VanEck’s Natural Resources and Gold Funds Are Again Named Lipper Award Winners

At an awards ceremony held yesterday in New York, VanEck Global Hard Assets Fund, Class I (ticker:GHAIX) and VanEck International Investors Gold Fund, Class I (ticker:INIIX) were awarded 2017 Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards for Best Funds over the 10-year period ending December 31, 2016 in the Global Natural Resources Funds and Precious Metals Equity Funds categories, respectively.1

“We’re pleased that these two funds have been recognized yet again by Lipper for their strong long-term performance,” said Jan van Eck, Chief Executive Officer of VanEck. “Investing in natural resources and gold equities has been, and remains, a hallmark of VanEck as a firm. This is a well-deserved honor for the portfolio management teams who have helped contribute to our growth over the years.”

The Lipper Fund Awards recognize the top fund in each category for the previous 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods based on risk-adjusted, consistent returns compared to their peers. This marks the fourth consecutive year, and the fifth time in six years, that VanEck International Investors Gold Fund has received a Lipper Award for Best Fund in its category. VanEck Global Hard Assets Fund previously won Best Fund in its category in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2015.

With a mandate that launched in 1968, VanEck International Investors Gold Fund is the nation’s oldest gold-focused mutual fund. “I’m pleased to be a part of the long tradition of gold investing here at VanEck,” said Portfolio Manager Joe Foster. “As uncertainty continues to grow in today’s financial markets, we believe gold investing will remain a key component of a well-diversified portfolio. All of us are excited about the changes that have occurred in the gold market recently and look forward to the next stage in the gold bull market.”

VanEck Global Hard Assets Fund has more than a 20-year history of investing across the diversified natural resources sector. The Fund is managed by one of the industry’s largest and most experienced investment teams, including members with technical experience from previous careers as geologists and/or engineers.

“It is a great honor to be recognized and I’m so pleased to accept the award on behalf of my esteemed colleagues,” said Portfolio Manager Shawn Reynolds. “The natural resources sector has undergone major shifts over the last several years and continues to evolve as companies push the limits in terms of developing technology to help improve efficiencies. We are thrilled to be able to help our clients access these long-term growth opportunities.“

About VanEck

VanEck’s mission is to offer investors forward-looking, intelligently designed investment strategies that take advantage of targeted market opportunities. Founded in 1955, the firm is a pioneer in global investing with a history of placing clients’ interests first in all market environments. Today, VanEck continues this tradition by offering innovative active and passive investment portfolios in hard assets, emerging markets equity and debt, precious metals, fixed income, and other alternative asset classes. VanEck Vectors™ exchange-traded products are one of the largest ETP families in the world, managing more than 70 funds that span a range of sectors, asset classes, and geographies. As of February 28, 2017, VanEck managed approximately $43.5 billion in assets, including mutual funds, ETFs, and institutional accounts. Visit vaneck.com.

1VanEck International Investors Gold Fund: Class I Shares Best Fund out of 18 eligible investment companies for the 10-year period ending 12/31/2016 based on consistent annualized total returns. VanEck Global Hard Assets Fund: Class I Shares Best Fund out of 17 eligible investment companies for the 10-year period ending 12/31/2016 based on consistent annualized total returns.

The Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards, granted annually, highlight funds and fund companies that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. The Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper Leader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. The fund with the highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value in each eligible classification wins the Lipper Fund Award. The awards are based on the specified share class. Other share classes may have different performance characteristics and fees. The Lipper Fund Awards takes place in 23 regions in Asia, Europe, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the Americas. For more information, see www.lipperfundawards.com. Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper.

You can lose money by investing in the Funds. Any investment in the Funds should be part of an overall investment program, not a complete program. Global Hard Assets Fund and International Investors Gold Fund are subject to risks associated with concentrating their investments in hard assets and the hard assets sector, including real estate, precious metals, and natural resources, and can be significantly affected by events relating to these industries, including international political and economic developments, inflation, and other factors. The Funds’ portfolio securities may experience substantial price fluctuations as a result of these factors, and may move independently of the trends of industrialized companies. The Funds' investments in foreign securities involve risks related to adverse political and economic developments unique to a country or a region, currency fluctuations or controls, and the possibility of arbitrary action by foreign governments, including the takeover of property without adequate compensation or imposition of prohibitive taxation. The Funds are subject to risks associated with investments in debt securities, derivatives, commodity-linked instruments, illiquid securities, asset-backed securities, and CMOs. The Funds are also subject to inflation risk, short-sales risk, market risk, non-diversification risk, leverage risk, credit risk, and counterparty risk. Please see the prospectus and summary prospectus for more information on these and other risk considerations.

Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Please call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com for a free prospectus and summary prospectus. An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the investment company carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor

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New York, NY 10017

800.826.2333

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