ETF Evaluator:
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ)
Follow This ETF
(as of Jul 30)
Best Performing in Large Growth Over the Last Year
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ETF Details
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF Overview
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Growth exchange-traded fund (ETF). VanEck launched the ETF in 2021.
The investment seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index.
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the fund's benchmark index. The index is comprised of common stocks of U.S. companies selected by a rules-based quantitative methodology developed by the index Provider, which is designed to identify the U.S. common stocks with the most "positive insights" collected from online sources including social media, news articles, blog posts and other alternative datasets. The fund is non-diversified.
About VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.87 years: Peter Liao (2021) and Griffin Driscoll (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Ldrs TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. VanEck Social Sentiment ETF has 76 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 32.6% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. VanEck Social Sentiment ETF has 6.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 93.4% There is 6.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). VanEck Social Sentiment ETF has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $104 million in total assets, which is below the $8 billion average for the Large Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
BUZZ Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The VanEck Social Sentiment ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Large Growth category. VanEck Social Sentiment ETF has an expense ratio of 0.76%, which is 53% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. VanEck Social Sentiment ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 202%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 74% for the Large Growth category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, VanEck Social Sentiment ETF returned -8.8%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Large Growth category had an average return of -0.6%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.47% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
VanEck Social Sentiment ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 13.9%, 3.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 22.2% over the past year (grade of C), 31.5% over the past three years (grade of A) and 7.0% per year over the past five years (grade of F).
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BUZZ Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| BUZZ Return (NAV) | -8.8% | 28.5% | 22.2% | 31.5% | 7.0% | na |
| BUZZ Return (Price) | -8.9% | 28.4% | 22.0% | 31.5% | 7.0% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.076% | 0.094% | 0.172% | -0.006% | 0.031% | na |
| Large Growth Avg | -0.6% | 20.4% | 20.8% | 22.9% | 11.4% | 16.7% |
| BUZZ Grade (NAV) | F | A | C | A | F | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -8.2% | 8.2% | 1.4% | 8.6% | -4.4% | na |
| BUZZ Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | na |
BUZZ Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| BUZZ Return (NAV) | 13.9% | 30.6% | 33.7% | 54.6% | -47.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| BUZZ Return (Price) | 13.7% | 30.6% | 33.7% | 54.6% | -47.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.014% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.002% | -0.001% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Large Growth Avg | 10.9% | 16.8% | 30.4% | 38.6% | -30.8% | 21.3% | 37.6% | 33.1% | -2.0% | 28.2% | 5.0% |
| BUZZ Grade (NAV) | B | A | B | A | F | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 3.0% | 13.8% | 3.3% | 16.0% | -16.9% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 2.00 |
| R-Squared: | 73% |
| Standard Deviation: | 30.7% |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.70 |
| Category Risk Rating: | High |
| Total Risk Index: | 2.52 |
| Total Risk Rating: | High |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Total Assets: | $ 105 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 105 Mil |
| Turnover: | 202.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.76% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | S&P 500 (TR) (1970) |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.9 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Liao Peter (2021), Driscoll Griffin (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 76 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 32.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 6.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 93.4% |
| Foreign Stock: | 6.4% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.2% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | VanEck |
| Phone Number: | 800-826-2333 |
| Website: | www.marketvectorsetfs.com |
| Inception Date: | March 2, 2021 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.76% (Rating: Above Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.50% |