Summary
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined ETF issuer VanEck $1.75 million for failing to disclose a social media influencer’s role in the launch of its VanEckSocial Sentiment ETF. The SEC alleged that VanEck used an unnamed influencer to promote the fund but did not disclose this to investors. Dave Portnoy, president of Barstool Sports, was heavily involved in the fund’s launch but was not named in the complaint. VanEck is known for its Bitcoin ETF and has proposed a spot Ethereum ETF to the SEC.
Key Points
1. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined ETF issuer VanEck $1.75 million for failing to disclose a social media influencer’s role in the launch of its VanEck Social Sentiment ETF.
2. VanEck’s VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (traded under the ticker BUZZ) aims to track 75 large cap securities with the highest positive investor sentiment and bullish perception based on content from social media, news articles, and blog posts.
3. The SEC alleged that VanEck used an unnamed social media influencer to promote the fund but did not disclose this to investors. The influencer’s involvement was tied to a licensing fee structure linked to the fund’s size.