UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT

INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-05083

VANECK VIP TRUST

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

666 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

VanEck Associates Corporation

666 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 293-2000

Date of fiscal year end: DECEMBER 31

Date of reporting period: JUNE 30, 2023

Item 1. Reports to Shareholders

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

VanEck VIP Trust

VanEck VIP Emerging Markets Bond Fund

Certain information contained in this President’s Letter represents the opinion of the investment adviser which may change at any time. This information is not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results or investment advice. Current market conditions may not continue. Also, unless otherwise specifically noted, any discussion of the Fund’s holdings, the Fund’s performance, and the views of the investment adviser are as of June 30, 2023.

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

Dear Fellow Shareholders:

Our outlook for financial markets in 2023 was “sideways.” The three major forces—monetary policy, government spending and economic growth—are negative or muted. This remains my view despite events in the last few months, discussed at the end of this letter.

Discussion

To recap this cycle: stocks and bonds historically do not perform well when the Fed tightens monetary conditions, and that’s just what the Fed announced it would be doing at the end of 2021. This would include raising rates and changing its balance sheet actions, which doesn’t create a great environment for financial assets.

There are three things investors continue to face, none of which is particularly positive for financial assets.

1. Monetary Policy: Tightening

Money supply exploded during the COVID–19 pandemic, but it started shrinking in late 2022. This withdrawal of money supply is bad for stock and bond returns.

A second, modern component to monetary policy is the Fed balance sheet. After buying bonds during the pandemic, the Fed has now started shrinking the balance sheet—from a high of almost $9 trillion in early 2022, assets dropped to just short of $8.4 trillion by the end of June.¹ The Fed has only shrunk its balance sheet once before, so we are facing an unknown.

As we’ve been saying since the summer of 2022, when wage inflation was confirmed, what the Fed is fighting is wage inflation. That is the kind of inflation that is endemic and hard to manage once it takes hold, not least because it creates a spiraling effect. And this is the battle that is at full pitch—the labor market has remained strong.

While headline inflation is falling, we are still in the “higher for longer” camp. The Fed seems likely to continue holding, or even raising, interest rates and will probably continue to shrink its balance sheet. This is not supportive of stock or bond markets.

2. Fiscal Tightening

A second bearish factor is that government spending is unlikely to increase next year. The Republicans, who won control of the House of Representatives, are looking to slow government spending. And even Democrats like Larry Summers believe that stimulus spending during the pandemic led to inflation. The debt ceiling compromise and the Supreme Court rejection of student debt relief continue this trend.

3. Global Growth is at Low Levels

Both Chinese and European growth, for different reasons, were slow in 2022. Over the last 20 years, the U.S. and China have been the two main pillars of global growth. In China, the post-COVID-19 growth has been more domestic and consumer-led, not enough to overcome the property sector malaise.

China growth estimates range from low (1% to 3%) to “high” (4% to 5%). Many “bulls” point to China as a potential catalyst for a better-than-expected economic outlook. I don’t see it. In coming years, we will likely have to look to India, Indonesia and Africa to take up the baton as pillars of higher percentage global growth.

I don’t believe that we will escape these three dampeners on stock and bond returns in 2023—higher interest rates, no government spending growth and tepid global growth. We will need upside corporate profitability surprises or high Chinese growth to substantially boost markets this year, in our view.

However, after the 2022 losses, bond investments are now offering attractive yields, so this has been our favorite asset class to buy and remains our preference. (See What to Buy? Bonds. When? Now.²) Because of higher interest rates, bonds can offer adequate returns, as they did in the 1970s even though that decade was the worst for interest rates in the last 100 years.

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

(unaudited) (continued)

Outlook

My basic outlook favoring bonds hasn’t changed. But I should address two events of the first half of this year—monetary stimuli and AI (artificial intelligence).

