any party for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special or consequential damages or losses.

          THIS IS NOT AN OFFER OR SOLICITATION BY UBS OR BLOOMBERG OF AN OFFER TO BUY OR SELL ANY SECURITY OR INVESTMENT. PAST PERFORMANCE OF THE UBS BLOOMBERG CONSTANT MATURITY COMMODITY INDEX IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.

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APPENDIX A

VAN ECK GLOBAL PROXY VOTING POLICIES

INTRODUCTION

Effective March 10, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”), requiring each investment adviser registered with the Commission to adopt and implement written policies and procedures for voting client proxies, to disclose information about the procedures to its clients, and to inform clients how to obtain information about how their proxies were voted. The Commission also amended Rule 204-2 under the Advisers Act to require advisers to maintain certain proxy voting records. Both rules apply to all investment advisers registered with the Commission that have proxy voting authority over their clients’ securities. An adviser that exercises voting authority without complying with Rule 206(4)-6 will be deemed to have engaged in a “fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative” act, practice or course of business within the meaning of Section 206(4) of the Advisers Act.

When an adviser has been granted proxy voting authority by a client, the adviser owes its clients the duties of care and loyalty in performing this service on their behalf. The duty of care requires the adviser to monitor corporate actions and vote client proxies. The duty of loyalty requires the adviser to cast the proxy votes in a manner that is consistent with the best interests of the client.

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

 

 

 

 

Resolving Material Conflicts Of Interest

 

 

 

 

A “material conflict” means the existence of a business relationship between a portfolio company or an affiliate and Van Eck Associates Corporation, any affiliate or subsidiary (individually and together, as the context may require, “Adviser”), or an “affiliated person” of a Van Eck mutual fund in excess of $60,000. Examples of when a material conflict exists include the situation where the adviser provides significant investment advisory, brokerage or other services to a company whose management is soliciting proxies; an officer of the Adviser serves on the board of a charitable organization that receives charitable contributions from the portfolio company and the charitable organization is a client of the Adviser; a portfolio company that is a significant selling agent of Van Eck’s products and services solicits proxies; a broker-dealer or insurance company that controls 5% or more of the Adviser’s assets solicits proxies; the Adviser serves as an investment adviser to the pension or other investment account of the portfolio company; the Adviser and the portfolio company have a lending relationship. In each of these situations voting against management may cause the Adviser a loss of revenue or other benefit.

 

 

 

 

Conflict Resolution. When a material conflict exists proxies will be voted in the following manner:

 

 

 

 

 

Where the written guidelines set out a pre-determined voting policy, proxies will be voted in accordance with that policy, with no deviations (if a deviation is advisable, one of the other methods may be used);

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Where the guidelines permit discretion and an independent third party has been retained to vote proxies, proxies will be voted in accordance with the predetermined policy based on the recommendations of that party; or

 

 

 

 

 

The potential conflict will be disclosed to the client (a) with a request that the client vote the proxy, (b) with a recommendation that the client engage another party to determine how the proxy should be voted or (c) if the foregoing are not acceptable to the client disclosure of how VEAC intends to vote and a written consent to that vote by the client.

 

 

 

 

 

Any deviations from the foregoing voting mechanisms must be approved by the Compliance Officer with a written explanation of the reason for the deviation.

 

 

 

 

Reasonable Research Efforts

 

 

 

 

When determining whether a vote is in the best interest of the client, the Adviser will use reasonable research efforts. Investment personnel may rely on public documents about the company and other readily available information, which is easily accessible to the investment personnel at the time the vote is cast. Information on proxies by foreign companies may not be readily available.

 

 

 

 

Voting Client Proxies

 

 

 

 

The Adviser generally will vote proxies on behalf of clients, unless clients instruct otherwise. There may be times when refraining from voting a proxy is in a client’s best interest, such as when the Adviser determines that the cost of voting the proxy exceeds the expected benefit to the client. (For example, casting a vote on a foreign security may involve additional costs such as hiring a translator or traveling to a foreign country to vote the security in person).

 

 

 

 

The portfolio manager or analyst covering the security is responsible for making voting decisions.

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Administration, in conjunction with the portfolio manager and the custodian, is responsible for monitoring corporate actions and ensuring that corporate actions are timely voted.

 

 

 

 

Client Inquiries

All inquiries by clients as to how Van Eck has voted proxies must immediately be forwarded to Portfolio Administration.

