Market Vectors Adds to Family of Muni Bond ETFS; Launches Short Term Municipal Bond ETF On American Stock Exchange

  
    
  
  
    
      New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global today launched on the 
      American Stock Exchange® the Market 
      Vectors-Lehman Brothers AMT-Free Short Municipal Index ETF (Amex: SMB). 
      The new ETF is designed to offer investors exposure to investment-grade 
      municipal bonds with a nominal maturity of 1-6 years.
    
    
      SMB seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the price and yield 
      performance of the Lehman Brothers AMT-Free Short Continuous Municipal 
      Index. Lehman Brothers is the world’s largest 
      provider of fixed income benchmarks and producer of some of the most 
      widely followed benchmarks in the global debt markets. Issues in the 
      underlying Lehman Brothers index are investment grade and AMT-free. The 
      net expense ratio of SMB is 0.16%. This new ETF joins the Market Vectors 
      Intermediate and Long municipal ETFs, launched by Van Eck on the Amex® 
      in December and January, respectively.
    
    
      “There are compelling cost savings associated 
      with purchasing municipal bonds through an ETF platform—I 
      like to think of it as ‘more munis for the 
      money’,” said 
      Jan van Eck, Principal at Van Eck Global. “Market 
      Vectors now offers investors a selection of three national municipal 
      bond ETFs at different points along the yield curve. With our short, 
      intermediate and long muni ETFs, investors can choose the maturities 
      that best suit their needs. These ETFs are structured to offer enhanced 
      yield through broader diversification of index constituents.”
    
    
      Potential investors can get information on this ETF and the underlying 
      Lehman Brothers index by visiting www.vaneck.com/muni.
    
    
      About Van Eck Global
    
    
      Van Eck Global was founded in 1955. The company managed over $9.7 
      billion in assets for individuals, insurers and institutional investors, 
      as of January 31, 2008. Market Vectors ETFs had a total of over $4.5 
      billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2008.
    
    
      In addition to the municipal bond ETFs that are currently offered, nine 
      others are marketed under Van Eck’s Market 
      Vectors brand. The other nine are:
    
    
      
        
          
             
          
        
        
          
            Agribusiness (Amex: MOO)
          
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Coal (NYSE Arca: KOL)
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Environmental Services (Amex: EVX)
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Gaming (Amex: BJK)
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Global Alternative Energy (NYSE Arca: GEX)
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Gold Miners (Amex: GDX)
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Nuclear Energy (Amex: NLR)
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Russia (NYSE Arca: RSX)
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Steel (Amex: SLX)
        
      
    
    
      Van Eck has a 50+ year tradition of offering global investment choices 
      in hard assets, emerging markets, precious metals including gold, and 
      other specialized asset classes. Van Eck Global investment products are 
      designed for investors seeking innovative choices for portfolio 
      diversification.
    
    
      About Lehman Brothers
    
    
      The Lehman Brothers indexes mentioned in this release are trademarks of 
      Lehman Brothers Inc. and are licensed for use by Van Eck Associates 
      Corporation in connection with its family of municipal bond ETFs. Lehman 
      Brothers neither sponsors nor endorses this family of ETFs and it makes 
      no warranty or representation as to the accuracy and/or completeness of 
      the Indexes or the results to be obtained by any person from the use of 
      the Indexes in connection with the trading the ETFs.
    
    
      About the American Stock Exchange
    
    
      The American Stock Exchange® 
      (Amex®) offers 
      trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange-traded 
      funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRSSM. 
      In addition to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the 
      pioneer of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product 
      to market in 1993. Leading the industry in ETF listings, the Amex lists 
      over 380 ETFs to date. The Amex is also one of the largest options 
      exchanges in the U.S., trading options on broad-based and sector indexes 
      as well as domestic and foreign stocks.
    
    
      Municipal bonds are subject to risks related to litigation, 
      legislation, political changes, local business or economic conditions, 
      conditions in underlying sectors, bankruptcy or other changes in the 
      financial condition of the issuer, and/or the discontinuance of the 
      taxation supporting the project or assets or the inability to collect 
      revenues for the project or from the assets. Municipal bonds are also 
      subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, call risk, lease obligations 
      and tax risk. The market for municipal bonds may be less liquid than for 
      taxable bonds. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s 
      income will be exempt from federal or state income taxes or the 
      alternative minimum tax. Federal or state changes in income or 
      alternative minimum tax rates or in the tax treatment of municipal bonds 
      may make them less attractive as investments and cause them to lose 
      value. Capital gains, if any, are subject to capital gains tax. 
      For a more complete description of these and other risks, please refer 
      to the Fund’s prospectus.
    
    
      Fund shares are not individually redeemable and will be issued and 
      redeemed at their NAV only through certain authorized broker-dealers in 
      large, specified blocks of shares called “creation 
      units” and otherwise can be bought and sold 
      only through exchange trading. Creation units are issued and redeemed 
      principally in kind.
    
    
      Investors may call 1.888.MKT.VCTR or visit www.vaneck.com/muni for a 
      free prospectus or for the performance information current to the most 
      recent month end for each Market Vectors ETF. Investors should 
      consider the investment objective, risks and charges and expenses 
      carefully before investing. Each Market Vectors ETF prospectus 
      contains this and other information. Please read the relevant 
      prospectus carefully before investing. There are risks associated with 
      investing including the possible loss of principal.
    
    
      Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor, 99 Park Avenue, New York, 
      NY 10016