GLD, IAU and GLDM all hold physical gold in a vault, so they move almost identically. The differences are cost, share price and trading volume. Here is how they compare, how gold ETF gains are taxed, and what role gold can and cannot play in retirement.
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For a long-term holder, the cheapest one that your broker trades without friction. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), iShares Gold Trust (IAU) and SPDR Gold MiniShares (GLDM) each aim to track the price of gold bullion, less expenses, by holding physical gold. None of them pays income. They differ in fee, in share price and in how much trades each day.
Scope: US investors considering a small gold position in a retirement portfolio. Gold mining stocks, futures-based commodity funds and physical coins are out of scope. Whether to own gold at all is covered in should I add gold to my portfolio. Education, not tax or investment advice.
| Situation (Oct 2026) | GLD | IAU | GLDM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy and hold for years | Highest fee | Fits | Fits: lowest fee |
| Very large or frequent trades, options | Fits: deepest volume | Fits | Smaller volume |
| Small, regular purchases | High share price ($366.61) | Fits ($75.15) | Fits ($79.13) |
| Taxable account | Same 28% collectibles rule | Same | Same |
Fees, inception and NAV returns (average annual) from the issuers’ fact sheets as of Sep 30, 2026; prices, volume, assets for GLD and GLDM, 2025 returns and drawdowns from Exent market data (daily total return).
| GLD | IAU | GLDM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor | World Gold Trust Services (State Street markets it) | iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor (BlackRock) | WGC USA Asset Management (State Street markets it) |
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.25% | 0.10% |
| Inception | Nov 18, 2004 | Jan 21, 2005 | Jun 25, 2018 |
| Assets | $134.4B | $62.2B | $30.3B |
| Share price (Oct 23, 2026) | $366.61 | $75.15 | $79.13 |
| Shares traded (Oct 23, 2026) | 9.9 million (about $3.6B) | 4.2 million (about $0.3B) | 4.2 million (about $0.3B) |
| 1-year return | 8.74% | 8.90% | 9.07% |
| 3-year return, per year | 30.16% | 30.38% | 30.54% |
| 5-year return, per year | 18.62% | 18.80% | 18.96% |
| 10-year return, per year | 11.74% | 11.91% | n/a (launched 2018) |
| 2025 return | 63.7% | 63.9% | 64.2% |
| Income paid | None | None | None |
The gold price itself (LBMA Gold Price PM) returned 19.09% a year over the 5 years (State Street fact sheet), so each fund trailed it by roughly its fee. Over the 10 years to Sep 30, 2026, GLD returned 11.74% a year against 14.70% for the total US stock market fund VTI (Vanguard).
They are grantor trusts, and the IRS treats you as owning the gold. The SPDR Gold Trust’s tax statement explains that shareholders are treated “as if they directly owned a pro rata share” of the gold, and that gains on shares held more than one year are generally taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28% (SPDR Gold Trust 2025 tax statement). The IRS states that net capital gains from selling collectibles “are taxed at a maximum 28% rate” (IRS Topic 409). Short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income. The same statement notes that gains can also arise when the trust sells gold to pay its expenses.
These trusts are not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and are not commodity pools, so they lack some protections of ordinary mutual funds and ETFs (GLD and IAU fact sheets). Each one sells a little gold to pay its fee, so the gold behind each share shrinks over time. Inside a traditional IRA or 401(k), sales inside the account are not taxed; withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income like any other holding there.
A small diversifier that has often moved differently from stocks and bonds, not a source of income or a reliable crash hedge. Over the 60 months to Oct 2026, GLD’s correlation with SPY was 0.16 and with long Treasuries (TLT) 0.39, while SPY and TLT were 0.57 (Exent calculation from month-end closes). The table shows how that played out in stress periods.
| Period (Exent market data) | Gold (GLD) | US stocks (VTI) | US bonds (BND) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar 2022 return | −0.8% | −19.5% | −13.0% |
| 2007–09 drop (Oct 9, 2007–Mar 9, 2009 window) | −29.4% | −55.5% | −9.3% |
| 2020 COVID drop (Feb 19–Mar 23) | −12.5% | −35.0% | −8.7% |
| Largest drop, 5 years to Sep 30, 2026 (daily) | −26.4% (Jan–Jul 2026) | −25.4% (2022) | −17.2% (2021–22) |
Gold held up in 2022 when stocks and bonds fell together, but it dropped in the 2008 and 2020 selloffs, and it fell 26.4% between Jan 29 and Jul 16, 2026, after a 63.7% gain in 2025. Its largest five-year drop was deeper than VTI’s. More history in gold as a hedge and what diversifies.
