OUNZ — VanEck Merk Gold Trust
Commodities Ranked #303 of 458 tracked ETFs · Issued by Merk Funds
OUNZ Price Performance — Growth of $10,000
Value of a $10,000 investment in OUNZ over time, compared with SPY. Both lines are rebased to $10,000 on the first shared date. Based on total returns — prices are adjusted for dividends and splits, so this assumes distributions were reinvested. Hover or tap the chart for exact values.
OUNZ Drawdown
The "underwater" chart: OUNZ's decline from its highest prior value at each point in time. It shows how deep past losses ran and how long the fund took to recover to break-even.
What If You'd Invested in OUNZ?
See what a lump sum in OUNZ would have grown to, with the option to add a regular monthly contribution on top. Figures use total returns — dividends are assumed reinvested.
Past performance doesn't predict future results. Assumes contributions on the first trading day of each month, no trading costs or taxes, and reinvested distributions. History is limited to the range published in the site's daily return data.
Overview
The VanEck Merk Gold Trust (OUNZ) operates within the Commodities category, which ETFValuer currently tracks 22 distinct funds. Issued by Merk Funds, the fund manages $2.50 billion in assets while trading at a price of $38.97 per share. It holds an overall rank of #303 out of 458 tracked ETFs across all categories and has received an ETFValuer grade of C with a score of 56.9 out of 100. The fund charges an expense ratio of 0.25% and offers a dividend yield of 0.00%. The substantial asset under management of $2.50 billion suggests significant investor adoption despite the fund's mid-tier ranking among its peers. This combination of high assets and a moderate grade indicates a well-established vehicle that has yet to achieve top-tier performance ratings within the broader market.
Short-term returns show positive momentum with a 1-day gain of +0.13% and a 1-week increase of +0.96%. This upward trend continued into the 1-month period with a return of +1.62%, though the 3-month horizon reveals a sharp reversal to -13.71%. The negative pressure intensified over the 6-month period, resulting in a loss of -17.63%, which also dragged the year-to-date return to -6.50%. However, the longer-term trajectory demonstrates strong recovery and growth, with a 1-year return of +19.28% and a 3-year return of +104.89%. This pattern highlights a divergence where recent medium-term declines contrast sharply with robust multi-year gains.
The fund carries a High volatility label and a beta of 0.34, indicating that while price fluctuations are significant, the fund moves less than the broader market. A Sharpe ratio of 0.51 suggests that the risk-adjusted returns have been moderate relative to the volatility experienced. The maximum drawdown of -26.31% reflects the potential for substantial temporary losses during market downturns. This combination of high volatility with a low beta implies the fund experiences large internal price swings that are not fully correlated with general market movements. Investors face the risk of deep drawdowns even as the fund's lower beta suggests it may not amplify broad market declines to the same degree as higher-beta assets.
AI-generated summary based on the data on this page.
Market Backdrop
10-Year Treasury Yield: 4.71% (as of 2026-07-23) — The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds — the standard "risk-free rate" benchmark used to contextualize this fund’s Sharpe ratio and returns.
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): 18.70 (as of 2026-07-23) — A real-time gauge of expected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days — useful context for this fund’s own volatility label.
Federal Funds Rate: 3.63% (as of 2026-06-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.
What OUNZ's Fees Cost You
OUNZ charges an expense ratio of 0.25% a year, deducted automatically from the fund's value. Small percentages compound into real money — adjust the figures below to see the impact on your own numbers.
Assumes a constant gross return and no additional contributions — a simplification, but it isolates exactly what the expense ratio costs. Try the full fee calculator to model contributions and compare any two funds.
OUNZ Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment
Liquidity: Quoted bid/ask spread is 6.53% and average daily volume is 685K/day. Tighter spreads and higher volume mean lower round-trip trading costs; this is a live-market snapshot and can widen during volatile sessions. AUM of $2.50B provides ample scale, supporting tight spreads and issuer commitment to keep the fund open.
Domicile & tax treatment: OUNZ is a US-domiciled, SEC-registered ('40 Act) exchange-traded fund. Dividends and capital gains distributions are reported to US investors on Form 1099-DIV, and the fund is not subject to the PFIC reporting or UCITS-specific rules that apply to Irish- or Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Non-US investors should note that US-domiciled ETFs are generally subject to 30% US withholding tax on dividends (unless reduced by treaty) and to US estate tax exposure on the position — Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs tracking the same index often avoid both, which is why non-US residents frequently prefer the UCITS equivalent where one exists. This is general information, not tax advice — consult a tax professional for your situation.
OUNZ Performance History
| Period | Return |
|---|---|
| 1-Day | +0.13% |
| 1-Week | +0.96% |
| 1-Month | +1.62% |
| 3-Month | -13.71% |
| 6-Month | -17.63% |
| YTD | -6.50% |
| 1-Year | +19.28% |
| 3-Year | +104.89% |
How OUNZ Compares to Other Commodities ETFs
| Rank | Grade | Ticker | Name | 1-Year | Exp. Ratio | AUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #57 | B |
BCI | abrdn Bloomberg All Commodity Strategy K-1 Free ETF | +33.99% | 0.26% | $2.28B |
| #93 | B |
PDBC | Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF | +39.47% | 0.59% | $5.33B |
| #134 | B |
DJP | iPath Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return(SM) ETN | +38.66% | 0.7% | $850M |
| #154 | B |
DBC | Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund | +39.02% | 0.85% | $1.58B |
| #155 | B |
COMT | iShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF | +35.19% | 0.48% | $1.11B |
| #161 | B |
GSG | iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust | +45.00% | 0.75% | $839M |
| #185 | C |
USO | United States Oil Fund, LP | +81.58% | 0.86% | $1.88B |
| #199 | C |
GLDM | SPDR Gold MiniShares | +19.45% | 0.1% | $27.3B |
| #206 | C |
SLV | iShares Silver Trust | +47.35% | 0.5% | $28.2B |
| #207 | C |
DBB | Invesco DB Base Metals Fund | +28.03% | 0.75% | $355M |
| #213 | C |
IAU | iShares Gold Trust | +19.28% | 0.25% | $60.1B |
| #233 | C |
GLD | SPDR Gold Shares | +19.13% | 0.4% | $130B |
| #236 | C |
IAUM | iShares Gold Trust Micro | +19.50% | 0.09% | $6.31B |
| #253 | C |
SGOL | abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF | +19.40% | 0.17% | $6.74B |
| #303 | C |
OUNZ | VanEck Merk Gold Trust | +19.28% | 0.25% | $2.50B |
| #304 | C |
BAR | GraniteShares Gold Trust | +19.41% | 0.1749% | $1.33B |
| #346 | C |
DBA | Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | +11.67% | 0.85% | $1.15B |
| #411 | D |
PPLT | abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF | +12.03% | 0.6% | $1.77B |
| #424 | D |
CPER | United States Copper Index Fund, LP | +6.23% | 0.88% | $738M |
| #447 | F |
WEAT | Teucrium Wheat Fund | +12.84% | 1% | $269M |
| #453 | F |
PALL | abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF | -3.61% | 0.6% | $591M |
| #457 | F |
UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund, LP | -23.05% | 1.17% | $419M |