Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment vehicles that trade like stocks, and offer many of the advantages of direct investment in gold. Gold ETFs consist of either gold company stocks or futures and derivative contracts. Gold ETFs are designed to track the price of gold, and in some cases gold-related indexes.
3 Benefits of Gold ETFs:
- ETFs offer lower fees and a lower risk profile compared to owning individual gold company stocks.
- Investors do not need to worry about storage costs, unlike when owning physical gold.
- It is easy to gain exposure to gold with just one vehicle (ETF).
Read What Activity in Gold ETFs Says About the Precious Metal to learn more about how ETFs led the charge as gold made a comeback in 2016.
Below, we’ve provided a list of the top 5 Gold ETFs.
| Symbol | ETF Name | Issuer | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLD | SPDR Gold Shares ETF | State Street SPDR | 0.40% |
| IAU | iShares Gold Trust ETF | iShares | 0.25% |
| SGOL | ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF | ETF Securities | 0.39% |
| DGL | PowerShares DB Gold Fund | Invesco PowerShares | 0.78% |
| OUNZ | Van Eck Merk Gold Trust ETF | Merk Funds | 0.40% |
Read Best Commodity ETFs to learn more about the different types of commodity ETFs from major commodity families including energy, precious metals, agriculture and industrial metals.
