SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust charges 0.10% annually versus GLD’s 0.40%, saving investors $300 per $100,000 invested.
SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM) provides identical physical gold exposure as SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) but at a fraction of the cost. GLD charges a 0.40% annual fee, while GLDM’s fee is 0.10%, resulting in $300 in annual savings for a $100,000 investment. Both funds hold gold in the same HSBC London vault and track the LBMA benchmark.
GLD, launched in 2004, pioneered the physical gold ETF category and now holds $147 billion in assets. Alternatives like iShares Gold Trust (IAU) and Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL) offer fees of 0.25% and 0.17%, respectively, with SGOL providing jurisdictional diversification via Swiss storage.
The fee difference compounds significantly over time, particularly for long-term investors. Both GLD and GLDM use the same auditor and daily pricing against the LBMA Gold Price PM benchmark, ensuring identical performance before fees.