Financeupdated 52m ago2 min read
VanEck Launches Wealth Builder ETF WBMO With Indirect Bitcoin Exposure
“VanEck’s new Wealth Builder ETF targets a 2% Bitcoin allocation, with a permitted range of 1% to 5%,”
“The prospectus sets no specific bitcoin target.”
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VanEck launched WBMO, a managed ETF combining stocks, bonds, real assets and Bitcoin exposure. NYSE-listed WBMO targets about 2% Bitcoin with 1–5% range.
WBMO launches with Bitcoin
VanEck launched the VanEck Wealth Builder ETF (NYSE: WBMO), an actively managed fund that combines global equities, fixed income, real assets and a measured allocation to Bitcoin. David Schassler, portfolio manager and head of multi-asset solutions at VanEck, said, "The traditional 60/40 portfolio was built for a different investment landscape," as the firm positioned the product for a wider range of economic conditions. VanEck described WBMO as a way to "gain exposure to a broad mix of investments across stocks, bonds, gold, and bitcoin with a single ETF purchase," while the fund holds global stocks, bonds, gold and other real assets.
VanEck said WBMO provides bitcoin exposure indirectly, because WBMO owns no bitcoin and a wholly owned Cayman Islands subsidiary holds certain investments and gains digital asset exposure through exchange-traded products. VanEck set WBMO’s gross expense ratio at 0.33%, and the fund’s 0.07% fee waiver brings the net ratio to 0.26%.
How the Bitcoin slice works
VanEck targets a 2% Bitcoin allocation, with a permitted range of 1% to 5%, and it gains that exposure through a spot Bitcoin ETP rather than direct holdings of the cryptocurrency. The fund invests in both VanEck and third-party ETFs, and VanEck manages and rebalances the allocations across global equities, fixed income, gold and other real assets. The prospectus sets no specific bitcoin target, and it warned that digital asset ETPs can be extremely volatile and that some are not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Investors do not need a wallet, seed phrase or exchange account to hold the bitcoin slice, and they cannot control the bitcoin position directly. VanEck also said its other crypto-linked fund, NODE, raised its bitcoin ETP exposure from about 7% at the end of June to 16.8% at the end of September.
Fees, access, and risks
WBMO trades on the NYSE under the ticker WBMO and packages its Wealth Builder model portfolios into one product that anyone with a brokerage account can buy. The fund’s gross annual fee is 0.33%, reduced to 0.26% after fees and waivers applied by the manager, and VanEck committed to covering the fund’s offering costs through at least February 1, 2028. WBMO may invest a portion of its net assets in digital asset ETPs but does not invest directly in digital assets, and it described risks including extreme market volatility and limited investor protections.
Digital asset ETPs can be extremely volatile and some are not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and they do not offer the investor protections provided under that Act. VanEck framed WBMO as a multi-asset ETF that spreads money across stocks, bonds, real assets and digital assets in one fund, while its Multi-Asset Solutions team decides what to own, how much to hold and when to rebalance.