Trying to capitalize on the growing popularity of the exchange traded fund investment tool, Merk funds is the latest mutual fund provider to turn ETF purveyor as the company crafts an ETF adaptation of its Merk Hard Currency Fund (MERKX).
According to the latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the Merk Hard Currency ETF (NYSEArca: MERK) will try to profit from a rise in hard currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.
The ETF will hold “hard currency” denominated investments, which includes high-quality, short-term debt instruments, such as sovereign debt, along with gold and gold-related securities.
Merk defines hard currencies as currencies issued by countries that have “sound” monetary policies, along with gold.
As of June 30, 2014, MERKX hard currency exposure included euro 31.0%, Norwegian krone 4.4%, Swiss franc 0.1%, British pound 18.8%, Swedish krona 4.4%, Australia dollar 12.5%, New Zealand dollar 3.9%, Singapore dollar 3.9%, Japanese yen 9.7%, Canadian dollar 5.9% and gold 15.2%.
Due to the transparent nature of the actively managed ETF wrapper, investors could also gain a glimpse of how the mutual fund operates.