Business Description

The Trust is an investment trust formed on May 6, 2014 under New York State law pursuant to the Depositary Trust Agreement (“Trust Agreement”), which was amended effective October 26, 2015, to effectuate a name change to Van Eck Merk Gold Trust. The Trust Agreement was further amended on April 28, 2016, to effectuate a second name change to VanEck Merk Gold Trust, and was further amended on August 20, 2024, to effectuate a third name change to VanEck Merk Gold ETF. The purpose of the Trust is to own gold transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust (the “Shares”). Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Trust. Shares are issued by the Trust in blocks of 50,000 called “Baskets” in exchange for gold from certain registered broker-dealers or other securities market participants (“Authorized Participants”). Baskets may be redeemed by the Trust in exchange for the amount of gold corresponding to their redemption value. The Trust issues and redeems Baskets on an ongoing basis at net asset value to Authorized Participants who have entered into a contract with the Sponsor and the Trustee. The assets of the Trust are anticipated to consist solely of gold bullion. On May 6, 2014, the date the Trust was formed, Virtu Financial (the “Initial Purchaser”) contributed 1,000 Ounces of gold in exchange for 100,000 Shares (or two Baskets). At contribution, the value of the gold deposited with the Trust was based on the price of an Ounce of gold of $1,306.25. The Initial Purchaser is not affiliated with the Sponsor or the Trustee. The redeemable per share value of the Shares increased from $27.01 at January 31, 2025 to $46.56 at January 31, 2026, the Trust’s fiscal year end. Outstanding Shares in the Trust increased from 48,664,686 Shares at January 31, 2025 to 62,358,853 Shares outstanding at January 31, 2026. The Trust is not managed like a corporation or an active investment vehicle. It does not have any officers, directors or employees and is administered by the Trustee pursuant to the Trust Agreement. The Trust is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and is not required to register under such act. The Trust does not and will not hold or trade in commodities futures contracts regulated by the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the “CEA”), as administered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”). The Trust is not a commodity pool for purposes of the CEA and neither the Sponsor nor the Trustee is subject to regulation as a commodity pool operator or a commodity trading advisor in connection with the Shares. The Trust has no fixed termination date. The gold held by the Trust will only be distributed to Authorized Participants (defined below) in connection with the redemption of Baskets or sold (1) on an as-needed basis to pay Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor, (2) in the event the Trust terminates and liquidates its assets, or (3) as otherwise required by law or regulation. The Sponsor of the registrant maintains an Internet website at www.merkfunds.com and www.merkgold.com, through which the registrant’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are made available free of charge after they have been filed or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Additional information regarding the Trust may also be found on the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov. Trust Objective The primary objective of the Trust is to provide investors with an opportunity to invest in gold through the Shares and be able to take delivery of physical gold in exchange for their Shares. The Trust’s secondary objective is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold less the expenses of the Trust’s operations. The Trust is not actively managed. It does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to compensate investors for losses caused by, changes in the price of gold. 1 Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the Trust’s net assets. The Trust’s assets consist of gold held on the Trust’s behalf in financial institutions for safekeeping.…