REMX vs SETM

REMXAVanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF

SETMCSprott Critical Materials ETF

In short

REMX The original rare earths ETF. Trading since 2010, it holds roughly 30 miners, refiners and recyclers of the metals behind magnets, EV motors and defense hardware, in one concentrated global basket priced under most of its critical-materials rivals.

SETM Most funds in this corner pick a lane: lithium, or rare earths. SETM tracks an index built to span the wider critical-materials complex, roughly 160 miners and processors in a single basket.

Stated mandate

REMX The fund seeks global exposure to companies involved in producing, refining, and recycling rare earth and strategic metals and minerals, while tracking the MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index before fees and expenses.

SETM SETM seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total-return performance of the Nasdaq Sprott Critical Materials Index.

Why people hold it

• REMX Launched in 2010, it is the elder statesman of rare earth funds, and its mandate spans producers, refiners and recyclers worldwide rather than one link in the chain.
• Fee of 0.53% a year undercuts Global X's EART (0.59%) and Sprott's SETM (0.65%), and sits below the median for its critical-materials peer group.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which matters in a corner of the market where the underlying stocks are thin.
• Rules-based, not discretionary: the basket follows the MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index, so holdings are set by published index rules.

• SETM Peers narrow to one metal (ILIT for lithium, REMX and EART for rare earths). SETM holds roughly 160 miners and processors across the theme, in one rules-based index.
• The 0.65% fee lands right at the middle of the critical-materials pack. Breadth here does not carry a premium price tag.
• Real size for a niche theme, with regular daily volume behind it. That tends to mean easier fills than the thinnest shelves in mining ETFs.
• Fully index-driven: the fund aims to match the Nasdaq Sprott Critical Materials Index before fees, so the holdings follow a published rulebook rather than a manager's call.

Worth knowing

• REMX About 30 holdings means one company's news can move the whole fund. This is a focused bet on a single supply chain, not a diversified materials sleeve.
• Mining and refining shares move with commodity prices, so swings here run deeper and faster than in a broad equity fund.
• Distributions arrive annually or semiannually, so cash flow is lumpy rather than a steady drip.

• SETM Mining exposure comes cheaper elsewhere in the group: PICK runs 0.39%, REMX 0.53%. The extra basis points buy Sprott's particular definition of critical materials.
• Miner shares move with commodity prices and government policy, so a single-theme equity basket can swing hard in both directions.
• Income is not the job here. Distributions arrive annually or semiannually, not on a monthly rhythm.

Full REMX profile⁠

Full SETM profile⁠