There were two unexpected monetary stimuli in early 2023, but I think both are temporary. The first was the wave of money from Asia at year-end: Japanese bond buying of approximately $600 billion and Chinese money supply growth post-COVID-19. The second monetary stimulus was the credit the Fed provided to banks during the mini-bank crisis of March. While I believe this crisis will prove to be idiosyncratic in nature, I’m worried that it could lead to a contraction of credit, but this may be offset by China reopening. Also, I think it is important to note that substantially less credit flows to the real economy from banks (through loans they continue to hold) and much more through alternative credit funds. These funds typically don’t offer daily liquidity, so any credit crunch is likely to be extenuated over several quarters. So, I don’t see these two events as significantly changing the “sideways” trajectory of 2023.

AI and the instant success of ChatGPT have driven another wave of enthusiasm for tech stocks, but the valuations seem stretched to me. And large-cap earnings are still on a downward or flat trajectory, so I’m not chasing this rally.

My final thought is that, while I think the Fed won’t stimulate for a while, this is a good time to get positioned in assets that would benefit from that stimulus, namely gold and BTC (bitcoin).

We thank you for investing with VanEck. On the following pages, you will find financial statements for the fund for the six month period ended June 30, 2023. As always, we value your continued confidence in us and look forward to helping you meet your investment goals in the future.

Jan F. van Eck
CEO and President
VanEck VIP Trust

July 7, 2023

PS The investing outlook can change suddenly. To get our quarterly investment outlooks, please subscribe to “VanEck News & Insights”.³ Should you have any questions regarding fund performance, please contact us at 800.826.2333 or visit our website.

1 U.S. Federal Reserve: FEDERAL RESERVE Statistical Release, June 22, 2023, https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h41/20230629/

2 What to Buy? Bonds. When? Now, https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/blogs/investment-outlook/jan-van-eck-what-to-buy-bonds-when-now/.

3 https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/subscribe/

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

EXPLANATION OF EXPENSES

(unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including program fees on purchase payments; and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees and other Fund expenses. This disclosure is intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The disclosure is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period, January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.

Actual Expenses

The first line in the table below provides information about account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During the Period.”

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line in the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in your Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as fees on purchase payments. Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

See Notes to Financial Statements

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

(unaudited) (continued)

See Notes to Financial Statements

Definitions:

Footnotes:

Schedule of Open Forward Foreign Currency Contracts - June 30, 2023

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

(unaudited) (continued)

The summary of inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of June 30, 2023 is as follows:

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

For a share outstanding throughout each period:

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

Note 1—Fund Organization—VanEck VIP Trust (the “Trust”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company. The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on January 7, 1987. The VanEck VIP Emerging Markets Bond Fund (the “Fund”) is a non-diversified series of the Trust and seeks high total return (income plus capital appreciation) by investing globally, primarily in a variety of debt securities. The Fund currently offers a single class of shares: Initial Class Shares. Van Eck Associates Corp. (the “Adviser”) serves as the investment adviser for the Fund.

Note 2—Significant Accounting Policies—The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

The Fund is an investment company and follows accounting and reporting requirements of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 946, Financial Services-Investment Companies.

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Fund.

Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.

Level 2 — Significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.).

Level 3 — Significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments).

Securities traded on national exchanges are valued at the closing price on the markets in which the securities trade. Securities traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”) are valued at the NASDAQ official closing price. Over-the-counter securities not included on NASDAQ and listed securities for which no sale was reported are valued at the mean of the bid and ask prices. To the extent these securities are actively traded, they are categorized as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. Money market fund investments are valued at net asset value and are categorized as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. Debt securities are valued on the basis of evaluated prices furnished by an independent pricing service or provided by securities dealers. The pricing services may use valuation models or matrix pricing, which consider: (i) yield or price with respect to bonds that are considered comparable in characteristics such as rating, interest rate and maturity date and or (ii) quotations from bond dealers to determine current value, and are categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy (described below). Short-term debt securities with sixty days or less to maturity are valued at amortized cost, which with accrued interest approximates fair value. Forward foreign currency contracts are valued at the spot currency rate plus an amount (“points”), which reflects the differences in interest rates between the U.S. and foreign markets and are categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. The Board of Trustees (“Trustees”) has designated the Adviser as valuation designee to perform the Fund fair value determinations, subject to board oversight and certain reporting and other requirements. The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to comply with the requirements. The Pricing Committee of the Adviser provides oversight of the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures, which are approved by the Trustees. Among other things, these procedures allow the Fund to utilize independent pricing services, quotations from securities dealers, and other market sources to determine fair value. The Pricing Committee convenes regularly to review the fair

