Sprott Nickel Miners ETF
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Sprott Nickel Miners ETF (Nasdaq: NIKL) Overview
The Sprott Nickel Miners ETF (NIKL) is the only1 U.S.-listed ETF focused on nickel mining companies providing a critical material necessary to meet the rising global demand for batteries and energy storage along with continuing demand for stainless steel. The Sprott Nickel Miners ETF (NIKL) was launched March 22, 2023
Please Note: This FAQ is not wholly inclusive of all relevant information. Investors should consult the prospectus for more information, or please reach out to your Sprott representative at 888.622.1813 or criticalmaterials@sprott.com for answers to additional questions.
1. What are the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF's investment objective and strategy?
The Sprott Nickel Miners ETF (NIKL) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of the Nasdaq Sprott Nickel Miners™ Index.
2. What is the Nasdaq Sprott Nickel Miners™ Index’s methodology?
The index combines Sprott’s decades of experience in the mining sector with Nasdaq’s renowned index expertise. To be eligible for inclusion in the Nasdaq Sprott Nickel Miners™ Index (NSNIKL™), a company must meet the requirements that follow.
Eligibility Requirements
- Be a security listed on an approved exchange (China A-Shares are not eligible).
- A security's issuer must be classified by Sprott as a nickel producer, developer, or explorer.
- Have a free-float market capitalization of at least $30 million; $25 million for existing constituents.
- The security must have been publicly traded at least three months prior to the reconstitution reference date.
- A security must have a three-month average daily traded value of at least $20,000.
Constituent Weighting Process
- The index is a modified free-float market capitalization-weighted index.
- A theme-adjusted free-float market capitalization is calculated for each constituent.
- Free-float market capitalization is used to weight companies with an intensity score2 greater than 50%.
- Companies with an intensity score of 25% to 50% are given an adjusted market capitalization by multiplying the theme intensity score and its free-float market capitalization, and the company’s weight in the index is determined by its adjusted market capitalization.
- For stocks without revenue or for which revenue is an inappropriate characteristic, the intensity score is given at 50%.
- Constituents’ initial weights are determined by dividing each constituent’s theme-adjusted free-float market value by the aggregate theme-adjusted free-float market value of all constituents.
- Initial weights are adjusted to meet the following constraints:
- No security’s weight may exceed 24%.
- The aggregate weighting of any remaining companies over 5% of the value of the Index is capped at 25%.
- The weighting of no other individual company may exceed 4.75% or be less than 0.30%.
- In the event the sum of securities weights that have theme intensity scores between 25% to 50% is higher than 15%, the sum of these securities weights is set to 15%.
- At each step, the excess weight is redistributed pro-rata to each index constituent that has not already reached a previous weighting cap.
Index Rebalancing
- The index is reconstituted semi-annually in June and December, effective at the market open on the first trading day following the third Friday.
- Effective September 21, 2026 onwards, the index is rebalanced quarterly in March, June, September and December, effective at the market open on the first trading day following the third Friday.
3. Who may want to consider investing in NIKL?
Investors who seek pure-play3 access to nickel through companies that are upstream in the supply chain may want to consider investing in NIKL. Nickel miners may be well positioned to benefit from increased investment in the electric vehicle and energy storage sectors.
4. Why does pure-play matter?
“Pure play” means that the companies in an ETF derive a significant portion of their revenue or assets from the targeted commodity or industry, rather than being diversified businesses with only incidental exposure. Pure-play investing helps ensure investors have meaningful exposure to the commodity or theme they are targeting, rather than owning diversified companies whose performance is driven by unrelated businesses. More focused exposure may allow the portfolio to better reflect the underlying investment thesis and provide stronger exposure to a particular material.
5. Why does upstream exposure matter?
Upstream companies are generally the miners, developers and producers of nickel. These companies sit at the beginning of the supply chain and provide the raw materials needed by downstream manufacturers.
If demand for nickel increases, the companies extracting and producing it may be among the first beneficiaries of the investment flowing into the supply chain. Sprott focuses on those upstream producers rather than end-users of the material.
6. What are the key benefits of investing in the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF?
Nickel offers high energy density, making it critical for smaller batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), as well as nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries, which are in demand as space-saving power backups for AI data centers.
