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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund seeks to achieve consistent absolute (positive) returns in various market cycles.

Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading FUND FEES AND EXPENSES
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for Class A sales charge discounts if you and your family (includes spouse and children under age 21) invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000, in the aggregate, in Classes A and C of the Van Eck Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Shareholder Information” section of the Fund’s prospectus and in the “Availability of Discounts” and “Breakpoint Linkage Rules for Discounts” sections of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination 2014-05-01
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate that the Fund pays higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 242% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 242.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Expense Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem all of your shares at the end of these periods or continue to hold them. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual expenses may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example by, Year, Caption [Text] rr_ExpenseExampleByYearCaption Sold
Expense Example, No Redemption, By Year, Caption [Text] rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionByYearCaption Held
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund pursues its objective by allocating its assets among (i) investment sub-advisers (the “Sub-Advisers”, also referred to as “managers”) with experience in managing alternative or non-traditional investment strategies, and (ii) affiliated and unaffiliated funds, including open end and closed end funds and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), which employ a variety of investment strategies (collectively, the “Underlying Funds”). The Fund is considered to be “non-diversified” which means that it may invest a larger portion of its assets in a single issuer.


The main strategies that may be employed by the Sub-Advisers and the Underlying Funds include:


EVENT-DRIVEN STRATEGIES


Event-driven strategies seek to benefit from price movements caused by anticipated corporate events, such as mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs or other special situations. These strategies may include:


Convertible Arbitrage: A convertible arbitrage strategy seeks to exploit price differentials in the convertible bond markets by buying the convertible bond, and shorting the common stock, of the same company.


Fixed Income or Interest Rate Arbitrage: A fixed income or interest rate arbitrage strategy involves buying and shorting different debt securities and/or futures contracts, including interest rate swap arbitrage, U.S. and non-U.S. bond arbitrage.


Pairs Trading: Certain securities, often competitors in the same sector, are sometimes correlated in their day-to-day price movements. If the performance link breaks down, i.e., one stock trades up while the other traded down, a manager may sell the outperforming stock and buy the underperforming one, based on the assumption that the “spread” between the two would eventually converge. This may help to hedge against market and sector risk.


Merger Arbitrage: A merger arbitrage strategy seeks to exploit price differentials in the shares of companies that are involved in announced corporate events, such as mergers, by assessing the likelihood that such events will be consummated as proposed.


EQUITY STRATEGIES


Equity strategies seek to exploit market trends and inefficiencies in equity markets. These strategies may include:


Equity Market Neutral: A market neutral strategy combines long and short equity positions to seek to keep its exposure to overall market risk very low. Such strategies take long positions in those securities believed to have attractive appreciation potential and short positions in those securities believed to have depreciation potential. This strategy is typically constructed to attempt to be beta-neutral and attempts to control one or more industry, sector, market capitalization or other potential market bias exposure.


Long-Only: A long-only strategy seeks to invest in stocks that are believed to have appreciation potential. This strategy may concentrate in certain markets, industries or geographical areas. This strategy is primarily managed for absolute return and to assess risk and opportunity on an absolute, not an index-relative basis.


Long/Short Equity: A long/short strategy seeks to invest in securities believed to be undervalued or offer high growth opportunities while also attempting to reduce overall market risk or take advantage of an anticipated decline in the price of an overvalued company or index by using short sales or options on common stocks or indexes to hedge risk. This strategy may also use derivatives, including options, financial futures and options on futures. Long and short positions may not be invested in equal dollars and, as such, may not seek to neutralize general market risks.


Short-Only: A short-only strategy seeks to identify securities that are expected to depreciate in value. In a short sale, the Fund borrows an equity security from a broker, and then sells it. If the value of the security goes down, the Fund can buy it back in the market and return it to the broker, making a profit. This strategy may be employed to hedge or offset long- only equity strategies of similar size in assets and volatility.


FIXED INCOME STRATEGIES


Arbitrage strategies seek to exploit price differences in identical, related or similar securities on different markets or in different forms so as to minimize overall market risk. These strategies may include:


Distressed Securities: Investing in the securities of issuers in financial distress based upon the expectations of the manager as to whether a turnaround may materialize.