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited) (continued)

value of financial instruments or other assets. If market quotations for a security or other asset are not readily available, or if the Adviser believes it does not otherwise reflect the fair value of a security or asset, the security or asset will be fair valued by the Pricing Committee in accordance with the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures. The Pricing Committee employs various methods for calibrating the valuation approaches utilized to determine fair value, including a regular review of key inputs and assumptions, periodic comparisons to valuations provided by other independent pricing services, transactional back-testing and disposition analysis.

Certain factors such as economic conditions, political events, market trends, the nature of and duration of any restrictions on disposition, trading in similar securities of the issuer or comparable issuers and other security specific information are used to determine the fair value of these securities. Depending on the relative significance of valuation inputs, these securities may be categorized either as Level 2 or Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. The price which the Fund may realize upon sale of an investment may differ materially from the value presented in the Schedule of Investments.

A summary of the inputs and the levels used to value the Fund’s investments are located in the Schedule of Investments. Additionally, tables that reconcile the valuation of the Fund’s Level 3 investments and that present additional information about valuation methodologies and unobservable inputs, if applicable, are located in the Schedule of Investments.

may result in a disproportionately large movement, unfavorable or favorable, in the price of the derivative instrument. The Fund held no derivatives at June 30, 2023.

Forward Foreign Currency Contracts—The Fund may buy and sell forward foreign currency contracts to settle purchases and sales of foreign denominated securities, gain currency exposure or to hedge foreign denominated assets. Realized gains and losses from forward foreign currency contracts, if any, are included in realized gain (loss) on forward foreign currency contracts in the Statement of Operations. During the period ended June 30, 2023, the Fund held forward foreign currency contracts for three months. The average amounts purchased and sold (in U.S. dollars) were $39,915 and $40,649, respectively. Forward foreign currency contracts held at June 30, 2023, if any, are reflected in the Schedule of Open Forward Foreign Currency Contracts in the Funds’ Schedules of Investments.

At June 30, 2023, the following Funds held derivatives (not designated as hedging instruments under GAAP):

The impact of transactions in derivative instruments during the period ended June 30, 2023, was as follows:

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited) (continued)

The Fund earns interest income on uninvested cash balances held at the custodian bank. Such amounts, if any, are presented as interest income on the Statement of Operations.

In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of general indemnifications. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these agreements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have not yet occurred. However, the Adviser believes the risk of loss under these arrangements to be remote.

Note 3—Investment Management and Other Agreements—The Adviser is the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser receives a management fee, calculated daily and payable monthly based on an annual rate of 1.00% of the first $500 million of average daily net assets, 0.90% of the next $250 million of average daily net assets and 0.70% of the average daily net assets in excess of $750 million. The Adviser has agreed, until at least May 1, 2024, to waive management fees and assume expenses to prevent the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, trading expenses, dividend and interest payments on securities sold short, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 1.10% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. Refer to the Statement of Operations for the amounts waived/ assumed by the Adviser for the period ended June 30, 2023.

In addition, Van Eck Securities Corporation, an affiliate of the Adviser, acts as the Fund’s distributor (the “Distributor”). Certain officers and trustees of the Trust are officers, directors or stockholders of the Adviser and Distributor.

At June 30, 2023, the aggregate shareholder accounts of four insurance companies owned approximately 45%, 19%, 16% and 11% of the Fund’s outstanding shares of beneficial interest.

Note 4—Investments—For the period ended June 30, 2023, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investments, excluding U.S. government securities and short-term obligations, aggregated to $18,421,345 and $20,197,697, respectively.

