5 Best Gold ETFs to Buy and Hold: IAUM vs GLDM vs BAR vs AAAU vs IAU 1.7

  • Asset Class: Gold

  • Long-Term Performance: 7.49% CAGR

  • Correlation to U.S. Markets: 0.03

  • U.S. Large Cap Blend Performance (S&P 500): 10.62% CAGR

  • Back test timeframe: January 1972 – February 2024

  • Oldest ETF back tested: SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)

  • Long-Term Performance: 7.73% CAGR

  • Correlation to U.S. Markets: 0.09

  • S&P 500 Performance: 9.97% CAGR

  • Back test timeframe: December 2004 – February 2024

  • Number of ETFs available in this asset class: 8

  • Number of ETFs in this asset class that are 1-year old or older: 8

Gold vs S&P 500: January 1972 – February 2024

GLD vs SPY: December 2004 – February 2024

GLD vs SPY: November 18, 2004 – March 8, 2024

The Deep Value ETF Accumulator rankings for the 8 Gold ETFs:

The 5 top ranked Gold ETFs head-to-head comparisons:

IAUM vs GLDM vs BAR vs AAAU vs IAU: July 2021 – February 2024

IAUM vs GLDM vs BAR vs AAAU vs IAU: June 29, 2021 – March 8, 2024

Stated objectives of the 5 top ranked Gold ETFs:

IAUM – The iShares Gold Trust Micro (the ‘Trust’) seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of gold. The lowest cost physical gold ETF currently on the market. Exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of gold bullion. Use to diversify your portfolio and help protect against inflation.

GLDM – The investment objective of SPDR® Gold MiniShares® Trust (GLDM®) is for the Shares of GLDM to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less GLDM’s expenses. Shares of GLDM are designed for investors who want a cost-effective and convenient way to invest in gold. For many investors, costs associated with buying and selling the Shares in the secondary market and the payment of GLDM’s ongoing expenses will be lower than the costs associated with buying and selling gold bullion and storing and insuring gold bullion in a traditional allocated gold bullion account.

BAR – The GraniteShares Gold Trust is designed to seek the performance of the price of gold, less trust expenses. Physically Backed: The Trust holds only LBMA1 good delivery bars stored in a vault domiciled in London, UK. Transparent and Secured: The list of gold bars held by the Trust is published daily. The vault is audited twice a year. Lending of metal is not permitted, and the Trust cannot hold derivatives. Cost Effective: BAR is among the lowest cost gold ETFs on the market. Easy to Access: BAR is listed on NYSE Arca and can be traded through a normal brokerage account.

AAAU – Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF. Seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold less the expenses of the Trust’s operations. Offers investors an opportunity to gain exposure to gold without the complexities of gold delivery. Gold is a counter-cyclical asset that can provide portfolio diversification in times of market volatility. Lower Cost Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF is among the most competitively priced commodity ETFs on the market. The cost of the ETF is 18 basis points, compared to the industry average for commodity ETFs of 63 basis points.

IAU – The iShares Gold Trust (the ‘Trust’) seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of gold. Exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of gold bullion. Convenient, cost-effective access to physical gold. Use to diversify your portfolio and help protect against inflation.

Thank you for taking time to read this article. If you found it useful, please share it with a friend.

Respectfully yours, Micah McDonald, aka the Deep Value ETF Accumulator

Previous Deep Value ETF Accumulator article on Physical Gold ETFs:

IAUM vs GLDM vs BAR vs SGOL vs AAAU – 5 Best Gold ETFs to Own Long-Term 1.6

Disclosure: We currently own shares of GLDM and we intend to buy more shares in the future. I am not a professional investment advisor. Please perform your own due diligence or seek the advice of a Registered Investment Advisor before investing in any security mentioned in this article. This website contains affiliate links to Google AdSense.