Sprott Gold Miners ETF

Sprott Gold Miners ETF (SGDM) is an index fund. It tracks the Solactive Gold Miners Custom Factors Total Return Index, which held 49 gold mining and royalty companies listed in the U.S. and Canada as of June 30, 2026. It charges 0.46% a year, which is less than GDX's 0.51% but more than RING's 0.39%. It is a concentrated and very volatile bet on one industry, with about 80% of assets in Canadian companies.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SGDM returned +24.9%, 3rd of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +21.6% and its 10-year +13.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 35.2% and regained its old high 1.3 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2015 (-26.4%); its best was 2025 (+152.7%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 54.9% (Aug 13, 2014 to Jan 19, 2016), recovered by Jun 29, 2016.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 49 securities; the ten largest made up 55.17% of assets.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $29.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -4.74%, +3.26%, -15.24%.

SGDM is passively managed. It aims to match its index, which is compiled by Solactive AG. Candidates must belong to the Solactive Equal Weight Global Gold Index. That index covers gold miners and precious metals streaming and royalty companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, NYSE or Nasdaq, either as common stock or as ADRs (American Depositary Receipts, U.S.-traded certificates that represent foreign shares). A new member needs a free-float market value (the value of shares available to trade) of $750 million and average daily trading of $2 million. Existing members need $375 million and $1 million.

Holdings are weighted by company size, with limits. Larger companies get bigger weights, but no stock can exceed 18% at a rebalance. Together, stocks above 4.5% can't make up more than 50% of the index. To count as a gold miner, a company must earn over half its revenue from mining gold. The index is reconstituted and rebalanced every quarter, after the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Portfolio turnover was 59%.

This is a plain stock fund. It uses no leverage and owns no physical gold, and it held no derivatives as of June 30, 2026. It must keep at least 80% of assets in gold mining companies and at least 90% in index securities. It may lend securities to earn extra income.

• SGDM charges 0.46% a year, versus an average of 0.45% for the similar funds below (6th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.35% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $47 in the first year and $579 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

SGDM is a concentrated, highly volatile single-industry stock fund, so it fits best as a small add-on rather than a foundation.

SGDM can add a bet on gold miners, but it did not cushion recent sell-offs. It launched in July 2014, so it has no 2008 record. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 35.2% in under three weeks, then recovered by April 22, 2020. In 2022 it dropped 45.1% from April to September and took about 25 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2015, at −26.4%. Its deepest drop was 54.9%, from August 2014 to January 2016. Selling during a slump like that would lock in heavy losses. The trailing yield was 0.74% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year, so it adds little income. Costs run 0.46% a year, or $47 on $10,000 in the first year under the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.