OUNZ — VanEck Merk Gold Trust

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.

Overview

The VanEck Merk Gold Trust is a Commodities ETF issued by Merk Funds with $2.85 billion in assets under management. It holds a C grade and ranks 15 of 22 in its category, placing it in the middle tier of similar funds. The fund’s 0.25% expense ratio is significantly lower than the category median of 0.595%, offering a cost advantage. It generates no dividend income, matching the 0.00% category median. Holdings breakdown data is not available for this trust.

The fund’s price sits at 42.0% of its 52-week range, reflecting a recent 1-year return of 24.62%. This performance trails the category median 1-year return of 29.35%, indicating relative underperformance over the last year. Short-term momentum shows a 1-month gain of 4.38%, contrasting with a 6-month decline of 14.02%. The rating has remained at grade C for the last 35 tracked days. Price history is available for only 3.0 years, limiting the depth of long-term analysis.

With a beta of 0.36, the fund exhibits lower sensitivity to overall market movements compared to the broader market. Annualized volatility is 28.95%, which is classified as High, suggesting significant price fluctuations. The Sharpe ratio of 0.68 indicates moderate risk-adjusted returns relative to the risk taken. Maximum drawdown reached -26.31%, highlighting potential downside severity. Liquidity is characterized by an average daily volume of 692,622 shares and a bid/ask spread of 6.68%.

AI-generated summary based on the data on this page.

Market Backdrop

10-Year Treasury Yield: 4.77% (as of 2026-09-03) — 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): 14.32 (as of 2026-09-03) — 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 2026-08-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.

OUNZ Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment

Liquidity: Quoted bid/ask spread is 6.68% and average daily volume is 693K/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 $2.85B 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

How OUNZ Compares to Other Commodities ETFs