ETF Versus

GLD vs SPTM

SPDR Gold Shares vs State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-10

GLD SPDR

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to gold securities. It charges an above-average expense ratio of 0.40%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $162.2B ER: 0.40% Yield: N/A Since: Nov 18, 2004
SPTM SPDR

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF (SPTM) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to the total U.S. stock market across all capitalizations. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.03%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.15%. Launched in 2000, the fund has a 26-year track record.

AUM: $12.2B ER: 0.03% Yield: 1.15% Since: Oct 4, 2000

Quick Verdict

SPTM is significantly cheaper at 0.03% vs 0.40% expense ratio, saving you approximately $727 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, GLD has significantly outperformed with a 49.8% return vs 29.8%.

Key Metrics

Metric GLD SPTM
Expense Ratio 0.40% 0.03%
Dividend Yield N/A 1.1%
Fund Family SPDR SPDR
Category Gold US Total Market

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

85 130 175 220 265 310 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
GLD +169.9%
SPTM +62.0%

Performance Comparison

Period GLD SPTM Difference
1 Month -8.02% +0.70% -8.72%
3 Months +3.74% -1.89% +5.63%
6 Months +15.85% +3.06% +12.79%
YTD +9.98% -0.02% +10.00%
1 Year +49.83% +29.79% +20.04%
3 Years +135.15% +63.94% +71.21%
5 Years +169.92% +61.98% +107.94%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period GLD Fees SPTM Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $786 $60 $727
$10,000 20 years $3,334 $258 $3,075
$10,000 30 years $10,601 $835 $9,765
$50,000 10 years $3,932 $299 $3,633
$50,000 30 years $53,003 $4,176 $48,827
$100,000 30 years $106,005 $8,352 $97,653

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric GLD SPTM
Annualized Volatility 17.8% 16.9%
Max Drawdown -21.0% -25.0%
Sharpe Ratio 0.96 0.39

Dividend Comparison

Metric GLD SPTM
Annual Dividend (per share) $0.00 $0.95
Dividend Yield 0.00% 1.15%
Distribution Frequency None Quarterly

Top Holdings

SPTM Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.01%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.02%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.40%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.43%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.64%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.33%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.12%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.53%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.40%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose SPTM if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose GLD if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

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