Long/Short Credit & Fixed Income: A long/short credit strategy combines long and short positions in debt securities of domestic and foreign governments, agencies, and companies of all maturities and qualities, including high yield (junk bonds) and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (“TIPS”), ETFs and emerging market debt. This strategy may invest in mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, asset-backed securities and other mortgage related securities. The strategy may focus on short positions by utilizing instruments to anticipate the decline in the price of an overvalued security or type of security. Such hedging instruments could include individual bonds or related stocks, futures contracts or other instruments.


GLOBAL MACRO STRATEGIES


Global macro strategies seek to exploit broad market trends in equities, interest rates or commodity prices. These strategies may include:


Emerging Markets, Gold and Commodities: An emerging markets, gold and commodities strategy seeks to profit from directional changes in currencies, emerging markets, commodity prices and market volatility. This strategy may utilize positions held through individual securities, ETFs, derivative contracts, swaps or other financial instruments linked to major market, sector or country indices, fixed income securities, currencies and commodities. This strategy may invest in a limited number of securities, issuers, industries or countries which may result in higher volatility.


Managed Futures: A managed futures strategy seeks to preserve capital through capturing opportunities in various futures markets. This strategy typically includes long positions in the futures that are showing strong upward momentum and short positions in the futures that are in a downward trend. This strategy may provide different exposures to many markets and thus offer low correlations with traditional stock and bond markets.


Special Situations: Investing in the securities of issuers based upon the expectations of the manager as to whether the price of such securities may change in the short term due to a special situation, such as a stock buy-back, spin-off, bond upgrade or a positive earnings report.


ALLOCATION OF FUND ASSETS


The Adviser determines the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the various Sub-Advisers and Underlying Funds. In selecting and weighting investment options, the Adviser seeks to identify Sub-Advisers and Underlying Funds which, based on their investment styles and historical performance, have the potential, in the opinion of the Adviser, to perform independently of each other and achieve positive risk-adjusted returns in various market cycles. This is referred to as “low correlation.” The degree of correlation of any given investment strategy of a Sub-Adviser or an Underlying Fund will, with other investment strategies and the market as a whole, vary as a result of market conditions and other factors, and some Sub-Advisers and Underlying Funds will have a greater degree of correlation with each other and with the market than others.


By allocating its assets among a number of investment options, the Fund seeks to achieve diversification, less risk and lower volatility than if the Fund utilized a single manager or a single strategy approach. The Fund is not required to invest with any minimum number of Sub-Advisers or Underlying Funds, and does not have minimum or maximum limitations with respect to allocations of assets to any Sub-Adviser, investment strategy or market sector. The Adviser may change the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the available investment options, and may add or remove Sub-Advisers, at any time. For a variety of reasons, including capacity and regulatory limitations, not all the Sub-Advisers may be available to the Fund if it chooses to use them in the future.


Each Sub-Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of its allocated portion of Fund assets. The Adviser has ultimate responsibility, subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees of the Fund, to oversee the Sub-Advisers, and to recommend their hiring, termination and replacement.


The Adviser may hire and terminate Sub-Advisers in accordance with the terms of an exemptive order obtained by the Fund and the Adviser from the SEC, under which the Adviser is permitted, subject to supervision and approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into and materially amend sub-advisory agreements without seeking shareholder approval. The Adviser will furnish shareholders of the Fund with information regarding a new Sub-Adviser within 90 days of the hiring of the new Sub-Adviser.


Currently, the Adviser has entered into sub-advisory agreements with the following ten Sub-Advisers with respect to the Fund. Below is a description of each Sub-Adviser’s investment style. The Fund may select a variation of these strategies or another strategy offered by the Sub-Advisers.


 

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Acorn Derivatives Management Corp. employs a spread strategy to seek to capture persistent overpricing in S&P 500 index options.

 

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Coe Capital Management, LLC employs a long/short equity strategy.

 

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Dix Hills Partners, LLC employs a long/short fixed income strategy focusing on Treasury bonds of various maturities.

 

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Horizon Asset Management LLC employs an opportunistic strategy.

 

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KeyPoint Capital Management, LLC employs a long/short real estate equity strategy.

 

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Martingale Asset Management, L.P. employs a long/short equity strategy.

 

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Millrace Asset Group, Inc. employs a long/short equity strategy.

 

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RiverPark Advisors, LLC employs a long/short equity strategy.