 

 

 

 

DISCLOSURE TO CLIENTS

 

 

 

 

Notification of Availability of Information Client Brochure.

The Client Brochure or Part II of Form ADV will inform clients that they can obtain information from VEAC on how their proxies were voted. The Client Brochure or Part II of Form ADV will be mailed to each client annually.

The Legal Department will be responsible for coordinating the mailing with Sales/Marketing Departments.

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Availability of Proxy Voting Information at the client’s request or if the information is not available on VEAC’s website, a hard copy of the account’s proxy votes will be mailed to each client.

 

 

 

 

 

Recordkeeping Requirements

 

 

 

 

 

VEAC will retain the following documentation and information for each matter relating to a portfolio security with respect to which a client was entitled to vote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

proxy statements received;

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

identifying number for the portfolio security;

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

shareholder meeting date;

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

brief identification of the matter voted on;

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

whether the vote was cast on the matter and how the vote was cast;

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

how the vote was cast (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors);

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

records of written client requests for information on how VEAC voted proxies on behalf of the client;

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

a copy of written responses from VEAC to any written or oral client request for information on how VEAC voted proxies on behalf of the client; and

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

any documents prepared by VEAC that were material to the decision on how to vote or that memorialized the basis for the decision, if such documents were prepared.

 

 

 

 

 

Copies of proxy statements filed on EDGAR, and proxy statements and records of proxy votes maintained with a third party (i.e., proxy voting service) need not be maintained. The third party must agree in writing to provide a copy of the documents promptly upon request.

 

 

 

 

 

If applicable, any document memorializing that the costs of voting a proxy exceed the benefit to the client or any other decision to refrain from voting, and that such abstention was in the client’s best interest.

 

 

 

 

 

Proxy voting records will be maintained in an easily accessible place for five years, the first two at the office of VEAC. Proxy statements on file with EDGAR or maintained by a third party and proxy votes maintained by a third party are not subject to these particular retention requirements.

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Proxy Voting Guidelines

 

 

I.

General Information

Generally, the Adviser will vote in accordance with the following guidelines. Where the proxy vote decision maker determines, however, that voting in such a manner would not be in the best interest of the client, the investment personnel will vote differently.

If there is a conflict of interest on any management or shareholder proposals that are voted on a case by case basis, we will follow the recommendations of an independent proxy service provider.

 

 

 

II.

Officers and Directors

 

 

 

 

A.

The Board of Directors

Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections

Vote on a case-by-case basis for director nominees, examining factors such as:

 

 

 

 

long-term corporate performance record relative to a market index;

 

 

 

 

composition of board and key board committees;

 

 

 

 

nominee’s investment in the company;

 

 

 

 

whether a retired CEO sits on the board; and

 

 

 

 

whether the chairman is also serving as CEO.

 

 

 

In cases of significant votes and when information is readily available, we also review:

 

 

 

 

corporate governance provisions and takeover activity;

 

 

 

 

board decisions regarding executive pay;

 

 

 

 

director compensation;

 

 

 

 

number of other board seats held by nominee; and

 

 

 

 

interlocking directorships.

 

 

 

 

B.

Chairman and CEO are the Same Person

Vote on a case-by-case basis on shareholder proposals that would require the positions of chairman and CEO to be held by different persons.

 

 

 

 

C.

Majority of Independent Directors

Vote on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals that request that the board be comprised of a majority of independent directors.

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Vote for shareholder proposals that request that the board audit, compensation and/or nominating committees include independent directors exclusively.

 

 

 

 

D.

Stock Ownership Requirements

Vote on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals requiring directors to own a minimum amount of company stock in order to qualify as a director, or to remain on the board.

 

 

 

 

E.

Term of Office

Vote on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals to limit the tenure of outside directors.

 

 

 

 

F.

Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability Protection

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals concerning director and officer indemnification and liability protection.

Generally, vote against proposals to eliminate entirely director and officer liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care.

Vote for only those proposals that provide such expanded coverage in cases when a director’s or officer’s legal defense was unsuccessful if: (1) the director was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that he reasonably believed was in the best interests of the company, AND (2) only if the director’s legal expenses would be covered.

 

 

 

 

G.

Director Nominees in Contested Elections

Vote on a case-by-case basis when the election of directors is contested, examining the following factors:

 

 

 

 

long-term financial performance of the target company relative to its industry;

 

 

 

 

management’s track record;

 

 

 

 

background to the proxy contest;

 

 

 

 

qualifications of director nominees (both slates);

 

 

 

 

evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders, as well as the likelihood that the proposed objectives and goals can be met; and

 

 

 

 

stock ownership positions.