Note 5—Income Taxes—As of June 30, 2023, for Federal income tax purposes, the identified tax cost, gross unrealized appreciation, gross unrealized depreciation and net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments were as follows:

The tax character of current year distributions, if any, will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year.

At December 31, 2022, the Funds had capital loss carryforwards available to offset future capital gains, as follows:

Realized gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates on investments and other foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities result in permanent book to tax differences which may affect the tax character of distributions and undistributed net investment income at the end of the Fund’s fiscal year.

For the period December 31, 2022 to June 30, 2023, the Fund’s net realized gains from foreign currency translations were $156,691.

The Fund recognizes the tax benefits of uncertain tax positions only where the position is “more-likely-than-not” to be sustained assuming examination by applicable tax authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions, and has concluded that no liability for unrecognized tax benefits should be recorded related to uncertain tax positions taken on return filings for all open tax years. The Fund does not have exposure for additional years that might still be open in certain foreign jurisdictions. Therefore, no provision for income tax is required in the Fund’s financial statements. However, the Fund is subject to foreign taxes on the appreciation in value of certain investments. The Fund provides for such taxes, if any, on both realized and unrealized appreciation.

The Fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to uncertain tax positions as income tax expense in the Statement of Operations. During the period ended June 30, 2023, the Fund did not incur any interest or penalties.

Note 6—Principal Risks—The Fund may purchase securities on foreign exchanges. Securities of foreign issuers involve special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. issuers. These risks include devaluation of currencies, currency controls, less reliable information about issuers, different securities transaction clearance and settlement practices, future adverse economic developments and political conflicts, or natural or other disasters, such as the coronavirus outbreak. Additionally, the Fund may invest in securities of emerging market issuers, which are exposed to a number of risks that may make these investments volatile in price or difficult to trade. Political risks may include unstable governments, nationalization, restrictions on foreign ownership, laws that prevent investors from getting their money out of a country, sanctions and investment restrictions and legal systems that do not protect property risks as well as the laws of the United States. These and other factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets. Certain securities of Chinese issuers are, or may in the future become restricted, and the Fund may be forced to sell such restricted securities and incur a loss as a result.

A more complete description of risks is included in each Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information.

Note 7—Trustee Deferred Compensation Plan—The Trust has a Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Plan”) for Trustees under which the Trustees can elect to defer receipt of their trustee fees until retirement, disability or termination from the Board of Trustees. The fees otherwise payable to the participating Trustees are deemed invested in shares of eligible Funds of the Trust, or other registered investment companies managed by the Adviser, which include VanEck Funds and VanEck ETF Trust, as directed by the Trustees.

The expense for the Deferred Plan is included in “Trustees’ fees and expenses” in the Statement of Operations. The liability for the Deferred Plan is shown as “Deferred Trustee fees” in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Note 8—Securities Lending—To generate additional income, the Fund may lend its securities pursuant to a securities lending agreement with the securities lending agent. The Fund may lend up to 33% of its investments requiring that the loan be continuously collateralized by cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, or any combination of cash and such securities at all times equal to at least 102% (105% for foreign

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited) (continued)

securities) of the market value of securities loaned. Daily market fluctuations could cause the value of loaned securities to be more or less than the value of the collateral received. When this occurs, the collateral is adjusted and settled on the next business day. During the term of the loan, the Fund will continue to receive any dividends, interest or amounts equivalent thereto, on the securities loaned while receiving a fee from the borrower and or earning interest on the investment of the cash collateral. Such fees and interest are shared with the securities lending agent under the terms of the securities lending agreement. Securities lending income is disclosed as such in the Statement of Operations. Cash collateral is maintained on the Fund’s behalf by the lending agent and is invested in the State Street Navigator Securities Lending Government Money Market Portfolio. Non-cash collateral consists of U.S. Treasuries and U.S. Government Agency securities, and is not disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments or Statement of Assets and Liabilities as it is held by the agent on behalf of the Fund. The Fund does not have the ability to re-hypothecate those securities. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the borrower or the Fund. Upon termination of the loan, the borrower will return to the Fund securities identical to the securities loaned. The Fund bears the risk of delay in recovery of, or even loss of rights in, the securities loaned should the borrower of the securities fail financially. The value of loaned securities and related cash collateral, if any, at June 30, 2023 is presented on a gross basis in the Schedule of Investments and Statement of Assets and Liabilities. At June 30, 2023 the Fund had no securities on loan.

