VanEck Merk Gold Trust (OUNZ) gives investors access to gold by giving direct exposure and physical delivery when redeeming shares. One OUNZ share equals 0.00968314 fine gold.
OUNZ is the first ETF of its kind to offer physical delivery of London Bars, converting them into one-ounce gold coins or bars upon redemption for investors.
What is OUNZ?
OUNZ is an exchange-traded fund managed by VanEck that provides investors with an efficient means of accessing gold bullion’s price; its track price less expenses allows investors to redeem shares for physical gold in increments of 1 troy ounce.
Investors can purchase shares of OUNZ through most online brokerage accounts, including WeBull, Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE and Robinhood.
OUNZ is unique because it allows investors to take physical delivery of gold when exiting their positions. This feature is made possible thanks to OUNZ Trust’s use of a patented process that converts London Bars held in allocated form by its Custodian into one-ounce coins and bars they can select when redeeming their shares; additionally, physical gold remains safe within its vault with full title held over at all times by OUNZ. 1
How do I buy OUNZ?
OUNZ shares can be purchased through any broker just like any other stock. Each share represents pro rata ownership of 0.968314 fine ounces in the Trust and investors can redeem them at any time for physical gold, with a minimum redemption fee of 1 ounce payable upfront when redeeming (please note that weekends and holidays do not count as acceptable Share Submission Dates). A portion of Exchange Fees is also applied towards conversion of London Bars into specific coins or bars desired for redemption purposes.
How do I redeem my shares for gold?
The Trust offers investors the option of redeeming shares in exchange for physical gold at its current spot price plus an Exchange Fee, with up to 100.5 shares needed for one troy ounce. In order to reduce cash outlays as much as possible when redeeming physical gold, investors should submit shares that closely correspond to their desired number of Fine Ounces of physical gold requested.
Our website features an easy calculator that can assist with calculating how many OUNZ shares should be submitted for delivery. Investors must wire their processing fee directly to the Trust prior to submitting a pre-approved Delivery Application form.
OUNZ represents an unprecedented innovation for ETFs, offering investors a chance to redeem their fund shares for actual bullion. While conspiracy theorists may question physically-backed funds like GLD or IAU as fake investments, being able to redeem OUNZ shares for bullion will help put these doubts to rest.
How do I take delivery of my gold?
This ETF is unique in offering investors the option of taking physical delivery of gold bullion as part of its shares, should they so desire.
Redeemers of their shares can collect physical gold they owe in increments of one troy ounce. To facilitate this process, Merk has created a user-friendly calculator on its website which will enable investors to select their preferred delivery form and see how many OUNZ shares need to be redeemed in order to reach that amount of gold.
This calculator informs investors of any cash proceeds needed to cover any discrepancies between their submitted OUNZ shares and requested fine ounces of gold, and any cash proceeds required to cover those discrepancies. To minimize cash outlays and reduce cash proceeds owed to payed by investors, they should ideally submit OUNZ shares that closely matched up with requested ounces.