 

 

 

 

H.

Board Structure: Staggered vs. Annual Elections

Generally, vote against proposals to stagger board elections.

Generally, vote for proposals to repeal classified boards and to elect all directors annually.

 

 

 

 

I.

Shareholder Ability to Remove Directors

Vote against proposals that provide that directors may be removed only for cause.

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Vote for proposals to restore shareholder ability to remove directors with or without cause.

Vote against proposals that provide that only continuing directors may elect replacements to fill board vacancies.

Vote for proposals that permit shareholders to elect directors to fill board vacancies.

 

 

 

 

J.

Shareholder Ability to Alter the Size of the Board

Vote for proposals that seek to fix the size of the board.

Vote against proposals that give management the ability to alter the size of the board without shareholder approval.

 

 

 

III.

Proxy Contests

 

 

 

 

A.

Reimburse Proxy Solicitation Expenses

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to provide full reimbursement for dissidents waging a proxy contest.

 

 

 

IV.

Auditors

 

 

 

 

B.

Ratifying Auditors

Vote for proposals to ratify auditors, unless information that is readily available to the vote decision-maker demonstrates that an auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, and is therefore clearly not independent; or such readily available information creates a reasonable basis to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion which is neither accurate nor indicative of the company’s financial position.

Vote for shareholder proposals asking for audit firm rotation unless the rotation period is so short (less than five years) that it would be unduly burdensome to the company.

 

 

 

V.

Shareholder Voting and Control Issues

 

 

 

 

A.

Cumulative Voting

Generally, vote against proposals to eliminate cumulative voting.

Generally, vote for proposals to permit cumulative voting.

 

 

 

 

B.

Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings

Generally, vote against proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to call special meetings.

Generally, vote for proposals that remove restrictions on the right of shareholders to act independently of management.

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C.

Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent

Generally, vote against proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to take action by written consent.

Generally, vote for proposals to allow or make easier shareholder action by written consent.

 

 

 

 

D.

Poison Pills

Vote for shareholder proposals that ask a company to submit its poison pill for shareholder ratification. Vote on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals to redeem a company’s poison pill.

Vote on a case-by-case basis management proposals to ratify a poison pill.

 

 

 

 

E.

Fair Price Provision

Vote on a case-by-case basis when examining fair price proposals, (where market quotations are not readily available) taking into consideration whether the shareholder vote requirement embedded in the provision is no more than a majority of disinterested Shares.

Generally, vote for shareholder proposals to lower the shareholder vote requirement in existing fair price provisions.

 

 

 

 

F.

Greenmail

Generally, vote for proposals to adopt anti-greenmail charter or bylaw amendments or otherwise restrict a company’s ability to make greenmail payments.

Generally, vote on a case-by-case basis anti-greenmail proposals when they are bundled with other charter or bylaw amendments.

 

 

 

 

G.

Unequal Voting Rights

Vote against dual class exchange offers.

Vote against dual class recapitalizations.

 

 

 

 

H.

Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Amend the Charter or Bylaws

Vote against management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve charter and bylaw amendments.

Vote for shareholder proposals to lower supermajority shareholder vote requirements for charter and bylaw amendments.

 

 

 

 

I.

Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Approve Mergers

Vote against management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve mergers and other significant business combinations.

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          J.          White Knight Placements

Vote for shareholder proposals to require approval of blank check preferred stock issues for other than general corporate purposes or similar corporate actions.

          K.          Confidential Voting

Generally, vote for shareholder proposals that request corporations to adopt confidential voting, use independent tabulators and use independent inspectors of election as long as the proposals include clauses for proxy contests as follows: In the case of a contested election, management is permitted to request that the dissident group honor its confidential voting policy. If the dissidents agree, the policy remains in place. If the dissidents do not agree, the confidential voting policy is waived.

Generally, vote for management proposals to adopt confidential voting.

          L.          Equal Access

Generally, vote for shareholders proposals that would allow significant company shareholders equal access to management’s proxy material in order to evaluate and propose voting recommendations on proxy proposals and director nominees, and in order to nominate their own candidates to the board.

          M.          Bundled Proposals

Generally, vote on a case-by-case basis bundled or “conditioned” proxy proposals. In the case of items that are conditioned upon each other, we examine the benefits and costs of the packaged items. In instances when the joint effect of the conditioned items is not in shareholders’ best interests, we vote against the proposals. If the combined effect is positive, we support such proposals.

