Van Eck Partners With Merk On Deliverable Gold ETF
By DailyAlts Staff The Van Eck family of funds is well-known for its popular Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA: GDX ) and Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA: GDXJ ) exchange-traded funds. Its mutual fund, the Van Eck International Investors Gold Fund (MUTF: INIVX ), rounded out Van Eck’s precious-metals offerings – until recently. On October 26, the firm announced it had begun to act as the marketing agent for the Merk Gold Trust, now known as the Van Eck Merk Gold ETF (NYSEARCA: OUNZ ). Physical Delivery of Gold Despite the name-change, the fund is keeping its “OUNZ” ticker symbol, which is also how investors commonly refer to it. OUNZ was originally launched by Merk President and CIO Axel Merk and his team, who sought to give investors a liquid and cost-efficient way to buy and hold gold, while also giving them the option of taking physical delivery , if and when desired. To date, OUNZ is the only gold ETF that provides this option – and it’s patented. “Through OUNZ, investors may buy gold with the ease of an ETF, but also have the option to take delivery of their gold when they want, where they want, in the form they want,” said Van Eck CEO Jan van Eck, in a recent statement. “We’re pleased to be teaming up with Merk Investments to offer the fund to more investors.” Natural Partnership Van Eck has a long history of gold investing. GDX was the first gold-mining ETF on the market, and before that, the Van Eck International Investors Gold Fund was the first gold mutual fund. These distinctions made Van Eck a “natural partner” for Merk, according to Mr. Merk. “Van Eck’s long and storied history in gold investing makes them a natural partner for us as we continue to educate investors about OUNZ and the role that physical gold exposure can play in a portfolio,” he said. “Our unique approach to providing investors with the opportunity to redeem their shares for physical gold coupled with Van Eck’s deep knowledge base, marketing acumen and outstanding reputation make this a very exciting partnership.” OUNZ originally launched in May 2014 . Through October 27, 2015, the ETF had lost 10.4% since its inception. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSEARCA: GLD ) – which also tracks the price of physical gold – lost 10.3% over the same period. Past performance does not necessarily predict future results.