Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

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Here is a comprehensive list of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that track the price of precious metals and precious metals mining stocks.
 

Gold Price-Tracking Funds:

The SPDR® Gold Shares ETF is easily the most popular and heavily-traded exchange-traded fund that is designed to track the price of gold. This ETF launched on November 18, 2004 and was the first of its kind. As of mid-2023, the SPDR® Gold Shares ETF has $58.70 billion worth of total assets under management and trades approximately 7 million shares per day. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.4%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The SPDR® Gold MiniShares ETF is the little brother of the SPDR® Gold Shares ETF. Both ETFs were designed to track the price of gold, but SPDR® Gold MiniShares was created to have a lower price barrier to entry after the price of gold surged by approximately fivefold since the larger SPDR® Gold Shares ETF launched in 2004. The SPDR® Gold MiniShares ETF has a lower price per share (GLDM: $38.57 vs. GLD: $180.52, as of mid-2023) and a lower expense ratio (GLDM: 0.1% vs. GLD: 0.4%). Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The iShares Gold Trust ETF is the arch competitor of the SPDR® Gold Shares and launched on January 21, 2005, which is less than two months after the launch of the SPDR® Gold Shares. With $58.70 billion worth of total assets under management, the SPDR® Gold Shares ETF has been more successful at attracting investors’ funds than the iShares Gold Trust, which has accumulated $28.5 billion in total assets under management. The less popular iShares Gold Trust ETF does, however, beat the SPDR® Gold Shares ETF in the expense department: the iShares Gold Trust ETF has an expense ratio of 0.25%, while the SPDR® Gold Shares ETF has an expense ratio of 0.4%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

 

The iShares Gold Trust Micro ETF is the little brother of the iShares Gold Trust ETF. Both ETFs were designed to track the price of gold, but the iShares Gold Trust Micro ETF was created to have a lower share price to make it accessible to a wider range of investors. As of mid-2023, IAUM trades at $19.42 per share, while IAU trades at $36.83 per share. The iShares Gold Trust Micro is also notable for its miniscule expense ratio of just 0.09%, which makes it the lowest cost physical gold ETF that is currently on the market. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

 

The iShares Gold Strategy ETF seeks to track the investment results of the Bloomberg Composite Gold Index. The iShares Gold Strategy ETF doesn’t hold physical gold bullion, but holds a combination of gold futures contracts and physical gold ETFs to track the price of gold. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.25%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

 

The Sprott Physical Gold Trust was launched on February 25, 2010 with the intention of giving investors the ability to invest in fully-allocated physical gold from the convenience of their stock brokerage accounts without having to deal with the logistics of shipping and storing physical gold. Sprott Physical Gold Trust shares can be bought and sold like any other type of stock or ETF share. The Sprott Physical Gold Trust is a closed-end mutual fund trust rather than an exchange-traded fund. As of mid-2023, this trust has a total net asset value of $6.2 Billion and holds 3,186,631 ounces of physical gold bullion.

Sprott Physical Gold Trust investors are able to redeem their shares for physical gold bullion, whereas most popular gold-tracking ETFs, including SPDR® Gold Shares and iShares Gold Trust, do not have that ability. In addition, the Sprott Physical Gold Trust tracks the price of gold because it must hold virtually all of its assets in physical gold bullion, whereas other popular gold-tracking ETFs, including SPDR® Gold Shares and iShares Gold Trust, may not necessarily hold all of their assets in physical gold bullion and often use gold derivatives to track the price of gold.

Many precious metals purists (including the BullionStar team) consider gold derivatives to be a form of “paper gold” that doesn’t have enough actual physical gold to back up their claims — especially during times of extreme financial stress. Learn more about this trust on its official web page.
 

 

The VanEck Merk Gold Trust seeks to track the price of gold through its holdings of allocated physical gold bullion. Individual investors can redeem VanEck Merk Gold Trust shares for physical gold bullion in the form of coins and bars. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.25%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Sprott ESG Gold ETF seeks to track the price of gold through its holdings of fully-allocated physical gold bullion. Unlike the more well-known Sprott Physical Gold Trust, the Sprott ESG Gold ETF only holds physical gold bullion that meets certain environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards. Unlike the Sprott Physical Gold Trust, individual investors cannot redeem Sprott ESG Gold ETF shares for physical gold bullion. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.38%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

 

The Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF seeks to track the price of gold through its holdings of London Good Delivery gold bullion bars. This ETF only invests in London Good Delivery gold bullion bars that it considers to be “responsibly sourced” — i.e., made by refiners that respect the environment and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and human rights abuses. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.15%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

 

The Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF seeks to track the price of gold through its holdings of physical gold bullion. Individual investors cannot redeem Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF shares for physical gold bullion. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.18%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF seeks to track the price of gold through its holdings of physical gold bullion. Individual investors cannot redeem abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF shares for physical gold bullion. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.17%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The GraniteShares Gold Trust ETF seeks to track the price of gold through its holdings of physical gold bullion. Individual investors cannot redeem GraniteShares Gold Trust ETF shares for physical gold bullion. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.17%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The ProShares Ultra Gold ETF is a 2x leveraged ETF that seeks to double the daily performance of the Bloomberg Gold SubindexSM, which is a benchmark for the price of gold. The ProShares Ultra Gold ETF doesn’t hold physical gold, but uses a combination of gold derivatives such as swaps and futures contracts in order to gain leverage. This leveraged ETF is a double-edged sword: it doubles the daily performance of gold on the way up…and on the way down. For example, if the Bloomberg Gold SubindexSM rises by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Gold ETF should rise by 2%. If the Bloomberg Gold SubindexSM falls by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Gold ETF should fall by 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.95%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF is a 2x leveraged short ETF that seeks to double the inverse daily performance of the Bloomberg Gold SubindexSM, which is a benchmark for the price of gold. The ProShares Ultra Gold ETF doesn’t hold physical gold, but uses a combination of gold derivatives such as swaps and futures contracts in order to gain leverage. Here’s how this leveraged inverse ETF works: if the Bloomberg Gold SubindexSM rises by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Gold ETF should fall by 2%. If the Bloomberg Gold SubindexSM falls by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Gold ETF should rise by 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 1.28%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The MicroSectors Gold 3X Leveraged ETN is a 3x leveraged exchange traded note that seeks to triple the daily performance of the SPDR® Gold Trust (ticker: GLD). This ETN’s expense ratio is 0.95%. Learn more about this ETN on its official web page.
 

The MicroSectors Gold -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN is a 3x leveraged short exchange traded note that seeks to triple the inverse daily performance of the SPDR® Gold Trust (ticker: GLD). This ETN’s expense ratio is 0.95%. Learn more about this ETN on its official web page.
 

The Deutsche Bank Gold Short ETN is a short exchange-traded note that seeks to inverse the daily performance of gold (technically, a Deutsche Bank gold index). This ETN is one of Deutsche Bank’s legacy exchange-traded notes and is thinly-traded and fairly illiquid. This ETN’s expense ratio is 0.75%. Learn more about this ETN on ETF.com.
 

The Deutsche Bank Gold Double Short ETN is a 2x leveraged short exchange traded note that seeks to double the inverse daily performance of gold (technically, a Deutsche Bank gold index). This ETN is one of Deutsche Bank’s legacy exchange-traded notes and is thinly-traded and fairly illiquid. This ETN’s expense ratio is 0.75%. Learn more about this ETN on ETF.com.
 

 

The Deutsche Bank Gold Double Long ETN is a 2x leveraged exchange-traded note that seeks to double the daily performance of gold (technically, a Deutsche Bank gold index). This ETN is one of Deutsche Bank’s legacy exchange-traded notes and is thinly-traded and fairly illiquid. This ETN’s expense ratio is 0.75%. Learn more about this ETN on ETF.com.
 

The USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund ETF is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund that seeks to track the long-term price performance of gold while also generating dividend income through selling gold call options and through collateral interest income. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.53%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The First Trust Cboe Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® seeks to the track the price of the SPDR Gold Trust (symbol: GLD) while also providing a consistent level of income. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.85%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The First Trust Cboe Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF seeks to track the returns of the SPDR Gold Trust (symbol: GLD) up to a predetermined upside cap of 9.25% (before fees, expenses and taxes), while providing a buffer against underlying ETF losses between -5% and -15%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.91%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

Silver Price-Tracking Funds:

The iShares Silver Trust is the most popular and heavily-traded exchange-traded trust that is designed to track the price of silver and is often thought of as the silver counterpart to the SPDR® Gold Shares ETF (symbol: GLD). This ETF launched on April 28, 2006. As of mid-2023, the iShares Silver Trust has $10.62 billion worth of total assets under management and trades approximately 15 million shares per day. Learn more about this trust on its official web page.
 

The Sprott Physical Silver Trust was launched on October 27, 2010 with the intention of giving investors the ability to invest in fully-allocated physical silver from the convenience of their stock brokerage accounts without having to deal with the logistics of shipping and storing physical silver. Sprott Physical Silver Trust shares can be bought and sold like any other type of stock or ETF share. The Sprott Physical Silver Trust is a closed-end mutual fund trust rather than an exchange-traded fund. As of mid-2023, this trust has a total net asset value of $4 Billion and holds 174,843,530 ounces of physical silver bullion.

Sprott Physical Silver Trust investors are able to redeem their shares for physical silver bullion, whereas most popular silver-tracking ETFs, including the iShares Silver Trust, do not have that ability. In addition, the Sprott Physical Silver Trust tracks the price of silver because it must hold virtually all of its assets in physical silver bullion, whereas other popular silver-tracking ETFs, including the iShares Silver Trust, may not necessarily hold all of their assets in physical silver bullion and often use silver derivatives to track the price of silver.

