VanEck Debuts EMBX, Bringing Active Emerging Markets Bond Strategy with ETF Efficiency to Investors

Now trading under the ticker symbol EMBX, investors gain access to VanEck's world-class active Emerging Markets Bond team and flagship strategy with the daily transparency, intraday liquidity and efficiency of an ETF structure

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- VanEck announced that the VanEck Emerging Markets Bond ETF (Ticker: EMBX) begins trading today, completing its conversion from a traditional open-end mutual fund formerly known as the VanEck Emerging Markets Bond Fund.

The conversion, executed on a tax-free basis¹ for existing shareholders, maintains the strategy's experienced portfolio management team, established long-term track record, and disciplined, high-conviction approach to investing across sovereign and corporate issuers in both U.S. dollar- and local currency-denominated bonds. The ETF structure provides investors with additional benefits, including intraday liquidity, daily portfolio transparency, and potential tax efficiencies, while keeping both the investment objective and process unchanged.

Over the past five years, the Fund has delivered an annualized return of 4.9% per year, compared with 2.3% for its benchmark and -3.0% for Treasuries.^* Since inception in 2012, the Fund has outperformed its benchmark on an absolute and risk-adjusted basis, and ranks in the top percentile of its Morningstar category year-to-date and in the top quartile for the 1-, 5- and 10-year periods.² Globally, the investment team manages approximately $492.38M in assets as of September 30, 2025.

"Emerging markets bonds have outperformed Treasuries and global aggregate bonds on an outright and volatility-adjusted basis for over 20 years. This has been driven by sound fiscal policy and independent, inflation-focused central banks, which we believe will persist. These policies are actually popular in emerging markets, unlike in developed markets," said Eric Fine, Portfolio Manager at VanEck.

VanEck's active Emerging Markets Fixed Income team, which manages EMBX, commands over 25 years of combined professional experience. The team is led by Portfolio Manager Eric Fine and includes Deputy Portfolio Manager David Austerweil, Chief Economist Natalia Gurushina and Senior Corporate Analyst Robert Schmieder.

"EMBX's debut reinforces our commitment to enhancing investor access, particularly to a strategy that has delivered consistent and differentiated long-term performance," said Ed Lopez, Managing Director and Head of Product Management at VanEck. "By providing access to this world-class portfolio management team and investment strategy in an ETF vehicle, we believe current and future shareholders will benefit from EMBX's daily transparency, intraday liquidity, and operational and tax efficiency as a core component of a diversified portfolio."

Visit the VanEck Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMBX) fund page for more information, including performance data, portfolio holdings and manager commentary, and learn more about the investment process in this FAQ.

Average Annual Total Returns^† as of September 30, 2025

^† Returns less than one year are not annualized.

Expenses: Class I: Gross 1.37%, Net 0.86%. Expenses are capped contractually until 05/01/26 at 0.85% for Class I. Caps exclude acquired fund fees and expenses, interest, trading, dividends, and interest payments of securities sold short, taxes, and extraordinary expenses.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance may be lower or higher than performance data quoted. Please call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com for performance current to the most recent month ended.

On October 6th, 2025, the Fund converted from an open-end mutual fund into an exchange-traded fund ("ETF"). As part of the conversion, the Fund adopted the accounting and performance history of its predecessor mutual fund (the "Predecessor Fund"). Performance shown for periods prior to October 6th, 2025 reflects the NAV performance of the Predecessor Fund's institutional share class ("Class I") and not the ETF's market-price performance. If the Predecessor Fund had been structured as an ETF, its performance may have differed (for example, due to brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads, and premiums/discounts to NAV). Effective October 6th, 2025, the Fund's total annual operating expenses changed; returns for periods prior to that date reflect the Predecessor Fund's expenses then in effect.

The "Net Asset Value" (NAV) of a Fund is determined at the close of each business day, and represents the dollar values of one share of the fund; it is calculated by taking the total assets of the fund, subtracting total liabilities, and dividing by the total number of shares outstanding, investors should not expect to buy or sell shares at NAV.

