The teams at a New York City fund firm and a Palo Alto, California-based ally are celebrating a big milestone.

Axel Merk Merk Investments President, Chief Investment Officer

Yesterday, Ed Lopez, head of product management at VanEck [profile], and Axel Merk, president and chief investment officer of Merk Investments LLC, revealed that the VanEck Merk Gold Trust (OUNZ on the NYSE Arca) has crossed into ten-figure territory, surpassing $1 billion in AUM. As of yesterday, the fund held $1.02 billion.

The Merk folks launched OUNZ on May 16, 2014. In 2015, they rebranded the fund as the Van Eck Merk Gold Trust as part of a marketing deal with VanEck.

OUNZ comes with an expense ratio of 25 basis points. Merk serves as the fund's sponsor, while VanEck serves as marketing agent.

The fund allows its shareholders to exchange their shares for physical gold coins and bars.

"OUNZ has actually been seeing relatively consistent inflows for the last several years, a testament to the unique features of the offering," Lopez states.

Axel Merk puts the milestone in the context of "gold's role in times of uncertainty."

"We're pleased to note that OUNZ's unique approach and the means through which we can provide investors with access to physical gold is becoming just as well known and accepted," Axel Merk states.

OUNZ's other service providers include: Bank of New York Mellon as trustee; Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; JPMorgan Chase, N.A. as custodian; and K&L Gates LLP as counsel. 

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