At a glance
GLD and GLDM are both trusts that hold physical gold directly, so what sets them apart is cost, size and trading. GLDM costs less: 0.1% a year against 0.4% for GLD, or $100 against $400 on every $100,000. GLD has $130.10B in assets and GLDM $27.30B. Over the past year GLD returned −1.8% and GLDM −1.5%; over five years, +16.7% and +17.0% a year. In the 2022 bear market GLD fell 21.0% at its worst and GLDM 20.9%; both were back at their earlier highs 14 months after the low.
Key differences
| GLD | GLDM | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | SPDR Gold Shares | SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust |
| Sponsor | World Gold Trust Services, LLC | World Gold Council |
| Structure | Grantor trust | Grantor trust |
| Type | Gold | Gold |
| Launched | Nov 18, 2004 | Jun 25, 2018 |
| Expense ratio | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Cost a year on $100,000 | $400 | $100 |
| Net assets | $130.10B | $27.30B |
| Price data from | Jul 18, 2005 | Jun 26, 2018 |
Structure and tax notes
- Both: Structured as a grantor trust registered under the Securities Act of 1933, not as a 1940 Act investment company, so it lacks some fund-specific investor protections.
- Both: Physically backed precious-metal trusts are taxed like the metal itself: in the US, long-term gains can be taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28% rather than the usual capital-gains rates.
Holdings and overlap
Both trusts hold physical gold directly rather than stocks or bonds, so there is no holdings list to compare: each share is a claim on the same asset, and the difference between them is what each charges, how large it is and how its shares trade.
Returns
$10,000 put into GLD on Jun 29, 2018 was worth $30,480 on Nov 2, 2026, and in GLDM $31,150 (+14.3% and +14.6% a year). That is as far back as the price data for both goes.
| 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLD price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -1.8% | +25.2% | +16.7% | +11.3% |
| GLDM price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -1.5% | +25.6% | +17.0% | — |
Calendar years
| Year | GLD | GLDM | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | -8.8% * | -8.6% * | GLDM +0.2 |
| 2025 | +63.7% | +64.2% | GLDM +0.5 |
| 2024 | +26.7% | +27.1% | GLDM +0.4 |
| 2023 | +12.7% | +13.0% | GLDM +0.3 |
| 2022 | -0.8% | -0.5% | GLDM +0.3 |
| 2021 | -4.2% | -4.0% | GLDM +0.1 |
| 2020 | +24.8% | +25.1% | GLDM +0.3 |
| 2019 | +17.9% | +18.1% | GLDM +0.2 |
| 2018 | -1.9% | — | |
| 2017 | +12.8% | — |
Downturns and recovery
| GLD | GLDM | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | −29.4% at the worst; back at its high 10 months after the low | Before it launched |
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | −12.5% at the worst; back at its high within a month after the low | −12.5% at the worst; back at its high within a month after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | −21% at the worst; back at its high 14 months after the low | −20.9% at the worst; back at its high 14 months after the low |
| Worst fall in the price data | −45.6% (Aug 22, 2011 – Dec 17, 2015) | −28% (Jan 29, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026) |
Costs
GLDM charges 0.1% a year and GLD 0.4%: on $100,000 that is $300 a year less with GLDM ($1,500 on $500,000). The fee comes out of each fund's assets, so it is already in the returns above.