Joseph M. Foster

JOSEPH M. FOSTER, Portfolio Manager at Van Eck Associates,
assumed full portfolio management responsibilities for the
International Investors Gold Fund and the Gold//Resources Fund.
The Gold/Resources Fund was merged with the Van Eck Global Hard
Assets Fund in 2000. Also in 2000, he assumed management
responsibilities for the AIG Equity Fund Gold for AIG Private
Bank, located in Zurich, Switzerland. Prior to joining Van Eck,
he managed the Geology Department at Pinson Mining Company. Prior
to joining Pinson, he worked for several companies based in Reno,
Nevada, involved in exploration for precious metals throughout
the Great Basin. He received an MBA from the University of Nevada
and an MS in Geology from the Mackay School of Mines in 1988. In
1982 he graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a
BS in Geology (with honors). While in graduate school and working
as a geologist, he wrote a number of professional papers on
mining and geology.