Van Eck Names Imaru Casanova Senior Gold Analyst

Van Eck Global today announced that Imaru Casanova has joined the firm’s investment team as Senior Gold Analyst.

At Van Eck, she will serve as a member of the investment teams responsible for overseeing the International Investors Gold Fund (INIVX), the first gold mutual fund, which traces its roots back to 1968; Global Hard Assets Fund (GHAAX); and Van Eck VIP Global Hard Assets Fund, which collectively had $6.6 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2011. Van Eck’s hard assets investment team is now comprised of 12 members.

Van Eck has been a leading sponsor of gold-based investment products since its founding in 1955. In addition to mutual funds, the company is the sponsor of two gold-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: GDX), the first ETF focused on the gold mining industry, with approximately $8.7 billion in AUM, and Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: GDXJ), which invests in junior gold companies and has approximately $1.9 billion in AUM, both as of December 31, 2011.

“For more than 55 years, Van Eck has been a leader in investing in gold and other hard assets,” said Joe Foster, portfolio manager of Van Eck’s International Investors Gold Fund. “Though we have grown substantially over that time, our commitment to gold as an asset class has been unwavering. We will look to continue to add resources and explore new concepts with an emphasis on gold that are designed to meet the needs of investors.”

Ms. Casanova brings more than 15 years of industry experience to Van Eck, including both a technical and investment background. Prior to joining the company, she worked as managing director and senior equity research analyst at McNicoll Lewis & Vlak, where she was responsible for establishing the metals and mining research department, with a focus on under-covered and undiscovered precious metals companies. Before that, she covered the gold mining sector as an equity research analyst at Barnard Jacobs Mellet USA and BMO Capital Markets.

Prior to working as an analyst, Ms. Casanova worked as an engineer for Shell Exploration and Production in Venezuela, with responsibilities including generation of new well proposals, production technology design, 24-hour supervision of operations, and petroleum engineering analysis required aboard an offshore drilling platform. With the addition of Ms. Casanova, Van Eck’s hard assets investment team now includes four team members with engineering degrees and three team members with geology degrees.

Ms. Casanova holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.

About Van Eck Global

Founded in 1955, Van Eck Global was among the first U.S. money managers helping investors achieve greater diversification through global investing. Today the firm continues this tradition by offering innovative, actively managed global investment choices in hard assets, emerging markets, precious metals including gold, and other alternative asset classes.

Van Eck Global also offers mutual funds, insurance portfolios, separate accounts and alternative investments. Designed for investors seeking innovative choices for portfolio diversification, Van Eck Global’s investment products are often categorized in asset classes having returns with low correlations to those of more traditional U.S. equity and fixed income investments.

Market Vectors exchange-traded products have been offered by Van Eck Global since 2006 when the firm launched the nation’s first gold mining ETF. Today, Market Vectors ETFs and ETNs span several asset classes, including equities, municipal bonds and other fixed income as well as currencies.

Important Disclosure

You can lose money by investing in the Funds. Any investment in a Fund should be part of an overall investment program, not a complete program. Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information.Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.

The “Net Asset Value” (NAV) of a Market Vectors Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is determined at the close of each business day, and represents the dollar value 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. The NAV is not necessarily the same as the ETF’s intraday trading value. Market Vectors ETF investors should not expect to buy or sell shares at NAV.

ETF shares are not individually redeemable and will be issued and redeemed at their NAV only through certain authorized broker-dealers in large, specified blocks of shares called "creation units" and otherwise can be bought and sold only through exchange trading. Creation units are issued and redeemed principally in kind. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. You will incur brokerage expenses when trading Fund shares in the secondary market.

Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor

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