About VanEck

VanEck has a history of looking beyond the financial markets to identify trends that are likely to create impactful investment opportunities. We were one of the first U.S. asset managers to offer investors access to international markets. This set the tone for the firm's drive to identify asset classes and trends – including gold investing in 1968, emerging markets in 1993, and exchange traded funds in 2006 – that subsequently shaped the investment management industry.

Today, VanEck offers active and passive strategies with compelling exposures supported by well-designed investment processes. As of August 31, 2025, VanEck managed approximately $145.7 billion in assets, including mutual funds, ETFs and institutional accounts. The firm's capabilities range from core investment opportunities to more specialized exposures to enhance portfolio diversification. Our actively managed strategies are fueled by in-depth, bottom-up research and security selection from portfolio managers with direct experience in the sectors and regions in which they invest. Investability, liquidity, diversity, and transparency are key to the experienced decision-making around market and index selection underlying VanEck's passive strategies.

Since our founding in 1955, putting our clients' interests first, in all market environments, has been at the heart of the firm's mission.

Important Disclosures

¹ The conversion is designed to be treated as a tax-free reorganization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, as part of the reorganization, some shareholders may receive cash compensation for fractional shares of the VanEck Emerging Markets Bond Fund that they hold. The redemption of these fractional shares will likely be a taxable event, albeit a small one. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors about possible state and local tax considerations with respect to the conversion, if any, because the information about tax consequences in this document relates only to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the conversion.

² Source: ©Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Data as of 9/30/2025. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The peer group presents trailing total return percentile rankings against the Morningstar Open End Funds – U.S. – Emerging Markets Bond category, which comprised 228 funds as of 9/30/2025. Exact rankings are as follows: YTD: 4th; 1Y: 21st; 5Y: 9th; 10Y: 11th. Prior to 10/06/2025, the Fund operated as the VanEck Emerging Markets Bond mutual fund; performance prior to that date is based on the fund's NAV performance (Class I, unadjusted for today's ETF expenses).

This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities, financial instruments or digital assets mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, tax advice, or any call to action. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are for illustrative purposes only, are valid as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change without notice. Actual future performance of any assets or industries mentioned are unknown. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. VanEck does not guarantee the accuracy of third party data. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees. 

All indices are unmanaged and include the reinvestment of all dividends, but do not reflect the payment of transaction costs, advisory fees or expenses that are associated with an investment in the Fund. Certain indices may take into account withholding taxes. An index's performance is not illustrative of the Fund's performance. Indices are not securities in which investments can be made.

The J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified tracks local currency bonds issued by Emerging Markets governments.

The J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Diversified tracks returns for actively traded external debt instruments in emerging markets, and is also J.P. Morgan's most liquid U.S. dollar emerging markets debt benchmark.

An investment in the VanEck Emerging Markets Bond ETF may be subject to risks which include, among others, risks related to active management, credit, credit-linked notes, currency management strategies, derivatives,  emerging market issuers, ESG investing, foreign currency, foreign securities, hedging, high portfolio turnover, high yield securities, interest rate, market, non-diversified, operational, restricted securities, investing in other funds, sovereign bond, special risk considerations of investing in African, Asian, and Latin American issuers, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, fund shares trading, premium/discount and liquidity of fund shares, and cash transactions risks, all of which may adversely affect the Fund. Emerging market issuers and foreign securities may be subject to securities markets, political and economic, investment and repatriation restrictions, different rules and regulations, less publicly available financial information, foreign currency and exchange rates, operational and settlement, and corporate and securities laws risks.

Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of a Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contain this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.

© Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation
666 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Phone: 800.826.2333
Email: [email protected] 

* The Fund's benchmark index (50% GBI-EM/50% EMBI) is a blended index consisting of 50% J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) Global Diversified and 50% J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index (EMBI).

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SOURCE VanEck