Dear Reader,
We were somewhere in Delaware, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic...
Miles from the next rest stop, my 5-year-old son suddenly howled that he had to go.
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Managing Director
P.S. I wasn't expecting to see Optimus in person, but now that I have... I get it. It's a 5'8", 125-pound humanoid robot that can carry 45 pounds while walking at 5 miles per hour - perfect for factory work. Musk believes we'll eventually see 10 billion of them in circulation. Why? Because once this rollout begins, every business that makes something will want one. This could spark a financial story even bigger than anything you’ve seen from Tesla and Elon. Click here now to see what’s coming next.
This ETF Is Up 146% as the Battle Over Rare Earths Heats Up
Authored by Jordan Chussler. Posted: 1/9/2026.
Quick Look
- Rare earths have been the bright spot for the materials sector since being labeled a national security priority by the Trump administration.
- Since the market’s bottom in April 2025, the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF is up 146%.
- So far this year, the fund is already up 13% and is likely to continue rewarding shareholders as the White House continues to prioritize the rare earths industry.
The materials sector doesn't get a lot of love. After finishing last among all 11 S&P 500 sectors in 2024, it managed a 10% gain last year, which still trailed the broad market.
Still, even underperforming sectors can contain bright spots. For one industry in particular, that momentum looks likely to continue driving the materials sector this year.
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Rare earths made headlines as President Donald Trump designated them a national security priority and took several actions that lifted both individual rare earth stocks and the funds that hold them.
That includes the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (NYSEARCA: REMX), which is up a staggering 146% since the market's bottom in April 2025.
Rare Earths and the Trump Effect
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals essential for everything from smartphones and wind turbines to defense systems, EVs and medical devices. Companies that mine, refine and recycle these materials have benefited from policy tailwinds that began in Trump's first term.
In 2019, the president labeled them critical to national defense, and in 2025 he signed an executive order launching an investigation into the national security risks of U.S. reliance on imported and processed critical minerals from countries such as China.
Additional steps included the administration's invocation of the Defense Production Act to boost domestic rare earth production and directives for the Department of Defense to prioritize mineral production.
Those measures and more were detailed in a White House fact sheet released in April 2025, which described critical minerals—rare earths included—as central to the country's security and economic resilience.
The administration's first notable market move was a reported $400 million investment—about a 15% stake—in Las Vegas-based MP Materials (NYSE: MP), a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America.
Since the start of 2025, MP Materials has climbed roughly 243%. For investors who prefer ETFs over single-stock bets, the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF offers a diversified alternative.
An ETF for Global Rare Earth Exposure
Industry consultant Grand View Research projects the rare earths market will grow from $3.95 billion in 2024 to $6.28 billion by 2030, an almost 59% increase.
For investors seeking exposure, REMX provides access to global companies — important given Grand View Research's estimate that the Asia Pacific region accounts for roughly 86% of the rare earths market.
According to its prospectus, the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF aims to replicate, as closely as possible, the price and yield performance of the MVIS® Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index (MVREMXTR), which tracks companies involved in producing, refining and recycling rare earth and strategic metals and minerals.
The ETF carries a net expense ratio of 0.58%, which is entirely offset by its dividend yield of 1.53%.
Among its 32 holdings, Albemarle (NYSE: ALB)—widely recognized as the world's largest lithium producer—is the ETF's top position with an 8.22% weighting. Although lithium is not a rare earth, Albemarle uses rare earths in some chemical processes, making it a notable player in the materials supply chain.
One of the ETF's advantages is global diversification. By geographic exposure, REMX holds companies across nine countries, with sizable allocations to:
- China: 28.4%
- Australia: 22.9%
- United States: 22.9%
- Canada: 14.1%
- Netherlands: 3.4%
The fund's sixth-largest holding—Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE: SQM)—is the world's second-largest lithium producer and a maker of specialty chemicals and minerals. Over the past year, the Santiago, Chile–based company has seen its shares gain more than 91%.
In short, the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF offers investors exposure to mining and materials companies operating across the U.S., Asia, Europe and developing markets, which can help mitigate risk through global diversification.
What Wall Street Thinks About the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF
That lower-risk profile helps explain why Wall Street bears have been cautious. Despite the fund's huge gains since early last year, current short interest is only 2.14%, representing 404,528 shares out of roughly 22 million shares outstanding.
Institutional ownership has been largely bullish. Over the past 12 months, buyers have outnumbered sellers 96 to 27, with inflows of nearly $119 million easily surpassing outflows of just over $15 million—a gap of roughly $104 million, or about 87%.
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