VanEck VIP Emerging Markets

Objective And Strategy

Objective
Long-term capital appreciation. Income is a secondary consideration.

Strategy
Invests primarily in equity securities in emerging markets around the world, having potential for rapid economic growth. Emphasis is on equities but may also invest in debt securities of any quality as long as not more than 20% of assets are held in debt securities rated below investment grade.

Principal Risks

* This portfolio is non-diversified, with the potential to invest a greater portion of its assets in a limited number of companies. Consequently, this portfolio may have more risk as changes in the value of a single security may have a more significant effect on the portfolio's net asset value.

* This portfolio invests in securities of foreign issuers which involves risks not typically associated with domestic issuers, including currency fluctuations and the possibility of political and economic instability. Emerging markets involve risks in addition to those generally associated with foreign securities, because political and economic structures in many emerging markets may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development.

* This portfolio invests (or may invest) in securities of companies with micro-, small-, or mid-capitalization. Any investment in micro-, small-, or mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk than that customarily associated with investments in larger, more established companies because of the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrower product lines, and frequent lack of management depth. As such, micro- or small-cap companies may be more subject to erratic and abrupt market movements than securities of larger, more established companies.

* This portfolio can leverage or use leveraged instruments or derivatives. Portfolios that use leverage, that is, borrow money, are subject to the risk that the cost of borrowing money to leverage will exceed the returns for the securities purchased or that the securities purchased may actually go down in value. Thus, the portfolio's net asset value can decrease more quickly than if the portfolio had not borrowed. Portfolios that use leveraged instruments or derivatives such as futures, options and swap agreements, may expose the portfolio to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. The more a portfolio invests in leveraged instruments, the more the leverage will magnify any gains or losses on those investments.

* This portfolio is subject to the risks of short selling (selling securities that the portfolio does not own). The Fund may be required to pay a premium to sell a security short. There is no guarantee that the price of a shorted stock will fall, or that the portfolio will produce positive returns. It is possible for the portfolio to lose money on shorted stocks.

* Certain portfolios are subject to active trading risk. (Some may derive a significant portion of their assets from investors who take part in certain strategic and tactical asset allocation programs). The frequent exchange of shares of the portfolio may cause the portfolio to experience high turnover. High portfolio turnover may result in the portfolio having to pay higher transaction costs and may negatively impact the portfolio manager's ability to achieve the investment objective of the portfolio.