Note 9—Bank Line of Credit—The Trust participates with the VanEck Funds (collectively the “VE/VIP Funds”) in a $30 million committed credit facility (the “Facility”) to be utilized for temporary financing until the settlement of sales or purchases of portfolio securities, the repurchase or redemption of shares of the Fund and other temporary or emergency purposes. The participating VE/VIP Funds have agreed to pay commitment fees, pro rata, based on the unused but available balance. Interest is charged to the VE/VIP Funds based on prevailing market rates in effect at the time of borrowings. During the period ended June 30, 2023, the Fund borrowed as follows:

At June 30, 2023, the Fund had no outstanding borrowings under the Facility.

VANECK VIP TRUST

APPROVAL OF ADVISORY AGREEMENT

June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS BOND FUND
(the “Fund”)

The Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), provides, in substance, that an investment advisory agreement between a fund and its investment adviser may continue in effect from year to year only if its continuance is approved, at least annually by the fund’s board of trustees, including by a vote of a majority of the trustees who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval. On June 23, 2023, the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of VanEck VIP Trust (the “Trust”), including a majority of the Independent Trustees, approved the continuation of the existing advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) between the Fund and its investment adviser, Van Eck Associates Corporation (together with its affiliated companies, the “Adviser”). Information regarding the material factors considered and related conclusions reached by the Board in approving the continuation of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement is set forth below.

In considering the continuation of the Advisory Agreement, the Board reviewed and considered information that had been provided by the Adviser throughout the year at meetings of the Board and its committees, including information requested by the Independent Trustees and furnished by the Adviser for meetings of the Board held on June 2, 2023 and June 23, 2023, specifically for the purpose of considering the continuation of the Advisory Agreement. The Independent Trustees were advised by independent legal counsel throughout the year, including during the contract renewal process, and met with independent legal counsel in executive sessions outside the presence of management. The written and oral reports provided to the Board pertaining to the continuation of the Advisory Agreement included, among other things, the following:

VANECK VIP TRUST

APPROVAL OF ADVISORY AGREEMENT

June 30, 2023 (unaudited) (continued)

Nature, Extent, Quality of Services. In determining whether to approve the continuation of the Advisory Agreement, the Board considered, among other things, the following: (1) the nature, quality, extent and cost of the investment management, administrative and other non-investment management services provided by the Adviser; (2) the nature, quality and extent of the services performed by the Adviser in interfacing with, and monitoring the services performed by, third parties, such as the Fund’s custodian, transfer agent, sub-transfer agents and independent auditor, and the Adviser’s commitment and efforts to review the quality and pricing of third party service providers to the Fund with a view to reducing non-management expenses of the Fund; (3) the terms of the Advisory Agreement and the services performed thereunder; (4) the willingness of the Adviser to limit the overall expenses of the Fund from time to time, if necessary or appropriate, by means of waiving all or a portion of its fees and/or paying expenses of the Fund; (5) the quality of the services, procedures and processes used to determine the value of the Fund’s assets and the actions taken to monitor and test the effectiveness of such services, procedures and processes; (6) the ongoing efforts of, and resources devoted by, the Adviser with respect to the development and implementation of a comprehensive compliance program; (7) the responsiveness of the Adviser to inquiries from, and examinations by, regulatory authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission; (8) the resources committed by the Adviser to information technology and cybersecurity; and (9) the ability of the Adviser to attract and retain quality professional personnel to perform investment advisory and administrative services for the Fund. The Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Adviser supported the renewal of the Advisory Agreement.