          N.          Shareholder Advisory Committees

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to establish a shareholder advisory committee.

 

 

VI.

Capital Structure

          A.          Common Stock Authorization

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to increase the number of Shares of common stock authorized for issue.

Generally, vote against proposed common stock authorizations that increase the existing authorization by more than 100% unless a clear need for the excess Shares is presented by the company.

          B.          Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends

Generally, vote for management proposals to increase common share authorization for a stock split, provided that the split does not result in an increase of authorized but unissued Shares of more than 100% after giving effect to the Shares needed for the split.

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          C.          Reverse Stock Splits

Generally, vote for management proposals to implement a reverse stock split, provided that the reverse split does not result in an increase of authorized but unissued Shares of more than 100% after giving effect to the Shares needed for the reverse split.

          D.          Blank Check Preferred Authorization

Generally, vote for proposals to create blank check preferred stock in cases when the company expressly states that the stock will not be used as a takeover defense or carry superior voting rights.

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals that would authorize the creation of new classes of preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend and distribution, and other rights.

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to increase the number of authorized blank check preferred Shares.

          E.          Shareholder Proposals Regarding Blank Check Preferred Stock

Generally, vote for shareholder proposals to have blank check preferred stock placements, other than those Shares issued for the purpose of raising capital or making acquisitions in the normal course of business, submitted for shareholder ratification.

          F.          Adjust Par Value of Common Stock

Vote on a case-by-case basis management proposals to reduce the par value of common stock.

          G.          Preemptive Rights

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to create or abolish preemptive rights. In evaluating proposals on preemptive rights, we look at the size of a company and the characteristics of its shareholder base.

          H.          Debt Restructurings

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to increase common and/or preferred Shares and to issue Shares as part of a debt restructuring plan. We consider the following issues:

 

 

 

 

Dilution - How much will ownership interest of existing shareholders be reduced, and how extreme will dilution to any future earnings be?

 

 

 

 

Change In Control - Will the transaction result in a change in control of the company?

 

 

 

 

Bankruptcy - Is the threat of bankruptcy, which would result in severe losses in shareholder value, the main factor driving the debt restructuring?

 

 

 

 

Generally, we approve proposals that facilitate debt restructurings unless there are clear signs of self-dealing or other abuses.

          I.          Share Repurchase Programs

Vote for management proposals to institute open-market share repurchase plans in which all shareholders may participate on equal terms.

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VII.

Executive Compensation

 

 

In general, we vote on a case-by-case basis on executive compensation plans, with the view that viable compensation programs reward the creation of stockholder wealth by having a high payout sensitivity to increases in shareholder value.

 

 

VIII.

Compensation Proposals

          A.          Amendments That Place a Cap on Annual Grants

Vote for plans that place a cap on the annual grants any one participant may receive.

          B.           Amend Administrative Features

Vote for plans that simply amend shareholder-approved plans to include administrative features.

          C.           Amendments to Added Performance-Based Goals

Generally, vote for amendments to add performance goals to existing compensation plans.

          D.           Amendments to Increase Shares and Retain Tax Deductions

Vote on amendments to existing plans to increase Shares reserved and to qualify the plan for favorable tax treatment should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

          E.           Approval of Cash or Cash-and-Stock Bonus Plans

Vote for cash or cash-and-stock bonus plans to exempt the compensation from taxes.

          F.           Shareholder Proposals to Limit Executive Pay

Vote on a case-by-case basis all shareholder proposals that seek additional disclosure of executive pay information.

Vote on a case-by-case basis all other shareholder proposals that seek to limit executive pay.

Vote for shareholder proposals to expense options, unless the company has already publicly committed to expensing options by a specific date.

          G.           Golden and Tin Parachutes

Vote for shareholder proposals to have golden and tin parachutes submitted for shareholder ratification.

Vote on a case-by-case basis all proposals to ratify or cancel golden or tin parachutes.

          H.           Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPS)

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals that request shareholder approval in order to implement an ESOP or to increase authorized Shares for existing ESOPs, except in cases when the number of Shares allocated to the ESOP is “excessive” (i.e., generally greater than 5% of outstanding Shares).

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          I.           401(k) Employee Benefit Plans

Generally, vote for proposals to implement a 401(k) savings plan for employees.

 

 

IX.

