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 Oil Services Industry. The profitability of companies in the oil services industry is related to worldwide energy prices, including all sources of energy, and exploration and production spending. The price of energy, the earnings of companies in the oil services industry, and the value of such companies’ securities can be extremely volatile. Such companies are also subject to risks of changes in exchange rates and the price of oil and gas, government regulation, world events, negative perception, depletion of resources and general economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where oil services companies are located or do business. Oil services companies operate in a highly competitive and cyclical industry, with intense price competition.

The oil services industry is exposed to significant and numerous operating hazards. Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters and adverse weather conditions in the regions in which they operate. The revenues of oil services companies may be negatively affected by contract termination and renegotiation. Oil services companies are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, extensive federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules and regulations. Oil exploration and production companies may also be adversely affected by environmental damage claims. The international operations of oil services companies expose them to risks associated with instability and changes in economic and political conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in foreign regulations and other risks inherent to international business. Some of the companies in the Oil Services Index are engaged in other lines of business unrelated to oil services, and they may experience problems with these lines of business which could adversely affect their operating results. The operating results of these companies may fluctuate as a result of these additional risks and events in the other lines of business. In addition, a company’s ability to engage in new activities may expose it to business risks with which it has less experience than it has with the business risks associated with its traditional businesses. Despite a company’s possible success in traditional oil services activities, there can be no assurance that the other lines of business in which these companies are engaged will not have an adverse effect on a company’s business or financial condition.

Certain companies in which the Fund may invest are non-U.S. issuers whose securities are listed on U.S. exchanges. These securities involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities, including greater market volatility, higher

transactional costs, taxation by foreign governments, political instability and the possibility that foreign governmental restrictions may be adopted which might adversely affect such securities.

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 Oil Services 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 Depositary Receipts. Depositary receipts in which the Fund may invest are receipts issued by banks or trust companies listed on U.S. exchanges that entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and, if not included in the Oil Services Index, may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Oil Services Index.

Risk of Investing in Medium-Capitalization Companies. 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 medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.

Issuer-Specific Changes Risk. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of securities of smaller issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. A change in the financial condition, market perception or credit rating of an issuer of securities included in the Oil Services Index may cause the value of its securities to decline.

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 risk 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 Oil Services Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Oil Services 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 Oil Services Index. Because the Fund bears the costs and risks associated with buying and selling securities while such costs and risks are not factored into the return of the Oil Services Index, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Oil Services Index. In addition, the Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities included in the Oil Services Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Oil Services 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 the Oil Services Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets ( i.e. , the value of the Oil Services Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Oil Services Index may be adversely affected.

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.

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 Oil Services 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.

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. The Fund may be particularly vulnerable to this risk because the Oil Services Index it seeks to replicate is comprised of securities of a very limited number of companies.

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 Oil Services Index concentrates in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. Based on the current composition of the Oil Services Index, the Fund’s assets are concentrated in the oil services industry and energy 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.