Investment Performance and Fund Expenses. The performance data and the advisory fee and expense ratio data from Broadridge that is described below for the Fund is based on data for a representative class of shares of the Fund. The performance data is net of expenses for periods on an annualized basis ended December 31, 2022, and the advisory fee and expense ratio data is as of the Fund’s fiscal year end of December 31, 2022. The Board found the data provided by Broadridge generally useful, but it recognized the limitations of such data, including, in particular, that notable differences may exist between the Fund and the other funds in the Fund’s Peer Group and Morningstar Category (for example, with respect to investment objective(s) and investment strategies) and that the results of the performance comparisons may vary depending on (i) the end dates for the performance periods that were selected and (ii) the selection of the Peer Group and Morningstar Category. The Board also considered the Fund’s performance at its meetings throughout the year, including for periods subsequent to the performance period covered by the Broadridge

reports, and considered the Adviser’s assessment of the same. The Board also considered benefits, other than the receipt of fees under the Advisory Agreement, that may be derived by the Adviser from serving as investment adviser to the Fund and the Trust.

In considering the Fund’s performance, the Board noted, based on a review of comparative annualized total returns, that the Initial Class shares of the Fund had outperformed its Morningstar Category and Peer Group medians for the one-, three-, and five-year periods. The Board also noted that the Initial Class shares of the Fund had outperformed its benchmark index for the one-, three-, and five-year periods. The Board concluded that the performance of the Fund supported the renewal of the Advisory Agreement.

In considering the Fund’s advisory fee, the Board noted that the advisory fee rate and the total expense ratio, net of waivers or reimbursements, for the Fund were higher than the median advisory fee rates and the median total expense ratios for its Morningstar Category and Peer Group. The Board also noted that the Adviser makes use of a complex and unique proprietary strategy for managing the Fund’s portfolio and that the Adviser has agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fees and/or pay expenses of the Fund through April 30, 2024 to the extent necessary to prevent the expense ratio of the Fund from exceeding a specified maximum amount (subject to certain exclusions). The Board also considered the advisory fee charged to the Fund as compared to the fees charged to the Comparable Products, noting the differences in the services provided to the Fund as compared to those other products.

On the basis of the foregoing, and in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Adviser, the Board concluded that the advisory fee rate charged to the Fund is reasonable.

Profitability and Economies of Scale. The Board considered the profits, if any, realized by the Adviser from managing the Fund and other mutual funds in the VanEck Complex and the methodology used to determine such profits. The Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely depending on such factors as the size, type of fund and operating history. Based on its review of the foregoing information, and in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Adviser, the Board concluded that the profits realized by the Adviser supported the renewal of the Advisory Agreement. In this regard, the Board also considered the extent to which the Adviser may realize economies of scale, if any, as the Fund grows and whether the Fund’s fee schedule reflects any economies of scale for the benefit of shareholders, and concluded that the fee schedule was appropriate. The Board also considered that the Fund benefits from economies of scale through lower fees charged by third party service providers based on the combined size of the VanEck Complex.

Conclusion. In determining the material factors to be considered in evaluating the Advisory Agreement for the Fund and the weight to be given to such factors, the members of the Board relied upon their own business judgment, with the advice of independent legal counsel. The Board did not consider any single factor as controlling in determining whether to approve the continuation of the Advisory Agreement and each member of the Board may have placed varying emphasis on particular factors in reaching a conclusion. Moreover, this summary description does not necessarily identify all of the factors considered or conclusions reached by the Board. Based on its consideration of the foregoing factors and conclusions, and such other factors and conclusions as it deemed relevant, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreement for the Fund for an additional one-year period.