Nickel is also required for efficient electric vehicles. With the recent discovery that adding more nickel to EV batteries increases their drivable range,4 related demand for this critical mineral may increase nearly 8 times by 2050, relative to 2024.5
7. What are critical materials?
Critical materials are naturally occurring metals and minerals that are essential to the generation, transmission and storage of energy. Sprott focuses on uranium, silver and rare earths as energy generation materials; copper as an energy transmission material, and lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt and graphite as the battery materials crucial to energy storage.
8. How does the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF add value?
Currently, investors have limited choice.
NIKL is the only ETF1 to provide focused exposure to the nickel miners that supply this critical mineral essential to the transition to cleaner energy.
Investing in individual companies that mine nickel poses challenges
Many mining companies are domiciled in foreign countries, have small market capitalizations, are volatile and may have limited liquidity, making individual equity investing more challenging for some investors. The Sprott Nickel Miners ETF offers investors a convenient vehicle for accessing the miners that supply this critical mineral along with company diversification.
Existing commodity funds have limited exposure to nickel miners
Most ETFs focused on battery metals provide exposure to companies that are end users of these critical materials, such as electric vehicle manufacturers, or companies that devote only a small portion of their revenue or operations to acquiring these materials. Additionally, existing battery metals ETFs often track securities tied to the mining of other metals, such as lithium or cobalt.
What sets NIKL apart is that it is the only ETF1 focused on nickel miners, and the index’s comprehensive selection process identifies pure-play companies upstream in the supply chain that may be well positioned to benefit from increased investment in this critical material.
9. Who will manage the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF?
Sprott Asset Management USA, Inc. is the investment adviser to the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF. ALPS Advisors, Inc. is the sub-adviser, and ALPS Fund Services, Inc. serves as the administrator. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the Distributor for the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF and is a registered broker-dealer and FINRA Member. Additionally, State Street Bank and Trust Company serves as the custodian and transfer agent.
10. Will the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF pay distributions?
The Sprott Nickel Miners ETF expects to declare and distribute all its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends at least annually and on a pro-rata basis. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund.
Please reach out to your Sprott representative at 888.622.1813 or criticalmaterials@sprott.com for answers to additional questions.
1 Based on Morningstar’s universe of Natural Resource Sector Equity ETFs as of 6/30/2026.
2 The intensity score for stocks with revenue and for which revenue is deemed to be an appropriate characteristic is the percentage of their revenue attributable to the aforementioned strategy of the Index.
3 The term “pure-play” relates directly to the exposure that the fund has to the total universe of investable, publicly listed securities in the investment strategy.
4 Source: The Nickel Institute, March 2023.
5 Source: “Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025”, International Energy Agency (IEA), May 2025. Data shown for Net Zero Emissions Scenario.
Important Disclosures
An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of each fund carefully before investing. To obtain a fund’s Prospectus, which contains this and other information, contact your financial professional, call 1.888.622.1813 or visit SprottETFs.com. Read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are considered to have continuous liquidity because they allow for an individual to trade throughout the day, which may indicate higher transaction costs and result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account.
Diversification does not protect against loss. The funds are non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of assets in securities of individual issuers, particularly those in the natural resources and/or precious metals industry, which may experience greater price volatility. Relative to other sectors, natural resources and precious metals investments have higher headline risk and are more sensitive to changes in economic data, political or regulatory events, and underlying commodity price fluctuations. Risks related to extraction, storage and liquidity should also be considered.
Gold and precious metals are referred to with terms of art like "store of value," "safe haven" and "safe asset." These terms should not be construed to guarantee any form of investment safety. While “safe” assets like gold, Treasuries, money market funds and cash generally do not carry a high risk of loss relative to other asset classes, any asset may lose value, which may involve the complete loss of invested principal.
Shares are not individually redeemable. Investors buy and sell shares of the funds on a secondary market. Only “authorized participants” may trade directly with the fund, typically in blocks of 10,000 shares.
The Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China ETF and the Sprott Active Metals & Miners ETF are new and have limited operating history.
Sprott Asset Management USA, Inc. is the Investment Adviser to the Sprott ETFs. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the Distributor for the Sprott ETFs and is a registered broker-dealer and FINRA Member. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is not affiliated with Sprott Asset Management USA, Inc.