* VanEck Associates Corporation received a $1.75 million fine from the SEC due to undisclosed details during its social media-centric ETF launch in 2021.
* The undisclosed detail involved a significant social media personality whose compensation was linked to the fund’s growth.
* The SEC declares that VanEck did not fully reveal this person’s role in marketing.
* The ETF intended to follow an index utilizing “positive insights” from social media and other sources, implying a deliberate move to boost the fund’s success.
In short, VanEck got given a significant “time out” by the SEC for not laying all their social media cards on the table. They thought they were so Tweet-Smart, launching a social media-focused ETF and enlisting the help of a big-shot online personality to stoke up the hype train. But alas, their influencer’s paycheck depended on the fund’s growth, a minor (or not-so-minor) detail they “forgot” to disclose. In other words, the more the fund grew, the fatter the influencer’s pockets! Now, they’ve to cough up a whopping $1.75 million for this significant boo-boo. Well, it’s not all doom and gloom. At least they’ll get a lot of retweets now! #VanEck #SECFine #SocialMediaTricks.Original article: https://cointelegraph.com/news/vaneck-admits-violation-agrees-to-sec-fine-in-etf-marketing