 

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SW Asset Management, LLC employs a long/short credit strategy.

 

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Tiburon Capital Management, LLC employs a long/short event-driven equity and fixed income strategy.


As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund’s assets which have been allocated to Sub-Advisers are allocated among Coe Capital Management, LLC, Horizon Asset Management LLC, Millrace Asset Group, Inc., KeyPoint Capital Management, LLC, RiverPark Advisers, LLC, SW Asset Management, LLC and Tiburon Capital Management, LLC.


Each Underlying Fund invests its assets in accordance with its investment strategy. The Fund may invest in Underlying Funds in excess of the limitations under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), pursuant to either an exemptive order obtained by the Fund and the Adviser from the SEC or an exemptive order obtained by an Underlying Fund from the SEC and consistent with the conditions specified in such order.


Investments in the securities of Underlying Funds involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in an Underlying Fund, the Fund becomes a shareholder of that Underlying Fund. As a result, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the Underlying Fund, in addition to the fees and expenses the Fund’s shareholders directly bear in connection with the Fund’s own operations. To minimize the duplication of fees, the Adviser has agreed to waive the management fee it charges to the Fund by any amount it collects as a management fee from an Underlying Fund managed by the Adviser, as a result of an investment of the Fund’s assets in such Underlying Fund.


In addition to Sub-Advisers and Underlying Funds, the Fund may invest indirectly in strategies or managers through securities, funds, notes, certificates, options, swaps or other derivative instruments, including instruments indexed to baskets of underlying funds.


The Fund’s assets will be primarily invested in common stock, convertible or non-convertible preferred stock, and fixed-income securities of U.S. and foreign governments, semi-government, their agencies and instrumentalities, non-governmental organizations, supra-national organizations and companies, including those in or that have operations in emerging markets.


The Fund may invest in foreign securities, depositary receipts and shares relating to foreign securities. The Fund may also invest in rights, warrants, forward, futures and options contracts and other derivative securities; and enter into equity, interest rate, index and currency rate swap agreements.


In addition, the Fund may invest in funds that seek to track investable hedge fund indices; directly and indirectly in commodities; make direct investments in equity interests in trusts, partnerships, joint ventures and other unincorporated entities or enterprises; and invest in securities of companies in initial public offerings.


A portion of the Fund’s assets may be invested in cash, cash equivalents, or in money market funds.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading PRINCIPAL RISKS
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund’s share price and return will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Accordingly, an investment in the Fund involves the risk of losing money.


The Fund uses one or more investment strategies in seeking to achieve its investment objective. Such strategies may involve investing in a variety of different instruments and using certain techniques that are subject to the risks set forth below.


Arbitrage Trading. The underlying relationships between securities in which the Fund takes investment positions may change in an adverse manner, in which case the Fund may realize losses.


Below Investment Grade Securities. Below investment grade securities (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds”) are more speculative than higher-rated securities. These securities have a much greater risk of default and may be more volatile than higher-rated securities of similar maturity. These securities may be less liquid and more difficult to value than higher-rated securities.


Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are subject to the usual risks associated with debt securities, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. Convertible securities also react to changes in the value of the common stock into which they convert, and are thus subject to market risk. The Fund may be forced to convert a convertible security before it otherwise would choose to do so, which may decrease the Fund’s return.


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 derivatives, such as swap agreements, options, warrants, futures contracts, currency forwards 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, 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.


Directional and Tactical Trading. Directional and tactical trading involves the risk that the investment decisions made by the Sub-Adviser in using this strategy may prove to be incorrect, may not produce the returns expected by the Sub-Adviser and may cause the Fund’s shares to lose value.


Emerging Markets Securities. Emerging markets securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks described under “Foreign Securities” and may be particularly sensitive to certain economic changes. Emerging markets securities are exposed to a number of risks that may make these investments volatile in price or difficult to trade.


Event-Driven Trading. Event-driven trading involves the risk that the special situation may not occur as anticipated and that this has a negative impact upon the market price of a stock.


Foreign Securities. Foreign investments are subject to greater risks than U.S. domestic investments. These additional risks may include exchange rate fluctuations and exchange controls; less publicly available information; more volatile or less liquid securities markets; and the possibility of arbitrary action by foreign governments, or political, economic or social instability. Foreign companies also may be subject to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation, thereby reducing the earnings potential of such foreign companies.


