ETF Versus

GLD vs SPYG

SPDR Gold Shares vs State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth 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
SPYG SPDR

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. growth stocks with above-average earnings potential. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.04%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.54%. Launched in 2000, the fund has a 26-year track record.

AUM: $44.2B ER: 0.04% Yield: 0.54% Since: Sep 25, 2000

Quick Verdict

SPYG is significantly cheaper at 0.04% vs 0.40% expense ratio, saving you approximately $707 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, GLD has significantly outperformed with a 49.8% return vs 36.0%.

Key Metrics

Metric GLD SPYG
Expense Ratio 0.40% 0.04%
Dividend Yield N/A 0.5%
Fund Family SPDR SPDR
Category Gold US Large Cap Growth

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

80 126 172 218 264 310 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
GLD +169.9%
SPYG +75.3%

Performance Comparison

Period GLD SPYG Difference
1 Month -8.02% +0.63% -8.65%
3 Months +3.74% -3.48% +7.22%
6 Months +15.85% -0.04% +15.89%
YTD +9.98% -2.09% +12.07%
1 Year +49.83% +35.95% +13.88%
3 Years +135.15% +88.56% +46.59%
5 Years +169.92% +75.34% +94.58%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period GLD Fees SPYG Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $786 $80 $707
$10,000 20 years $3,334 $344 $2,990
$10,000 30 years $10,601 $1,112 $9,488
$50,000 10 years $3,932 $399 $3,533
$50,000 30 years $53,003 $5,560 $47,442
$100,000 30 years $106,005 $11,121 $94,884

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric GLD SPYG
Annualized Volatility 17.8% 21.1%
Max Drawdown -21.0% -33.1%
Sharpe Ratio 0.96 0.43

Dividend Comparison

Metric GLD SPYG
Annual Dividend (per share) $0.00 $0.56
Dividend Yield 0.00% 0.54%
Distribution Frequency None Quarterly

Top Holdings

SPYG Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA14.49%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT9.10%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.22%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO5.44%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG4.82%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META4.39%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.75%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B2.88%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY2.47%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose SPYG 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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