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SLX

GradeDNew York Stock Exchange Arca

VanEck Steel ETF

Sectors · VanEck · Inception 2006-10-10 · SEC filings

$105.25−1.48 (−1.39%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 1:53 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 15 prints from 106.73 to 105.25. Range 105.00 to 106.52. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$105.00$105.50$106.00$106.5010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.55%
Fund size
$166M
1Y return
+49.9%
Yield · Last 12 months
1.23%
Holdings
42
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$105.99
52W range
low $71.45high $114.00

The ETF.net SLX Grade

D

37/ 100

Rank 11 of 14 in Materials (Broad)⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for SLX. Scores out of 100: Cost 16, Risk 54, Mission not scored, Tradability 49, Holdings 54, Durability 45. Strongest: Risk (54). Weakest: Cost (16). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 37 of 100 sits in the D band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    FScore 16
    Category rank12/14 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 54
    Category rank5/13 · top 38%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 49
    Category rank7/14 · top 50%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 54
    Category rank8/14 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    CScore 45
    Category rank10/14 · mid-pack

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on SLX

ETF.net Research

DMost materials funds hand you chemicals, paint and packaging. SLX skips all that for steel alone: roughly 40 mills and miners worldwide, tracked by index since 2006.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MarketVector Global Steel Index, representing companies involved in the global steel segment.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Pure steel, not diluted. It tracks the MarketVector Global Steel Index, roughly 40 companies in the steel segment, instead of a broad materials basket.vaneck.com
  2. 02Global by design: the index reaches steel companies listed outside the US, so exposure is not tied to one country's mills.vaneck.com
  3. 03Launched in 2006 and run as a passive index fund, it has carried the same single-industry mandate through multiple steel cycles.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The specialty focus comes at a specialty price: 0.55% a year, versus 0.08% for XLB and 0.09% for VAW on the broad materials side.
  2. 02One industry, about 40 names. Results ride on the global steel segment rather than the wider materials sector, and holdings are spread across foreign markets.
  3. 03Cash comes back once or twice a year, not monthly, and the fund sits on the smaller, moderately traded end of its category.

SLX Holdings

As of Sep 20, 2026, 6:07 AM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
42
Top-10 weight
58%
Largest holding
BHP7.3%

Sectors

  • Materials93.0%
  • Energy3.5%
  • Industrials3.5%

Geography

  • United States20.81%
  • Australia20.60%
  • Luxembourg11.49%
  • Japan10.86%
  • Brazil9.10%
  • United Kingdom7.30%
  • South Korea5.30%
  • Taiwan4.61%
  • Other countries (7)9.94%

Developed 74% · Emerging 26% of the foreign sleeve

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 3.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001BHPBhp Group Ltd7.31%144,014$12M32
002RIORio Tinto Plc6.93%120,594$12M49
003NUENucor Corp6.66%42,801$11M340
004VALEVale Sa6.56%773,440$11M50
0055401.TNippon Steel Corp5.83%2,196,400$10M112
006MTArcelormittal Sa5.70%129,260$10M37
007STLDSteel Dynamics Inc5.31%36,888$9M316
008RIO.AXRio Tinto Ltd4.54%65,187$8M126
009PKXPosco Holdings Inc4.45%126,397$8M24
010RSReliance Steel & Aluminum Co4.42%18,822$8M233
011FMG.AXFortescue Metals Group Ltd3.77%537,782$6M140
012TSTenaris Sa3.64%109,731$6M26
0132002.TWChina Steel Corp2.80%8,103,000$5M69
0145411.TJfe Holdings Inc2.55%355,900$4M76
015SSAB-B.STSsab Ab2.54%389,986$4M58

Showing 1–15 of 43 holdings

SLX Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

SLX$14,989
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. SLX $14,989. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,032$12,649$16,265Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for SLX. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodSLX
Year to date+25.8%
1 month−0.4%
3 months+1.9%
1 year+49.9%
3 years+21.0%per year
5 years+18.6%per year
10 years+17.1%per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for SLX
YearReturn barSLX
2026 YTD+25.8%
2025+47.4%
2024−17.9%
2023+31.2%
2022+14.3%
2021+28.0%
2020+20.6%

SLX in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on SLX yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

SLX Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
1.23%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$1.32Last 12 months
Last payment
$1.32 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Annual

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 10 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 18, 2017 $1.09; Dec 27, 2017 $0.03; Dec 20, 2018 $2.18; Dec 30, 2019 $0.07; Dec 21, 2020 $0.83; Dec 20, 2021 $3.76; Dec 19, 2022 $2.88; Dec 18, 2023 $2.07; Dec 23, 2024 $2.08; Dec 22, 2025 $1.32. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 22, 2025Dec 26, 2025$1.32
Dec 23, 2024Dec 24, 2024$2.08
Dec 18, 2023Dec 22, 2023$2.07
Dec 19, 2022Dec 23, 2022$2.88
Dec 20, 2021Dec 27, 2021$3.76
Dec 21, 2020Dec 28, 2020$0.83
Dec 30, 2019Dec 30, 2019$0.07
Dec 20, 2018Dec 27, 2018$2.18
Dec 27, 2017Jan 3, 2018$0.03
Dec 18, 2017Dec 22, 2017$1.09
Dec 19, 2016Dec 23, 2016$0.40
Dec 21, 2015Dec 28, 2015$1.04

SLX Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
22.9%
Annualised · 36 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.72
vs 3-month T-bills · to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−33.6%
Trough Sep 2022
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
1.25
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

SLX Cost

Expense ratio0.55%
  • The middle half of Materials (Broad) funds
  • Median 0.37%

11 of the 14 Materials (Broad) funds charge less.

SLX costs $55.00 a year on $10,000. The median Materials (Broad) fund costs $37.00.