Important Definitions & Disclosures

The model is not a mutual fund or other type of security and will not be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and no units or shares of the model will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, nor will they be registered with any state securities regulator. Accordingly, the model is not subject to compliance with the requirements of such acts.

An investment in the Strategy may be subject to risks which include, among others, municipal securities, credit, interest rate, call, California risk, New York risk, Illinois risk, special tax bond, private activity bonds, health care bond, industrial development bond, tobacco bond, transportation bond, water and sewer bond, market, operational, sampling, index tracking, tax, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, passive management, Fund shares trading, premium/discount and liquidity of Fund shares and concentration risks, all of which may adversely affect a Fund. High-yield municipal bonds are subject to greater risk of loss of income and principal than higher rated securities, and are likely to be more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual municipal developments than those of higher rated securities. Municipal bonds may be less liquid than taxable bonds. There is no guarantee that a Funds’ income will be exempt from federal, state or local income taxes, and changes in those tax rates or in alternative minimum tax (AMT) rates or in the tax treatment of municipal bonds may make them less attractive as investments and cause them to lose value. Capital gains, if any, are subject to capital gains tax. A portion of the dividends you receive may be subject to AMT.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. As with any investment strategy, there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met and investors may lose money. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Model Portfolio information is designed to be used by financial advisors solely as an educational resource, along with other potential resources advisors may consider, in providing services to their end clients. VanEck’s Model Portfolios and related content are for information only and are not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, accounting, investment or financial planning advice by VanEck, nor should any VanEck Model Portfolio information be considered or relied upon as investment advice or as a recommendation from VanEck, including regarding the use or suitability of any VanEck Model Portfolio, any particular security or any particular strategy. In providing VanEck Model Portfolio information, VanEck is not acting and has not agreed to act in an investment advisory, fiduciary or quasi-fiduciary capacity to any advisor or end client, and has no responsibility in connection therewith, and is not providing individualized investment advice to any advisor or end client, including based on or tailored to the circumstance of any advisor or end client. The Model Portfolio information is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. VanEck is not responsible for determining the securities to be purchased, held and/or sold for any advisor or end client accounts, nor is VanEck responsible for determining the suitability or appropriateness of a Model Portfolio or any securities included therein for any third party, including end clients. Advisors are solely responsible for making investment recommendations and/or decisions with respect to an end client, and should consider the end client’s individual financial circumstances, investment time frame, risk tolerance level and investment goals in determining the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy, without input from VanEck. VanEck does not have investment discretion and does not place trade orders for any end client accounts. Information and other marketing materials provided to you by VanEck concerning a Model Portfolio—including allocations, performance and other characteristics—may not be indicative of an end client’s actual experience from investing in one or more of the funds included in a Model Portfolio. Using an asset allocation strategy does not ensure a profit or protect against loss, and diversification does not eliminate the risk of experiencing investment losses. There is no assurance that investing in accordance with a Model Portfolio's allocations will provide positive performance over any period. Any content or information included in or related to a VanEck Model Portfolio, including descriptions, allocations, data, fund details and disclosures are subject to change and may not be altered by an advisor or other third party in any way.

Van Eck Associates Corporation (“VanEck”) is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. VanEck, which commenced operations 1985 (predecessor company in 1955), provides investment advisory services to registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, separate institutional clients, and private investment accounts.

GIPS Disclosures

Van Eck Associates Corporation (“VanEck”) is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. VanEck, which commenced operations 1985 (predecessor company in 1955), provides investment advisory services to registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, separate institutional clients, and private investment accounts.

VanEck claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. VanEck has been independently verified for the periods January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2024.  The verification reports are available upon request. A firm that claims compliance with the GIPS standards must establish policies and procedures for complying with all the applicable requirements of the GIPS standards. Verification provides assurance on whether the firm's policies and procedures related to composite and pooled fund maintenance, as well as the calculation, presentation, and distribution of performance, have been designed in compliance with the GIPS standards and have been implemented on a firm-wide basis. Verification does not provide assurance on the accuracy of any specific performance report. The Municipal Allocation (Proprietary) composite's inception date is December 28, 2017 and the creation date is December 28, 2017. GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

Municipal Allocation (Proprietary) seeks maximum long-term after-tax return consisting of capital appreciation and income generally exempt from federal income tax. In pursuing long-term total return, the Municipal Allocation (Proprietary) seeks to reduce duration and/or credit risk during appropriate times by allocating primarily to VanEck municipal exchange-traded products that invest in tax-exempt bonds. The Strategy utilizes the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index as a performance benchmark. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.

Effective September 1, 2022 the composite benchmark was changed from Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index to ICE US Broad Municipal Index retroactive to inception. ICE US Broad Municipal Index (MUNI) tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade tax-exempt debt publicly issued by US states and territories, and their political subdivisions, in the US domestic market.

The composite returns represent the total returns of all fully discretionary portfolios within the Municipal Allocation (Proprietary) mandate. The returns of the portfolio are time-weighted, based on trade date accounting. VanEck’s policy is to accrue interest income and recognize dividend income and short dividend expense as reported on ex-dividend date. Interest income is recognized when received. Interest, dividends, and capital gains accrued on foreign securities are reported net of non-reclaimable foreign withholding taxes. Portfolio valuations are based on market values and expressed in US Dollars.

Composite returns are shown gross and net of management fees while including the reinvestment of all income. Brokerage and transaction expenses such as exchange, duty, and commission fees are deducted from trade amounts to determine net transaction costs/proceeds which are reflected in both gross and net returns. Net of fee performance is calculated by deducting actual management fees and in some instances, performance based fees charged to each account. The composite returns represent past performance and are not reliable indicators of future results which may vary.

Additional information regarding policies for valuing investments, calculating performance and preparing GIPS Reports are all available upon request.

VanEck's ETF portfolios are generally charged an asset-based fee. There were no management fees being incurred in this composite from inception through August 31, 2019. Effective August 31, 2019, VanEck’s Municipal Allocation accounts are charged an asset-based fee (which may be on a sliding scale with breakpoints dependent upon asset under management "AUM"). The fees charged for a VanEck Municipal Allocation portfolio would generally range from 0.04% to 0.08% of AUM. Actual account fees, inclusive of performance-based fees (if applicable), are used in the construction of composite net of fee performance unless otherwise noted. A complete list of composite and limited distribution pooled fund descriptions and list of broad distribution pooled funds is available upon request.

Total Firm AUM include all discretionary and non-discretionary assets under management of VanEck, including all fee-paying accounts and accounts managed outside the Firm (e.g. by sub-advisers) where VanEck has allocation and selection authority. Firm proprietary accounts are included in the definition of firm assets. The three-year annualized standard deviation, gross of fees, found on the following page, measures the variability of the composite and the benchmark returns over the preceding 36 month period.

The significant cash flow policy has been suspended for this composite since its inception.