Investments in Underlying Funds. The Fund’s investment in an Underlying Fund may subject the Fund indirectly to the underlying risks of the investment company. The Fund also will bear its share of the Underlying Fund’s fees and expenses, which are in addition to the Fund’s own fees and expenses.


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


Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities. The value of the Fund’s mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be affected by, among other things, changes in: interest rates, the creditworthiness of the entities that provide credit enhancements, or the market’s assessment of the quality of underlying assets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the possibility that the underlying debt may be refinanced or prepaid prior to maturity. In addition, rising or high interest rates tend to extend the duration of mortgage- and asset-backed securities, making them more volatile and more sensitive to changes in interest rates.


Multiple Investment Sub-Advisers. The Sub-Advisers make their trading decisions independently, and, as a result, it is possible that one or more Sub-Advisers may take positions in the same security or purchase/sell the same security at the same time without aggregating their transactions. This may cause unnecessary brokerage and other expenses to the Fund. Each Sub-Adviser uses a particular style or set of styles to select investments for the Fund. Those styles may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over the investment time periods.


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.


Preferred Stocks. Unlike interest payments on debt securities, dividend payments on a preferred stock typically must be declared by the issuer’s board of directors. In addition, in the event an issuer of preferred stock experiences economic difficulties, the issuer’s preferred stock may lose substantial value due to the reduced likelihood that the issuer’s board of directors will declare a dividend and the fact that the preferred stock may be subordinated to other securities of the same issuer.


Regulatory. Changes in the laws or regulations of the United States, including any changes to applicable tax laws and regulations, could impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective and could increase the operating expenses of the Fund. For example, in 2012, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) adopted amendments to its rules that affect the ability of certain investment advisers to registered investment companies and other entities to rely on previously available exclusions or exemptions from registration under the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as amended (“CEA”) and regulations thereunder. Specifically, these amendments, which became effective on January 1, 2013, require an investment adviser of a registered investment company to register with the CFTC as a “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) if the investment company either markets itself as a vehicle for trading commodity interests or conducts more than a de minimis amount of speculative trading in commodity interests. The staff of the CFTC issued temporary no-action relief (the “No-Action Relief”) from CPO registration to operators of funds-of-funds that cannot reasonably know whether indirect exposure to commodity interests would prevent them from qualifying for an exemption from registration as a CPO. In reliance on the No-Action Relief, the Adviser has claimed a temporary exemption from registration as a CPO. To the extent the Fund is required to comply with applicable CFTC disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping regulations relating to commodity pools, the Fund’s expenses are expected to increase, although the nature and extent of how these requirements will affect the Fund is uncertain.


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.


Short Sales. If the Fund sells a stock short and subsequently has to buy the security back at a higher price, the Fund will lose money on the transaction. Any loss will be increased by the amount of compensation, interest or dividends and transaction costs the Fund must pay to a lender of the security. The amount the Fund could lose on a short sale is theoretically unlimited (as compared to a long position, where the maximum loss is the amount invested). The use of short sales, which has the effect of leveraging the Fund, could increase the exposure of the Fund to the market, increase losses and increase the volatility of returns.


The Fund may not always be able to close out a short position at a particular time or at an acceptable price. A lender may request that borrowed securities be returned to it on short notice, and the Fund may have to buy the borrowed securities at an unfavorable price. If this occurs at a time that other short sellers of the same security also want to close out their positions, it is more likely that the Fund will have to cover its short sale at an unfavorable price and potentially reduce or eliminate any gain, or cause a loss, as a result of the short sale.


Sub-Adviser Allocation. The success of the Fund’s investment strategy depends on, among other things, both the Adviser’s skill in selecting Sub-Advisers and allocating assets to those Sub-Advisers and on a Sub-Adviser’s skill in executing the relevant strategy and selecting investments for the Fund.

Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The Fund's share price and return will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund's portfolio securities. Accordingly, an investment in the Fund involves the risk of losing money.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text] rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus 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.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading PERFORMANCE
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The following chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and one or more other performance measures. For instance, the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index is designed to be representative of the overall composition of the hedge fund universe and is comprised of eight strategies: convertible arbitrage, distressed securities, equity hedge, equity market neutral, event driven, macro, merger arbitrage, and relative value arbitrage. The strategies are asset weighted in the index based on the distribution of assets in the hedge fund industry. The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. The annual returns in the bar chart are for the Fund’s Class A shares and do not reflect sales loads. If sales loads were reflected, returns would be lower than those shown.