State Of Incorporation

          A.           Voting on State Takeover Statutes

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to opt in or out of state takeover statutes (including control share acquisition statutes, control share cash-out statutes, freezeout provisions, fair price provisions, stakeholder laws, poison pill endorsements, severance pay and labor contract provisions, anti-greenmail provisions, and disgorgement provisions).

          B.           Voting on Reincorporation Proposals

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to change a company’s state of incorporation.

 

 

X.

Mergers and Corporate Restructurings

          A.          Mergers and Acquisitions

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals related to mergers and acquisitions, taking into account at least the following:

 

 

 

 

anticipated financial and operating benefits;

 

 

 

offer price (cost vs premium);

 

 

 

prospects of the combined companies;

 

 

 

how the deal was negotiated; and

 

 

 

changes in corporate governance and their impact on shareholder rights.

          B.          Corporate Restructuring

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals related to a corporate restructuring, including minority squeezeouts, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations and asset sales.

          C.           Spin-Offs

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals related to spin-offs depending on the tax and regulatory advantages, planned use of sale proceeds, market focus and managerial incentives.

          D.           Asset Sales

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals related to asset sales after considering the impact on the balance sheet/working capital, value received for the asset, and potential elimination of diseconomies.

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          E.           Liquidations

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals related to liquidations after reviewing management’s efforts to pursue other alternatives, appraisal value of assets, and the compensation plan for executives managing the liquidation.

          F.           Appraisal Rights

Vote for proposals to restore, or provide shareholders with, rights of appraisal.

          G.           Changing Corporate Name

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposal to change the corporate name.

 

 

XI.

Mutual Fund Proxies

          A.           Election of Trustees

Vote on trustee nominees on a case-by-case basis.

          B.           Investment Advisory Agreement

Vote on investment advisory agreements on a case-by-case basis.

          C.           Fundamental Investment Restrictions

Vote on amendments to a fund’s fundamental investment restrictions on a case-by-case basis.

          D.           Distribution Agreements

Vote on distribution agreements on a case-by-case basis.

 

 

XII.

Social and Environmental Issues

In general we vote on a case-by-case basis on shareholder social and environmental proposals, on the basis that their impact on share value can rarely be anticipated with any high degree of confidence.

In most cases, however, we vote for disclosure reports that seek additional information, particularly when it appears companies have not adequately addressed shareholders’ social and environmental concerns.

In determining our vote on shareholder social and environmental proposals, we analyze factors such as:

 

 

 

 

whether adoption of the proposal would have either a positive or negative impact on the company’s short-term or long-term share value;

 

 

 

 

the percentage of sales, assets and earnings affected;

 

 

 

 

the degree to which the company’s stated position on the issues could affect its reputation or sales, or leave it vulnerable to boycott or selective purchasing; whether the issues presented should be dealt with through government or company—specific action;

 

 

 

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whether the company has already responded in some appropriate manner to the request embodied in a proposal;

 

 

 

 

whether the company’s analysis and voting recommendation to shareholders is persuasive;

 

 

 

 

what other companies have done in response to the issue;

 

 

 

 

whether the proposal itself is well framed and reasonable; whether implementation of the proposal would achieve the objectives sought in the proposal; and

 

 

 

 

whether the subject of the proposal is best left to the discretion of the board.

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APPENDIX B

STANDARD & POOR’S ISSUE CREDIT RATING DEFINITIONS

A Standard & Poor’s issue credit rating is a current opinion of the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion evaluates the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default. The issue credit rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold a financial obligation, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor.

Issue credit ratings are based on current information furnished by the obligors or obtained by Standard & Poor’s from other sources it considers reliable. Standard & Poor’s does not perform an audit in connection with any credit rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. Credit ratings may be changed, suspended, or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or unavailability of, such information, or based on other circumstances.

Issue credit ratings can be either long term or short term. Short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. In the U.S., for example, that means obligations with an original maturity of no more than 365 days—including commercial paper. Short-term ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. The result is a dual rating, in which the short-term rating addresses the put feature, in addition to the usual long-term rating. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.

Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings

Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations:

 

 

 

 

Likelihood of payment—capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation;

 

 

 

 

Nature of and provisions of the obligation;

 

 

 

 

Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights.

Issue ratings are an assessment of default risk, but may incorporate an assessment of relative seniority or ultimate recovery in the event of default. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect the lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation may apply when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.)

AAA

An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

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AA

An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.

A

An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

BBB

An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

BB, B, CCC, CC, and C

Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

BB

An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B

An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CCC

An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CC

An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.

