Gold climbed to record highs before a sharp pullback in 2026, and that swing sent a wave of new investors looking for the best way to own the metal.
For most of them, the answer defaults to one fund. GLD 0.00%↑ holds physical bullion at a 0.40% expense ratio, and it has become the reflexive choice for gold exposure in a portfolio.
GLD is a fine on-ramp, and it is far from the only door into gold.
Four other ETFs give you the same metal through very different mechanics, and each one changes the ride you get.
Here is how they stack up.
IAUM 0.00%↑ owns physical gold and tracks the LBMA Gold Price, which is the same core exposure GLD provides.
The difference shows up in the fee. IAUM carries a 0.09% expense ratio, the lowest of any physical gold ETF on the market, and over a year that gap compounds into real money on a large position.
For a long-term investor who simply wants bullion in the mix, this is the efficient way to get it.
The fund manages around $6.3B in assets and posted a one-year return near 48% through the recent run-up. Nothing fancy happens under the hood, and that is the appeal.
GDX 0.00%↑ takes a step away from the metal and into the companies that dig it up.
The fund holds the largest global gold producers, names like Newmont, Barrick, and Agnico Eagle, and it puts roughly $22.7B to work across that group.
Miner profits behave like a lever on the gold price. When gold rises, a producer’s margins expand faster than the metal itself, so the stock tends to climb harder. That same lever works in reverse when gold falls, which explains why GDX has historically delivered bigger swings in both directions.
Its five-year return sits around 20% annualized, a reward that came with a rougher road than bullion.
GDXJ 0.00%↑ pushes the miner idea further out.
Instead of the established producers, the fund holds smaller, earlier-stage gold and silver companies, the juniors still proving out their operations. It runs about $7.0B in assets.
These businesses sit higher on the risk spectrum than the majors in GDX. Juniors tend to rally hardest when gold is strong and fall hardest when the metal corrects, so the fund amplifies whatever gold is already doing. Its five-year return lands near 19% annualized, and the path there tested the patience of anyone holding through a drawdown.
GDXJ suits investors who understand that extra sensitivity and want it on purpose.
IAUI 0.00%↑ answers a different question altogether.
The fund pairs physical gold exposure with a call option strategy that generates monthly payouts, which appeals to investors who want cash flow from a metal that normally pays nothing.
The headline number needs context. IAUI advertises a 12.1% distribution rate, and most of that is classified as return of capital, meaning a portion of your payout is your own principal coming back to you. Its 30-Day SEC yield sits at 2.0%, which is the cleaner read on actual investment income. The fund is small at about $447M and carries a 0.79% expense ratio, the highest of the group, reflecting the active options work involved.
It solves for income in a way plain bullion cannot.
Think of these four as a spectrum built on a single decision: how much movement you want relative to the gold price.
IAUM tracks the metal cleanly and cheaply.
GDX and GDXJ dial the volatility up as you move from major producers to juniors.
IAUI steps sideways entirely and trades some price upside for a monthly check.
A beginner building a first position might start with IAUM for the low cost. Someone with more conviction and a stronger stomach might add a miner fund to capture the leverage. An income-focused investor might slot in IAUI while keeping its return-of-capital math in full view.
A quick note before this publishes: the return figures here are date-stamped from the source pull (IAUM’s one-year as of 3/31, the GDX and GDXJ five-year figures as of 5/31), and AUM plus IAUI’s distribution rate move daily. Worth a fresh verification against the issuer pages on send day. And since IAUI is an options-income fund, route the piece through Paralel before it goes live.
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