AFK VanEck Africa Index ETF

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. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

Risk of Investing in the Solar Energy Industry. Companies engaged in the solar energy industry may be significantly affected by increased competition from new and existing market entrants, technological developments, obsolescence of technology and short product cycles. In addition, the solar energy industry is at a relatively early stage of development and the extent to which solar energy will be widely adopted is uncertain. Because as currently constituted the Solar Energy Index is concentrated in the solar energy industry, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the solar energy industry. Companies in this industry may also be significantly affected by general economic conditions such as varying prices and profits, commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, depletion of resources, fluctuations in energy prices and supply and demand of alternative energy fuels, energy conservation, labor relations and tax and other government regulations. Shares of companies involved in the solar energy industry have historically been more volatile than shares of companies operating in more established industries. Certain valuation methods currently used to value companies involved in the solar energy industry have not been in widespread use for a significant period of time. As a result, the use of these valuation methods may serve to further increase the volatility of certain solar energy company share prices. If government subsidies and economic incentives for alternative energy sources, particularly solar power, are reduced or eliminated, the demand for solar energy may decline and cause corresponding declines in the revenues and profits of companies engaged in the solar energy industry. In addition, changes in U.S., European and other governments’ policies towards solar energy technology also may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s performance.

Risk of Investing in the Energy Sector. The energy sector includes companies engaged in the exploration, production and distribution of energy sources and companies that manufacture or provide related equipment or services. Because as currently constituted the Solar Energy Index is concentrated in the energy sector, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the energy sector. Companies operating in the energy sector are subject to risks including, but not limited to, economic growth, worldwide demand, political instability in the regions that the companies operate, government regulation stipulating rates charged by utilities, interest rate sensitivity, oil price volatility and the cost of providing the specific utility services. In addition, these companies are at risk of civil liability from accidents resulting in injury, loss of life or property, pollution or other environmental damage claims and risk of loss from terrorism and natural disasters.

Risk of Investing in the Information Technology Sector. The information technology sector includes software developers, providers of information technology consulting and services and manufacturers and distributors of computers, peripherals, communications equipment and semiconductors. Because as currently constituted the Solar Energy Index is concentrated in the information technology sector, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the information technology sector. Information technology companies face intense competition, both

domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse affect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent protection and the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

Special Risk Considerations of Investing in Chinese Issuers. Investment in securities of Chinese issuers, including issuers located outside of China that generate significant revenues from China, involves additional risks, including, but not limited to: the economy of China differs, often unfavorably, from the U.S. economy in such respects as structure, general development, government involvement, wealth distribution, rate of inflation, growth rate, interest rates, allocation of resources and capital reinvestment, among others; the central government has historically exercised substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through administrative regulation and/or state ownership; and actions of the Chinese central and local government authorities continue to have a substantial effect on economic conditions in China. In addition, previously the Chinese government has from time to time taken actions that influence the prices at which certain goods may be sold, encourage companies to invest or concentrate in particular industries, induce mergers between companies in certain industries and induce private companies to publicly offer their securities to increase or continue the rate of economic growth, control the rate of inflation or otherwise regulate economic expansion. It may do so in the future as well, potentially having a significant adverse effect on economic conditions in China, the economic prospects for, and the market prices and liquidity of, securities issued by Chinese issuers. In addition, investment and trading restrictions make it difficult for non-Chinese investors to directly access securities issued by Chinese issuers. These restrictions may impact the availability, liquidity, and pricing of certain securities issued by Chinese issuers. Additionally, the Chinese government maintains strict currency controls and regularly intervenes in the currency market. The Chinese government’s actions may not be transparent or predictable. As a result, the value of the Renminbi may change quickly and arbitrarily. These and other factors could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and increase the volatility of an investment in the Fund.

Risk of Investing in Foreign Issuers. Investments in the securities, including depositary receipts, of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities. These additional risks include greater market volatility, the availability of less reliable financial information, higher transactional and custody costs, taxation by foreign governments, decreased market liquidity and political instability. Because the Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies and some of the income received by the Fund will generally be in foreign currencies, changes in currency exchange rates may negatively impact the Fund’s return. In addition, the Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities.

Risk of Investing in Small- and Medium-Capitalization Companies. Small- and medium-capitalization companies may be more volatile and more likely than large-capitalization companies to have narrower product lines, fewer financial resources, less management depth and experience and less competitive strength. Returns on investments in securities of small- and medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.

Risk of Investing in Micro-Capitalization Companies. Micro-capitalization companies are subject to substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices tend to be more volatile and their markets less liquid than companies with larger market capitalizations. The shares of micro-capitalization companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the future ability to sell these securities.

Risk of Cash Transactions. Unlike most exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), the Fund expects to effect its creations and redemptions partially for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As such, investments in Shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a conventional ETF.

Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority in right to a share of corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred securities or debt instruments. In addition, while broad market measures of equity securities have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, equity securities have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns.

Market Risk. The prices of the securities in the Fund are subject to the risks associated with investing in the securities market, including general economic conditions and sudden and unpredictable drops in value. An investment in the Fund may lose money.

Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Solar Energy Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Solar Energy Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Solar Energy Index and raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash with newly created Creation Units

(defined herein). Because the Fund bears the costs and risks associated with buying and selling securities while such costs are not factored in to the return of the Solar Index, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Solar Index. In addition, the Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities included in the Solar Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions they represent of the Solar Index, due to legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries or a lack of liquidity on stock exchanges in which such securities trade. The Fund is expected to value certain of its investments based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) based on fair value prices and the value of Solar Energy Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets ( i.e. , the value of the Solar Energy Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Solar Energy Index may be adversely affected.

Replication Management Risk. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund of equity securities traded on an exchange, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. However, because the Fund is not “actively” managed, unless a specific security is removed from the Solar Energy Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer was in financial trouble. Therefore, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.

Premium/Discount Risk. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to 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 shareholders may sustain losses.

Non-Diversified Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Therefore, the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single company. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to the extent the Solar Energy Index concentrates in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. Based on the current composition of the Solar Energy Index, the Fund’s assets are concentrated in the solar energy industry and the information technology sector; therefore, the Fund will be subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on that sector and industry will negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of sectors or industries.