Additionally, large purchases and/or redemptions of shares of a class, relative to the amount of assets represented by the class, may cause the annual returns for each class to differ. Updated performance information for the Fund is available on the Van Eck website at vaneck.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The following chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and one or more other performance measures.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress vaneck.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Class A: Annual Total Returns (%) as of 12/31
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads The annual returns in the bar chart are for the Fund's Class A shares and do not reflect sales loads. If sales loads were reflected, returns would be lower than those shown.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

 

 

 

 

 

Best Quarter:

 

+2.55%

 

3Q ’10

Worst Quarter:

 

-4.57%

 

3Q ’11

Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter:
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2010
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 2.55%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter:
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (4.57%)
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred The after-tax return information shown above does not apply to Fund shares held through a tax-deferred account, such as a 401(k) plan or Investment Retirement Account.
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown These returns are shown for one class of shares only; after tax-returns for the other classes may vary.
Caption rr_AverageAnnualReturnCaption Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/12
HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 3.51%
S&P® 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 16.00%
Class A
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice 5.75%
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of the net asset value or purchase price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none [1]
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.42%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Dividends and Interest Payments on Securities Sold Short rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Remainder of Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.63%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE) rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 3.60%
Fees/Expenses Waived or Reimbursed rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets none [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 3.60%
Expense Breakpoint Discounts [Text] rr_ExpenseBreakpointDiscounts You may qualify for Class A sales charge discounts if you and your family (includes spouse and children under age 21) invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000, in the aggregate, in Classes A and C of the Van Eck Funds.
Expense Breakpoint, Minimum Investment Required [Amount] rr_ExpenseBreakpointMinimumInvestmentRequiredAmount 25,000
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 917
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 1,615
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 2,333
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 4,218
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 917
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 1,615
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 2,333
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 4,218
Annual Return 2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 4.67%
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (2.38%)
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 1.38%
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.47%)
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (0.29%)
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jun. 05, 2009
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.53%) [3]
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (0.52%) [3]
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.91%)
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (0.37%)
Class C
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of the net asset value or purchase price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther 1.00%
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.42%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 1.00%
Dividends and Interest Payments on Securities Sold Short rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.70%
Remainder of Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 39.87%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE) rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 43.64%
Fees/Expenses Waived or Reimbursed rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (39.35%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 4.29%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 531
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 6,152
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 8,306
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 9,494
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 431
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 6,152
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 8,306
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 9,494
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (2.67%)
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 30, 2012
Class I
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of the net asset value or purchase price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.42%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Dividends and Interest Payments on Securities Sold Short rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Remainder of Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.74%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE) rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 3.46%
Fees/Expenses Waived or Reimbursed rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.21%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 3.25%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 328
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 1,043
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,781
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 3,727
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 328
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 1,043
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 1,781
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 3,727
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 1.82%
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 1.68%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jun. 05, 2009
Class Y
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of the net asset value or purchase price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.42%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Dividends and Interest Payments on Securities Sold Short rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.62%
Remainder of Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 1.05%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE) rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 3.74%
Fees/Expenses Waived or Reimbursed rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.47%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 3.27%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 330
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 1,101
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,892
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 3,957
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 330
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 1,101
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 1,892
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 3,957
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 1.71%
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 1.16%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 30, 2010
[1] A contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares of 1.00% for one year applies to redemptions of qualified commissionable shares purchased at or above the $1 million breakpoint level.
[2] Van Eck Associates Corporation (the "Adviser") has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, trading expenses, dividends and interest payments on securities sold short, taxes and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 2.40% for Class A, 3.15% for Class C, 1.95% for Class I, and 2.00% for Class Y of the Fund's average daily net assets per year until May 1, 2014. During such time, the expense limitation is expected to continue until the Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such expense limitation.
[3] After tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. These returns are shown for one class of shares only; after tax-returns for the other classes may vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. The after-tax return information shown above does not apply to Fund shares held through a tax-deferred account, such as a 401(k) plan or Investment Retirement Account.