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C

A ‘C’ rating is assigned to obligations that are currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, obligations that have payment arrearages allowed by the terms of the documents, or obligations of an issuer that is the subject of a bankruptcy petition or similar action which have not experienced a payment default. Among others, the ‘C’ rating may be assigned to subordinated debt, preferred stock or other obligations on which cash payments have been suspended in accordance with the instrument’s terms or when preferred stock is the subject of a distressed exchange offer, whereby some or all of the issue is either repurchased for an amount of cash or replaced by other instruments having a total value that is less than par.

D

An obligation rated ‘D’ is in payment default. The ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized. An obligation’s rating is lowered to ‘D’ upon completion of a distressed exchange offer, whereby some or all of the issue is either repurchased for an amount of cash or replaced by other instruments having a total value that is less than par.

Plus (+) or minus (-)

The ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

NR

This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor’s does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

SHORT-TERM ISSUE CREDIT RATINGS

A-1

A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.

A-2

A short-term obligation rated ‘A-2’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

A-3

A short-term obligation rated ‘A-3’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

69


B

A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. Ratings of ‘B-1’, ‘B-2’, and ‘B-3’ may be assigned to indicate finer distinctions within the ‘B’ category. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B-1.

A short-term obligation rated ‘B-1’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, but the obligor has a relatively stronger capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

B-2.

A short-term obligation rated ‘B-2’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has an average speculative-grade capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

B-3.

A short-term obligation rated ‘B-3’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has a relatively weaker capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

C

A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

D

A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in payment default. The ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

DUAL RATINGS

Standard & Poor’s assigns “dual” ratings to all debt issues that have a put option or demand feature as part of their structure. The first rating addresses the likelihood of repayment of principal and interest as due, and the second rating addresses only the demand feature. The long-term rating symbols are used for bonds to denote the long-term maturity and the short-term rating symbols for the put option (for example, ‘AAA/A-1+’). With U.S. municipal short-term demand debt, note rating symbols are used with the short-term issue credit rating symbols (for example, ‘SP-1+/A-1+’).

70


MOODY’S CREDIT RATING DEFINITIONS

Aaa

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, with minimal credit risk.

Aa

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

A

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

Baa

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated Baa are subject to moderate credit risk. They are considered medium-grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Ba

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk.

B

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Caa

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated Caa are of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

Ca

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

C

Bonds and preferred stock which are rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds/preferred stock and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

71


PART C: OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

 

Item 28.

 

          Exhibits:

 

 

 

(a)

 

Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust.‡‡‡‡

 

 

 

(b)

 

Bylaws of the Trust.‡‡‡‡

 

 

 

(c)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(d)(1)

 

Form of Investment Management Agreement between the Trust and Van Eck Associates Corporation (with respect to Market Vectors—Gold Miners ETF).*

 

 

 

(d)(2)

 

Form of Investment Management Agreement between the Trust and Van Eck Associates Corporation (with respect to all portfolios except for Market Vectors—Gold Miners ETF).***

 

 

 

(d)(3)

 

Form of Investment Management Agreement between the Trust and Van Eck Associates Corporation (with respect to certain municipal portfolios). ###

 

 

 

(e)(1)

 

Form of Distribution Agreement between the Trust and Van Eck Securities Corporation.**

 

 

 

(e)(2)

 

Form of Participant Agreement.*

 

 

 

(f)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(g)

 

Form of Custodian Agreement between the Trust and The Bank of New York.*

 

 

 

(h)(1)

 

Form of Fund Accounting Agreement between the Trust and The Bank of New York.*

 

 

 

(h)(2)

 

Form of Transfer Agency Services Agreement between the Trust and The Bank of New York.*

 

 

 

(h)(3)

 

Form of Sub-License Agreement between the Trust and the Van Eck Associates Corp.*

 

 

 

(i)(1)

 

Opinion and consent of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Environmental Services ETF, Market Vectors—Gold Miners ETF and Market Vectors—Steel ETF).***

 

 

 

(i)(2)

 

Opinion of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Global Alternative Energy ETF and Market Vectors—Russia ETF).****

 

 

 

(i)(3)

 

Opinion of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Global Agribusiness ETF and Market Vectors—Global Nuclear Energy ETF).*****

 

 

 

(i)(4)

 

