Rare Earth ETF List

A group of 17 metallic elements — including the 15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium — that are critical inputs for advanced technologies such as permanent magnets, phosphors, and catalysts. Despite the name, most REEs are not particularly rare in the Earth's crust, but they are rarely found in economically mineable concentrations and processing them is technically demanding.

Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnet in widespread commercial use. They commonly contain neodymium and praseodymium; dysprosium or terbium may be added to improve performance at high temperatures. Applications include many electric-vehicle motors, wind-turbine generators and hard-disk drives.

Rare earth elements are typically found together in ore deposits and must be chemically separated into individual elements before use. This process is technically complex and expensive, and China currently dominates global rare earth separation capacity. Developing ex-China separation capability is a key strategic goal for Western governments and a major challenge for rare earth companies operating outside China.

An “ex-China” investment strategy applies stated index rules to exclude Chinese companies or securities. For REXC, eligible companies must be domiciled outside China and meet rare-earth revenue or asset tests. This does not guarantee that portfolio companies have supply chains wholly independent of China. The IEA estimated that China accounted for about 91% of refined magnet rare-earth production in 2024.

The MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index is the benchmark tracked by REMX. Eligible companies must generate at least 50% of revenue from rare earth or strategic-metals activities, or have at least 50% of mineral resources tied to them. The global index can include Chinese-listed companies and businesses exposed to adjacent strategic metals.

The annual fee an ETF charges to cover stated operating costs such as management and administration, expressed as a percentage of assets. Depending on the source it may be quoted gross or net of contractual fee waivers. It does not capture every cost of owning a fund: brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads, any premium or discount to NAV, and — for futures funds — roll effects are all separate. All else equal, a lower expense ratio means less annual fee drag on returns.

The net value of the assets an ETF holds. AUM indicates fund scale, but it does not by itself determine liquidity or trading costs; bid-ask spreads, trading volume, market makers and the liquidity of underlying holdings also matter. AUM changes with market prices and fund inflows or outflows.

A rare earth ETF is an exchange-traded fund that provides a portfolio of companies involved in rare-earth mining, processing, separation or magnet production. Some mandates also include broader strategic metals. This list covers four US-listed funds: REMX, EART, REXC and WDIG. WDIG combines mining equities with a metals-futures overlay, while the other three are equity-only funds.

VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) is the largest fund on this list by current assets under management. It launched in 2010 and has the longest operating record in the group. AUM indicates fund scale, but it does not by itself establish trading liquidity; investors should also check bid-ask spreads, trading volume and the liquidity of underlying holdings.

REMX tracks the MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index and includes rare-earth companies alongside lithium and other strategic-metals businesses. EART tracks the Solactive Rare Earth & Critical Materials Index and reaches further into copper, nickel, lithium, platinum-group metals and diversified mining. Both may hold companies outside a narrow rare-earth definition, but EART has the broader industrial-metals mandate.

REXC is the Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China ETF, launched on April 14, 2026. It tracks the Nasdaq Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China Index, which targets qualifying rare-earth companies domiciled outside China. Lynas Rare Earths and MP Materials were its two largest positions in the August 12, 2026 issuer snapshot. The index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly.

Rare earth ETFs offer thematic exposure to companies linked to rare-earth and strategic-metals supply chains, but the four funds differ materially. Risks include commodity-price volatility, geopolitical and policy exposure, concentration in smaller mining companies, project-development risk, and exposure to adjacent materials. WDIG also adds futures, collateral and leverage-related risks. Suitability depends on an investor's objectives, portfolio and tolerance for loss.

The Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China ETF (REXC) is designed around companies domiciled outside China that meet its rare-earth revenue or asset tests. REMX and EART can include Chinese companies. Ex-China refers to the index's company and security eligibility rules; it does not mean every portfolio company has a supply chain entirely independent of China.

Rare earth elements are used in permanent magnets, catalysts, displays, electronics, defence systems and medical devices. Neodymium-iron-boron magnets commonly use neodymium and praseodymium, with dysprosium or terbium added for some high-temperature applications. These magnets are important in many electric-vehicle motors, wind-turbine generators and hard-disk drives, although designs and material requirements vary.

The phrase “rare earth stocks ETF” usually refers to a fund holding listed companies in rare-earth mining, processing, separation, recycling or magnet supply chains. REMX, EART and REXC are equity ETFs. WDIG combines mining equities with listed metals futures. None of the four holds physical rare-earth oxides in a warehouse-backed structure.

Rare earth ETFs generally put more weight on rare-earth and strategic-metals companies. Broader critical-minerals ETFs may also emphasize copper, lithium, uranium, nickel, cobalt and battery materials. The boundary is not exact: REMX and especially EART include adjacent materials, so investors should compare index rules and current holdings rather than rely only on the fund name.