VANECK VIP TRUST

FUND’S LIQUIDITY RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

(unaudited)

In accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act (the “Liquidity Rule”), the Funds have adopted and implemented a Liquidity Risk Management Program, (the “Program”) and the Funds’ Board has designated each Fund’s Adviser as the administrator of the Program. Each Fund’s Adviser administers the Program through its Liquidity Committee. The purpose of the Program is to outline the techniques, tools and arrangements employed for the management of liquidity risk within the Funds, and the terms, contents and frequency of reporting and escalation of any issues to the Board. The Liquidity Rule defines liquidity risk as the risk that a fund could not meet redemption requests without significant dilution of remaining investors’ interests in the fund. Liquidity is managed taking account of the investment strategy, liquidity profile, and redemption policy and history of the Funds, with the objective of maintaining a level of liquidity that is appropriate in light of each Fund’s obligations to its shareholders. The Program assesses liquidity risk under both normal and stressed market conditions.

The Board reviewed a report (the “Report”) prepared by each Fund’s Adviser regarding the operation and effectiveness of the Program for the period January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 (the “Review Period”). The Report noted that during the Review Period, the Funds maintained a high level of liquidity and primarily held assets that are defined under the Liquidity Rule as “Highly Liquid Investments.” The Report noted the effectiveness of the Funds’ liquidity risk management during such time. As a result, the Funds have not adopted a “Highly Liquid Investment Minimum,” as defined under the Liquidity Rule. A Highly Liquid Investment is defined as cash and any investment reasonably expected to be convertible to cash in current market conditions in three business days or less without the conversion to cash significantly changing the market value of the investment.

During the Review Period, there were no liquidity events that materially affected the performance of the Funds or their ability to timely meet redemptions without dilution to existing shareholders, and each Fund’s Adviser provided its assessment that the program had been effective in managing each fund’s liquidity risk. Further information on liquidity risks applicable to the Fund can be found in each Fund’s prospectus.

This report is intended for the Fund’s shareholders. It may not be distributed to prospective investors unless it is preceded or accompanied by the Fund’s prospectus, which includes more complete information. Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, and charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus, which contains this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Additional information about the VanEck VIP (the “Trust”) Board of Trustees/Officers and a description of the policies and procedures the Trust uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities are provided in the Statement of Additional Information. The Statement of Additional Information and information regarding how the Trust voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve month period ending June 30 is available, without charge, by calling 800.826.2333, or by visiting vaneck.com, or on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at https://www.sec.gov.

The Trust files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-PORT. The Trust’s Form N-PORT filings are available on the Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov and may be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 202.942.8090. The Fund’s complete schedule of portfolio holdings are also available by calling 800.826.2333 or by visiting vaneck.com.

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

VanEck VIP Trust

VanEck VIP Emerging Markets Fund

Certain information contained in this President’s Letter represents the opinion of the investment adviser which may change at any time. This information is not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results or investment advice. Current market conditions may not continue. Also, unless otherwise specifically noted, any discussion of the Fund’s holdings, the Fund’s performance, and the views of the investment adviser are as of June 30, 2023.

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS FUND

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

Dear Fellow Shareholders:

Our outlook for financial markets in 2023 was “sideways.” The three major forces—monetary policy, government spending and economic growth—are negative or muted. This remains my view despite events in the last few months, discussed at the end of this letter.

Discussion

To recap this cycle: stocks and bonds historically do not perform well when the Fed tightens monetary conditions, and that’s just what the Fed announced it would be doing at the end of 2021. This would include raising rates and changing its balance sheet actions, which doesn’t create a great environment for financial assets.

There are three things investors continue to face, none of which is particularly positive for financial assets.

1. Monetary Policy: Tightening

Money supply exploded during the COVID–19 pandemic, but it started shrinking in late 2022. This withdrawal of money supply is bad for stock and bond returns.

A second, modern component to monetary policy is the Fed balance sheet. After buying bonds during the pandemic, the Fed has now started shrinking the balance sheet—from a high of almost $9 trillion in early 2022, assets dropped to just short of $8.4 trillion by the end of June.¹ The Fed has only shrunk its balance sheet once before, so we are facing an unknown.

As we’ve been saying since the summer of 2022, when wage inflation was confirmed, what the Fed is fighting is wage inflation. That is the kind of inflation that is endemic and hard to manage once it takes hold, not least because it creates a spiraling effect. And this is the battle that is at full pitch—the labor market has remained strong.

