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, in fund of funds risk which may subject the Strategy to investing in commodities, gold, natural resources companies, MLPs, real estate sector, infrastructure, equities securities, small- and medium-capitalization companies, foreign securities, emerging market issuers, foreign currency, credit, interest rate, call and concentration risks, derivatives, cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency tax, all of which may adversely affect the Strategy. The Strategy may also be subject to affiliated fund, U.S. Treasury Bills, subsidiary investment, commodity regulatory (with respect to investments in the Subsidiary), tax (with respect to investments in the Subsidiary), risks of ETPs, liquidity, gap, cash transactions, high portfolio turnover, model and data, management, operational, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, market, strategy shares trading, premium/discount and liquidity of fund shares, and non-diversified risks. Foreign investments are subject to risks, which include changes in economic and political conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in foreign regulations, and changes in currency exchange rates which may negatively impact the Strategy’s returns. Small- and medium-capitalization companies may be subject to elevated risks.

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 Real Assets Strategy (Proprietary) composite's inception date is August 16, 2017 and the creation date is August 16, 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.

As of October 31, 2024 the composite name was changed from Inflation Allocation (Proprietary) to Real Assets Strategy (Proprietary). Real Assets Strategy (Proprietary) seeks long-term total return. In pursuing long-term total return, the composite seeks to maximize real returns while seeking to reduce downside risk during sustained market declines by allocating primarily to exchange-traded products that provides exposure to real assets, which include commodities, real estate, natural resources, and infrastructure. The composite seeks to reduce downside risk by using a rules based approach to determine when to allocate a portion or all of the composite's assets to cash and cash equivalents. 100% of composite assets are proprietary.

Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOMTR) (the "index”) and comprises exchange-traded future contracts on more than 20 commodities which are weighted to account for economic significance and market liquidity.

The composite returns represent the total returns of all fully discretionary, fee-paying portfolios within the Real Assets Strategy (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. The composite and comparative index returns can be found on the following page.

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. VanEck’s Real Assets 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 Real Assets portfolio would generally range from 0.75% to 0.80% 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. Composite internal dispersion, gross of fees, is calculated as the asset-weighted standard deviation of portfolio results. The three-year annualized standard deviation, gross of fees, 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.