Three Rare Earths ETFs Compared: REMX, EART, and the Newly Launched REXC
Three US-listed ETFs now offer rare-earths exposure, and they are far less alike than the shared theme suggests. One is a large, liquid basket of broad strategic metals; one is a small fund that casts a wider critical-materials net; and the newest deliberately strips out China. Here is how REMX, EART and REXC stack up on cost, size, liquidity and what they actually hold.
Key Points
- REMX, the largest fund at ~$2.6 billion in assets, allocates only about 24% of its portfolio to rare earth companies — lithium names make up roughly 38%.
- EART is predominantly a copper and platinum-group-metals fund; rare earths account for around 16% of holdings by weight.
- REXC, launched April 15, 2026, allocates approximately 99% of its holdings to rare-earth-focused companies, with Chinese securities fully excluded.
- REXC is the only one of the three with an explicit policy to invest at least 80% of assets in rare earths companies, as defined in its prospectus.
- The three funds differ substantially on AUM (and therefore liquidity), expense ratio, China exposure, and index methodology.
Fund Comparison at a Glance
| Fund | Ticker | Index | Inception | AUM (USD) | Exp. Ratio | Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF | REMX | MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals | Oct 2010 | $3.0B | 0.58% | NYSE Arca |
| Global X Rare Earth & Critical Materials ETF | EART | Solactive Rare Earth & Critical Materials Index | Jan 2022 | $46M | 0.59% | Nasdaq |
| Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China ETF | REXC | Nasdaq Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China Index | Apr 2026 | $49M | 0.65% | Nasdaq |
AUM in USD, derived from the GSR ETF database.
What’s Actually in These ETFs?
Each fund’s holdings aggregated by primary material category, from the latest uploaded holdings.
Key Holdings Across All Three ETFs
9 companies appear in two or more of these funds — the weight bars show how differently each fund sizes them.
8%
3.78%
21.12%
5.7%
2.64%
19.59%
8.77%
4.14%
Not held
7.14%
3.72%
Not held
6.62%
3.77%
Excluded (China-listed)
3.42%
Not held
5.13%
4.03%
1.94%
Excluded (China-listed)
2.8%
0.46%
Not held
1.35%
0.29%
Not held
VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF REMX
In a line: Largest & most liquid
VanEck’s REMX is the incumbent and, by a wide margin, the biggest and most traded fund in the group. Its index reaches beyond pure rare earths into broad strategic metals — lithium, copper and specialty names sit alongside the rare-earth miners — and unlike REXC it includes Chinese producers.
Strengths
- Far larger and more liquid than the alternatives
- Lowest expense ratio of the three
- Long track record since 2010
Trade-offs
- Broad ‘strategic metals’ tilt dilutes pure rare-earths exposure
- Includes Chinese names some investors want to avoid
| Ticker | Top holding | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| ALB | Albemarle | 9.42% |
| LYSDY | Lynas Rare Earths | 8.06% |
| PLS | PLS Group | 7.46% |
| China Northern Rare Earth | 6.92% | |
| SQM | SQM | 5.8% |
Top 5 reported holdings, latest snapshot.
Global X Rare Earth & Critical Materials ETF EART
In a line: Broadest critical-materials net
Global X’s EART tracks a Solactive rare-earth and critical-materials index and in practice holds a diversified set of large miners — Albemarle, Southern Copper, Rio Tinto — making it the most ‘diluted’ of the three relative to pure rare earths. It is small and lightly traded.
Strengths
- Diversified across the wider critical-materials supply chain
- Large, established underlying holdings
Trade-offs
- Smallest, least liquid of the three
- Least concentrated in rare earths specifically
| Ticker | Top holding | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| ALB | Albemarle | 6.28% |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining | 4.74% | |
| SCCO | Southern Copper | 4.72% |
| Valterra Platinum | 4.52% | |
| RIO | Rio Tinto | 4.35% |
Top 5 reported holdings, latest snapshot.
Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China ETF REXC
In a line: Purest ex-China play
Sprott’s REXC launched in April 2026 as the first ex-China rare-earths fund: its Nasdaq Sprott index deliberately excludes Chinese producers, concentrating in Western and allied names like Lynas, MP Materials, USA Rare Earth and Arafura. It is the purest supply-security expression — and the newest and priciest.
Strengths
- Only fund built around ex-China supply security
- Most concentrated in pure rare-earth producers
Trade-offs
- Highest expense ratio
- No track record — launched April 2026
- Small and unproven asset base
| Ticker | Top holding | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| LYC AU | Lynas Rare Earths | 21.12% |
| MP | MP Materials | 19.59% |
| USAR | USA Rare Earth | 6.24% |
| ARU AU | Arafura Rare Earths | 5.17% |
| ILU AU | Iluka Resources | 5.13% |
Top 5 reported holdings, latest snapshot.
Size, Liquidity, and Hidden Costs
| Metric | REMX | EART | REXC |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUM | $3,012M | $46M | $49M |
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.59% | 0.65% |
| Avg daily volume (3m) | 1,015,527 | 18,777 | 134,543 |
| 52-week range | $40.29 – $111.55 | $16.58 – $36.92 | $18.64 – $25.39 |
| YTD return | 17.32% | 4.12% | -8.27% |
| Track record | 15 yrs | 4 yrs | New (<1 yr) |
Risks
Rare-earths prices are thin, opaque and heavily policy-driven — Chinese export decisions can move the whole complex in a day.
Two of these funds are small (sub-$60m), which means wider spreads and a real chance of closure if assets do not grow.
“Rare earths” is a loose label here: each index defines the investable universe differently, so you can end up owning lithium, copper or platinum miners rather than pure rare-earth producers.
REXC has no track record — it launched in April 2026 — so there is no history of how its ex-China screen behaves through a full cycle.
Conclusion
For most investors wanting one-ticket exposure, REMX remains the default: it is by far the largest and most liquid, and the cheapest of the three. EART suits those who want a broader critical-materials tilt and are comfortable with a small, thinly traded fund. REXC is the one to watch if the investment case is specifically about Western, ex-China supply security — it is the purest expression of that thesis, but you pay the highest fee for the newest, smallest fund.
For the full fund universe, see our rare earth ETF list. To compare the underlying companies instead, start with the rare earth stocks list.