While headline inflation is falling, we are still in the “higher for longer” camp. The Fed seems likely to continue holding, or even raising, interest rates and will probably continue to shrink its balance sheet. This is not supportive of stock or bond markets.

2. Fiscal Tightening

A second bearish factor is that government spending is unlikely to increase next year. The Republicans, who won control of the House of Representatives, are looking to slow government spending. And even Democrats like Larry Summers believe that stimulus spending during the pandemic led to inflation. The debt ceiling compromise and the Supreme Court rejection of student debt relief continue this trend.

3. Global Growth is at Low Levels

Both Chinese and European growth, for different reasons, were slow in 2022. Over the last 20 years, the U.S. and China have been the two main pillars of global growth. In China, the post-COVID-19 growth has been more domestic and consumer-led, not enough to overcome the property sector malaise.

China growth estimates range from low (1% to 3%) to “high” (4% to 5%). Many “bulls” point to China as a potential catalyst for a better-than-expected economic outlook. I don’t see it. In coming years, we will likely have to look to India, Indonesia and Africa to take up the baton as pillars of higher percentage global growth.

I don’t believe that we will escape these three dampeners on stock and bond returns in 2023—higher interest rates, no government spending growth and tepid global growth. We will need upside corporate profitability surprises or high Chinese growth to substantially boost markets this year, in our view.

However, after the 2022 losses, bond investments are now offering attractive yields, so this has been our favorite asset class to buy and remains our preference. (See What to Buy? Bonds. When? Now.²) Because of higher interest rates, bonds can offer adequate returns, as they did in the 1970s even though that decade was the worst for interest rates in the last 100 years.

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS FUND

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

(unaudited) (continued)

Outlook

My basic outlook favoring bonds hasn’t changed. But I should address two events of the first half of this year—monetary stimuli and AI (artificial intelligence).

There were two unexpected monetary stimuli in early 2023, but I think both are temporary. The first was the wave of money from Asia at year-end: Japanese bond buying of approximately $600 billion and Chinese money supply growth post-COVID-19. The second monetary stimulus was the credit the Fed provided to banks during the mini-bank crisis of March. While I believe this crisis will prove to be idiosyncratic in nature, I’m worried that it could lead to a contraction of credit, but this may be offset by China reopening. Also, I think it is important to note that substantially less credit flows to the real economy from banks (through loans they continue to hold) and much more through alternative credit funds. These funds typically don’t offer daily liquidity, so any credit crunch is likely to be extenuated over several quarters. So, I don’t see these two events as significantly changing the “sideways” trajectory of 2023.

AI and the instant success of ChatGPT have driven another wave of enthusiasm for tech stocks, but the valuations seem stretched to me. And large-cap earnings are still on a downward or flat trajectory, so I’m not chasing this rally.

My final thought is that, while I think the Fed won’t stimulate for a while, this is a good time to get positioned in assets that would benefit from that stimulus, namely gold and BTC (bitcoin).

We thank you for investing with VanEck’s investment strategies. On the following pages, you will find financial statements for the fund for the six month period ended June 30, 2023. As always, we value your continued confidence in us and look forward to helping you meet your investment goals in the future.

Jan F. van Eck
CEO and President
VanEck ETF Trust

July 7, 2023

PS The investing outlook can change suddenly. To get our quarterly investment outlooks, please subscribe to “VanEck News & Insights”.³ Should you have any questions regarding fund performance, please contact us at 800.826.2333 or visit our website.

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS FUND

EXPLANATION OF EXPENSES

(unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including program fees on purchase payments; and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees and other Fund expenses. This disclosure is intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The disclosure is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period, January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.

Actual Expenses

The first line in the table below provides information about account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During the Period.”

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line in the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in your Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as program fees on purchase payments. Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS FUND

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

June 30, 2023 (unaudited)

See Notes to Financial Statements

Definitions:

See Notes to Financial Statements

VANECK VIP EMERGING MARKETS FUND

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

(unaudited) (continued)

The summary of inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of June 30, 2023 is as follows: