GDX remains a cornerstone of VanEck’s ETF lineup, which spans emerging markets, commodities, thematic, income, digital assets and more.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VanEck is marking the 20th anniversary of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), the firm’s first ETF, launched in 2006. Introduced at a time when the ETF industry was still in its early stages, GDX remains a core part of VanEck’s investment offerings.
“To understand GDX is to understand our story as a firm and how we’ve built our ETF business over the past 20 years,” said Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck. “Bringing GDX to market was more than a product launch. It reflected our approach to identifying long-term opportunities, drawn from decades of deep thematic expertise, and delivering them to investors in an accessible and efficient way.”
The story of GDX begins far earlier than 2006. In 1968, with gold still fixed at $35/oz. under the Bretton Woods system, VanEck founder John C. van Eck launched the first U.S. gold equity mutual fund. This contrarian move was based on the conviction that gold’s role in the financial system was about to undergo dramatic changes. When the dollar’s convertibility to gold was severed in 1971, he was proven right and the fund became one of the industry’s standout performers over the next decade.
The firm, which last year marked its 70th anniversary, has continued to operate with this approach. By the early 2000s, as ETFs began reshaping how investors built portfolios, VanEck saw an opportunity to deliver exposure to gold equities in a more transparent, liquid and efficient structure, leading to the launch of GDX.
Since then, VanEck has been an early mover in a range of other ETF categories, including emerging markets, corporate and municipal debt, commodity strategies, numerous thematic exposures, and more. The firm’s efforts in digital assets are another notable area where the firm was early in seeing the role that ETFs could play in providing a broader range of investors with exposure to both the price of Bitcoin and the companies driving the digital asset economy.
“ETFs have fundamentally changed how investors access opportunities, whether in long-standing asset classes like gold or emerging areas like digital assets,” added van Eck. “ETFs enable investors to better diversify savings portfolios and to efficiently adjust to changing market conditions. GDX was our first ETF, and gold is an important exposure in today’s market environment. Its positive reception encouraged us to offer other ETFs, and we thank our clients for their input and support.”
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 April 30, 2026, VanEck managed approximately $224.8 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
International Investors Gold Fund, a U.S. gold equity mutual fund, launched in 1968.
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.
An investment in the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) may be subject to risks which include, but are not limited to, risks related to investments in gold and silver mining companies, special risk considerations of investing in Canadian issuers, foreign securities, emerging market issuers, foreign currency, depositary receipts, small- and medium-capitalization companies, equity securities, market, operational, index tracking, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, passive management, fund shares trading, premium/discount, liquidity of fund shares, high portfolio turnover, non-diversified and index-related concentration 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. Small- and medium-capitalization companies may be subject to elevated risks.
Digital asset investments are subject to significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Digital asset prices are highly volatile, and the value of digital assets, can rise or fall dramatically and quickly. If their value goes down, there’s no guarantee that it will rise again. As a result, there is a significant risk of loss of your entire principal investment.
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.
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