Opinion of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers Intermediate Municipal ETF, Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers Long Municipal ETF, Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers 1-5 Year Municipal ETF, Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers Non-Investment Grade Municipal ETF, Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers California Municipal ETF and Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers New York Municipal ETF).******

 

 

 

(i)(5)

 

Opinion of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Coal ETF and Market Vectors—Gaming ETF).†




 

 

 

(i)(6)

 

Opinion of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers AMT-Free Massachusetts Municipal Index ETF, Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers AMT-Free New Jersey Municipal Index ETF, Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers AMT-Free Ohio Municipal Index ETF and Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers AMT-Free Pennsylvania Municipal Index ETF).††

 

 

 

(i)(7)

 

Opinion of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Hard Assets ETF and Market Vectors—Solar Energy ETF).†††

 

 

 

(i)(8)

 

Opinion and consent of Clifford Chance US LLP with respect to Market Vectors—Africa Index ETF, Market Vectors—Emerging Eurasia Index ETF, Market Vectors—Global Frontier Index ETF and Market Vectors—Gulf States Index ETF).††††

 

 

 

(i)(9)

 

Consent of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors—Lehman Brothers High-Yield Municipal Index ETF).†††††

 

 

 

(i)(10)

 

Opinion and consent of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Indonesia Index ETF). ‡

 

 

 

(i)(11)

 

Opinion and consent of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Vietnam ETF). ‡‡

 

 

 

(i)(12)

 

Opinion and consent of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Pre-Refunded Municipal Index ETF). ‡‡‡

 

 

 

(i)(13)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF).^^^^

 

 

 

(i)(14)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Kuwait Index ETF).^^^^

 

 

 

(i)(15)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Latin America Small-Cap Index ETF). ^^^^^

 

 

 

(i)(16)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors China ETF).^

 

 

 

(i)(17)

 

Opinion and consent of Clifford Chance US LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF).‡‡‡‡‡‡

 

 

 

(i)(18)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF).^^

 

 

 

(i)(19)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Poland ETF).^^^

 

 

 

(i)(20)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors India Small-Cap Index ETF).#

 

 

 

(i)(21)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF).##

 

 

 

(i)(22)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors GDP – International Equity ETF and Market Vectors GDP – Emerging Markets Equity ETF).#####




 

 

 

(i)(23)

 

Opinion and consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Investment Grade Floating Rate Bond ETF). ##

 

 

 

(i)(24)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors MLP ETF). #####

 

 

 

(i)(25)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF). ####

 

 

 

(i)(26)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors LatAm Aggregate Bond ETF and Market Vectors Asia ex-Japan Aggregate Bond ETF). #####

 

 

 

(i)(27)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors All China All-Cap ETF, Market Vectors All China Consumer Discretionary Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Consumer Staples Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Energy Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Financial Services Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Healthcare Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Industrials Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Information Technology Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Materials Sector ETF, Market Vectors All China Utilities Sector ETF and Market Vectors All China Small Cap ETF). #####

 

 

 

(i)(28)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors High Yield Floating Rate ETF). #####

 

 

 

(i)(29)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Fixed Income II ETF). #####

 

 

 

(i)(30)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors Andean Equity ETF). #####

 

 

 

(i)(31)

 

Opinion and Consent of Dechert LLP (with respect to Market Vectors CM Commodity Index ETF). #####

 

 

 

(j)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(k)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(l)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(m)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(n)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(o)

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

(p)(1)

 

Code of Ethics. ‡‡‡‡‡



 

 

 

*

 

Incorporated by the reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on April 28, 2006.

**

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on May 11, 2006.

***

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on October 6, 2006.

****

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on April 9, 2007.

*****

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on July 30, 2007.

******

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on November 2, 2007.

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on December 31, 2007.




 

 

 

††

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on February 15, 2008.

†††

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on April 21, 2008.

††††

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on July 8, 2008.

†††††

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on August 8, 2008.

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on November 25, 2008.

‡‡

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on December 23, 2008.

‡‡‡

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on January 28, 2009.

‡‡‡‡

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on February 6, 2009.

‡‡‡‡‡

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on April 21, 2009.

‡‡‡‡‡‡

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on May 8, 2009.

^

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on September 4, 2009.

^^

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on November 9, 2009.

^^^

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on November 20, 2009.

^^^^

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on February 16, 2010.

^^^^^

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on March 29, 2010.

#

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on April 5, 2010.

##

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on June 28, 2010.

###

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on August 27, 2010.

####

 

Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement filed on October 20, 2010.

