VanEck Merk Gold Trust

What they do

The Trust's assets are anticipated to consist solely of gold bullion, including London Bars and, for limited purposes, other gold bars and coins without numismatic value with minimum fineness of 995 parts per 1,000 (or 91.67% for American Gold Eagle coins). Shares are issued in 50,000-share blocks called Baskets in exchange for gold from Authorized Participants and redeemed for gold. The Trust has no officers, directors, or employees; it is administered by The Bank of New York Mellon as Trustee, with Merk Investments LLC as Sponsor and JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., London branch as Custodian. The primary objective is to give investors gold exposure with the ability to take delivery of physical gold; the secondary objective is for the Shares to reflect the price of gold less Trust expenses.

Revenue drivers

• Gold bullion holdings — The Trust's assets are anticipated to consist solely of gold bullion; shareholder equity and total assets were $2.54B at 2026-07-31, so returns are driven almost entirely by the price of gold.
• Share creation and redemption — Outstanding Shares increased from 48,664,686 at January 31, 2025 to 62,358,853 at January 31, 2026, and Baskets are issued and redeemed on an ongoing basis at net asset value to Authorized Participants.
• Net asset value per share — Redeemable per share value rose from $27.01 at January 31, 2025 to $46.56 at January 31, 2026, the Trust's fiscal year end.

Recent performance

Annual net income was -$18.2M in 2022, $31.6M in 2023, $37.9M in 2024, $313.1M in 2025, and $1.09B in 2026 per the reported financials. Redeemable per share value increased from $27.01 at January 31, 2025 to $46.56 at January 31, 2026. Outstanding Shares rose from 48,664,686 at January 31, 2025 to 62,358,853 at January 31, 2026. The latest balance sheet showed total assets and shareholder equity of $2.54B and total liabilities of $35.00 at 2026-07-31.

Strategy

The Trust is not actively managed and does not engage in activities designed to profit from or compensate investors for changes in the price of gold; it simply holds gold. The Sponsor changed the pricing index used in relation to the Shares to the Solactive Gold Spot Index on August 7, 2023 (the Index Change Date), according to the 10-Q. The Trust Agreement was amended on August 20, 2024 to effectuate the name change to VanEck Merk Gold ETF. Gold held by the Trust will only be distributed to Authorized Participants on Basket redemption or sold on an as-needed basis to pay Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor, on termination and liquidation, or as required by law. The Trust has no fixed termination date.

Risks

• Gold price exposure — The value of the Shares fluctuates based upon the price of the gold held by the Trust, exposing holders to potential losses regardless of holding period.
• Supply and demand factors — Gold prices, and therefore Share value, are affected by factors including forward selling by gold producers, central bank purchases and sales, production and cost levels in major gold-producing countries, and new production projects.
• Macro and market variables — Global or regional political, economic or financial events, investors' inflation expectations, currency exchange rate volatility, interest rate volatility, and hedge fund and commodity fund trading activity can affect the price of gold.
• Non-operating structure — The Trust has no officers, directors, or employees and is not registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act, nor is it a commodity pool regulated under the CEA.

Outlook

The filings provided do not contain a management outlook section. The 10-K and 10-Q describe the Trust's objectives as providing gold exposure with physical delivery and tracking the price of gold less expenses, and note there is no fixed termination date. No forward guidance is given.