Illustrative: a $500,000 portfolio with 5% in gold ($25,000). Inputs: issuer expense ratios; the gold price held flat so only fees act; a 32% federal bracket for the tax line.
| GLD | IAU | GLDM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-year fee | $25,000 × 0.40% = $100 | $25,000 × 0.25% = $63 | $25,000 × 0.10% = $25 |
| Value after 20 years, flat gold | $25,000 × 0.996^20 ≈ $23,074 | $25,000 × 0.9975^20 ≈ $23,779 | $25,000 × 0.999^20 ≈ $24,505 |
Over 20 years the fee gap between GLD and GLDM is about $1,430 on the same gold. Now the tax rule: selling with an $8,000 long-term gain in a taxable account costs up to $8,000 × 28% = $2,240 in federal tax, against $8,000 × 15% = $1,200 for the same gain on a stock index ETF. All three gold funds are taxed the same way, so the fund choice cannot fix this; the account choice can.
Rebalancing matters too. Illustrative: 60% VTI, 35% BND and 5% GLDM at the start of 2025, untouched. With 2025 returns of 17.1%, 7.1% and 64.2% (Exent market data), gold ends the year at 8.2 of 116.0, or about 7.1% of the portfolio. Trimming it back to 5% is the plan working, not a forecast. See how to rebalance.
| Fund | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| GLD | Largest gold ETF ($134.4B); by far the most traded (about $3.6B on Oct 23, 2026), which suits big trades and options; record since 2004. | Highest fee (0.40%); high share price ($366.61) makes small purchases lumpy without fractional shares. |
| IAU | Lower fee (0.25%); large ($62.2B) and liquid; record since 2005; moderate share price. | Costs 0.15% more a year than GLDM for the same exposure. |
| GLDM | Lowest fee of the three (0.10%); moderate share price; best 5-year NAV return of the three. | Shorter record (since 2018); smaller fund and lower daily volume than GLD. |
Physical gold funds outside the three, expense ratios and assets from Exent market data, Oct 25, 2026:
| ETF | Expense ratio | Assets | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| IAUM (iShares Gold Trust Micro) | 0.09% | $8.0B | Lowest fee here; launched 2021 |
| SGOL (abrdn Physical Gold Shares) | 0.17% | $6.9B | Physical gold, since 2009 |
| AAAU (Goldman Sachs Physical Gold) | 0.18% | $2.6B | Physical gold, since 2018 |
| SCHP or VTIP (TIPS funds) | 0.03% | n/a | Not gold: a direct inflation link with interest income |
If the goal is inflation protection specifically, Treasury inflation-protected bonds do that more directly; see SCHP vs VTIP vs TIP and inflation protection ETFs for retirement, which sizes TIPS, I bonds, stocks, gold and commodities by when the money is needed.
When you need the money to produce income or to stay stable. Counterexample: a retiree who moves a large share of savings into gold after a strong year to “protect” the portfolio. Gold paid nothing to live on, fell 29.4% in 2007–09, and fell 26.4% between January and July 2026 (Exent market data). Over the 10 years to Sep 30, 2026, it also trailed US stocks by about 3 points a year. For near-term spending, cash and short bonds do that job (SGOV vs BIL vs SHV).
Gold swung from a 63.7% gain in 2025 to a 26.4% drop in 2026, which is exactly when a fixed gold weight and a rebalancing rule are easiest to abandon.
Both hold physical gold and are marketed by State Street, but they are separate trusts. GLDM charges 0.10% a year against GLD’s 0.40% and has a lower share price; GLD trades far more each day.
Of these three, GLDM at 0.10%. iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM) charged 0.09% in Exent market data on Oct 25, 2026. IAU charges 0.25% and GLD 0.40%.
Physical gold ETFs like GLD, IAU and GLDM are grantor trusts, so gains on shares held more than a year are taxed as collectibles at a maximum 28% federal rate. Short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income.
The 28% collectibles rate applies in taxable accounts. Inside a traditional IRA or 401(k), sales are not taxed and withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, like other holdings.
No. Gold earns no income, and the trusts sell small amounts of gold to pay their fees, so the gold behind each share slowly declines.
There is no standard amount, and many diversified portfolios hold none. Hypothetical illustrations often use 0–10%; gold paid no income and fell 29% in 2007–09.
Sometimes. In 2022 GLD returned −0.8% while VTI lost 19.5%, but in the 2007–09 and 2020 selloffs gold also fell, by 29.4% and 12.5% peak to trough (Exent market data).
Size and trading volume. GLD had $134.4B in assets and traded about $3.6B on Oct 23, 2026, which matters to institutions and options traders more than to buy-and-hold savers.
Market intel provides a Risk ON / Neutral / Risk OFF reading from four pillars, cross-asset analysis, an events calendar and regular written notes. Context for reviewing a plan, not a crash forecast.
Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.