#####

 

To be filed by amendment.


 

 

Item 29.

Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant

 

 

None.

 

 

Item 30.

Indemnification

          Pursuant to Section 10.2 of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, all persons that are or have been a Trustee or officer of the Trust (collectively, the “Covered Persons”) shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in which he or she becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been a Trustee or officer and against amounts paid or incurred by him in the settlement thereof. No indemnification will be provided to a Covered Person who shall have been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought to be liable to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office or not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interest of the Trust; or in the event of a settlement, unless there has been a determination that such Trustee or officer did not engage in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.

          Article XII of the Trust’s Bylaws, to the maximum extent permitted by Delaware law in effect from time to time, the Trust shall indemnify and, without requiring a preliminary determination of the ultimate entitlement to indemnification, shall pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to (a) any individual who is a present or former trustee or officer of the Trust and who is made a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity or (b) any individual who, while a director of the Trust and at the request of the Trust, serves or has served as a trustee, officer, partner or trustee of another corporation, real estate investment trust, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise and who is made a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity. The Trust may, with the approval of its Board of Trustees, provide such indemnification and advance for expenses to a person who served a predecessor of the Trust in any of the capacities described in (a) or (b) above and to any employee or agent of the Trust or a


predecessor of the Trust; provided that no provision of Article XII shall be effective to protect or purport to protect any trustee or officer of the Trust against liability to the Trust or its stockholders to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.

          The Trust has agreed to indemnify and hold harmless the Trustees against any and all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Trustee in any proceeding arising out of or in connection with the Trustee’s service to the Trust, to the fullest extent permitted by the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust and Bylaws of the Fund and Title 12, Part V, Chapter 38 of the Delaware Code, and applicable law.

 

 

Item 31.

Business and Other Connections of Investment Manager

          See “Management” in the Statement of Additional Information. Information as to the directors and officers of the Adviser is included in its Form ADV filed with the SEC and is incorporated herein by reference thereto.

 

 

Item 32.

Principal Underwriters


 

 

 

 

(a)

Van Eck Securities Corporation is the Trust’s principal underwriter. Van Eck Securities Corporation also acts as a principal underwriter, depositor, or investment manager for the following other investment companies: Van Eck Funds (which is comprised of four series: Emerging Markets Fund, Global Hard Assets Fund Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund and International Investors Gold Fund) and Worldwide Insurance Trust (which is comprised of five series: Worldwide Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund, Worldwide Bond Fund, Worldwide Emerging Markets Fund, Worldwide Hard Assets Fund and Worldwide Real Estate Fund).

 

 

 

 

(b)

The following is a list of the executive officers, directors and partners of Van Eck Securities Corporation:


 

 

 

 

 

Name and Principal
Business Address

 

Positions and Offices
with Underwriter

 

Positions and Offices with Trust


 


 


Thomas K. Lynch
335 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

 

Chief Compliance Officer

 

Chief Compliance Officer

 

 

 

 

 

Joseph McBrien
335 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

 

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

 

Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer

 

 

 

 

 

Bruce J. Smith
335 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

 

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Controller

 

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

 

Jan F. van Eck
335 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

 

Director and Executive Vice President

 

President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee




 

 

Item 33.

Location of Accounts and Records

          All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the 1940 Act and the Rules thereunder will be maintained at the offices of The Bank of New York Mellon, 101 Barclay Street, New York, New York 10286.

 

 

Item 34.

Management Services

 

 

          Not applicable.

 

 

Item 35.

Undertakings

          Not applicable.


SIGNATURES

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York and State of New York on the 7th day of January 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

MARKET VECTORS ETF TRUST

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Jan F. van Eck*

 

 

 


 

 

 

Name: Jan F. van Eck

 

 

 

Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following person in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ David H. Chow*

 

Trustee

 

January 7, 2011


 

 

 

 

David H. Chow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ R. Alastair Short*

 

Trustee

 

January 7, 2011


 

 

 

 

R. Alastair Short

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Richard D. Stamberger*

 

Trustee

 

January 7, 2011


 

 

 

 

Richard D. Stamberger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Jan F. van Eck*

 

President, Chief Executive

 

January 7, 2011


 

Officer and Trustee

 

 

Jan F. van Eck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Bruce J. Smith*

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

January 7, 2011


 

 

 

 

Bruce J. Smith

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

*By:

/s/ Jonathan R. Simon

 

 


 

Jonathan R. Simon

 

Attorney-in-Fact