Many precious metals purists (including the BullionStar team) consider silver derivatives to be a form of “paper silver” that doesn’t have enough actual physical silver to back up their claims — especially during times of extreme financial stress. Learn more about this trust on its official web page.
 

The abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF seeks to track the price of silver through its holdings of physical silver bullion. Individual investors cannot redeem abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF shares for physical silver bullion. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.30%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The ProShares Ultra Silver ETF is a 2x leveraged ETF that seeks to double the daily performance of the Bloomberg Silver SubindexSM, which is a benchmark for the price of silver. The ProShares Ultra Silver ETF doesn’t hold physical silver, but uses a combination of silver derivatives such as swaps and futures contracts in order to gain leverage. This leveraged ETF is a double-edged sword: it doubles the daily performance of silver on the way up…and on the way down. For example, if the Bloomberg Silver SubindexSM rises by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF should rise by 2%. If the Bloomberg Silver SubindexSM falls by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF should fall by 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 0.95%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The ProShares UltraShort Silver ETF is a 2x leveraged short ETF that seeks to double the inverse daily performance of the Bloomberg Silver SubindexSM, which is a benchmark for the price of silver. The ProShares Ultra Silver ETF doesn’t hold physical silver, but uses a combination of silver derivatives such as swaps and futures contracts in order to gain leverage. Here’s how this leveraged inverse ETF works: if the Bloomberg Silver SubindexSM rises by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF should fall by 2%. If the Bloomberg Silver SubindexSM falls by 1% in one day, the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF should rise by 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 1.35%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

Platinum Price-Tracking Funds:

The GraniteShares Platinum Trust ETF seeks to track the price of platinum through its holdings of LPPM good delivery bullion stored in a vault that is domiciled in London, UK. The trust cannot hold derivatives. This ETF’s expense ratio is .50%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF seeks to track the price of platinum through its holdings of physical platinum bullion bars. This ETF’s expense ratio is .60%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The iPath Series B Bloomberg Platinum Subindex Total Return ETN is an exchange-traded note that seeks to track the Bloomberg Platinum Subindex Total ReturnSM, which is a benchmark for the performance of platinum. This ETN does not hold physical platinum bullion; it uses futures contracts to replicate the performance of silver. This ETN’s expense ratio is .45%. Learn more about this ETN on ETF.com.
 

Palladium Price-Tracking Funds:

The abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to tract the price of palladium through its holdings of physical palladium bullion bars. This ETF’s expense ratio is .60%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

Precious Metals Price-Tracking Funds:

The Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund seeks to track changes in the level of the DBIQ Optimum Yield Precious Metals Index Excess Return™ index in addition to interest income from the fund's holdings of US Treasury securities and money market funds. The Fund primarily tracks the price of gold and silver, but uses futures contracts to do that instead of holding physical gold and silver bullion. This fund’s expense ratio is .75%. Learn more about this fund on its official web page.
 

The abrdn Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF seeks to track the performance of a basket of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium through its holdings of physical bullion. This ETF’s expense ratio is .60%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Sprott Physical Gold and Silver Trust seeks to track the performance of gold and silver through its holdings of physical bullion. As of February 28, 2023, CEF is 68.1% invested in gold and 31.9% in silver. Trust shares can be redeemed for physical gold and silver bullion. This trust’s expense ratio is .49%. Learn more about this trust on its official web page.
 

The Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust seeks to track the performance of platinum and palladium through its holdings of physical bullion. As of May 31, 2023, SPPP is 51.24% invested in platinum and 48.70% in palladium. Trust shares can be redeemed for physical platinum and palladium bullion. This trust’s expense ratio is .89%. Learn more about this trust on its official web page.
 

Gold Mining Shares Funds:

The VanEck Gold Miners ETF seeks to track the price and yield performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index, which is an index that tracks gold mining stocks. This ETF was launched on May 16th 2006 and is the most popular gold mining stock ETF in existence. This ETF’s expense ratio is .51%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF seeks to track the price and yield performance of the MVIS® Global Junior Gold Miners Index, which is an index that tracks small-capitalization gold mining stocks. This ETF’s expense ratio is .52%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF seeks to track the price and yield performance of an index of global gold mining stocks. This ETF’s expense ratio is .39%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Sprott Gold Miners ETF seeks to track the price and yield performance of larger-sized gold companies whose stocks are listed on Canadian and major U.S. exchanges. This ETF’s expense ratio is .54%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Sprott Junior Gold Miners ETF seeks to track the price and yield performance of junior gold stocks with market capitalization between $200 million and $2 billion. This ETF favors junior gold producers with the strongest revenue growth and junior exploration companies with the strongest stock price momentum. This ETF’s expense ratio is .53%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Global X Gold Explorers ETF seeks to track the price and yield performance of a basket of companies involved in the exploration of gold. This ETF’s expense ratio is .65%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares ETF seeks to double the single-day performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index — an index of gold mining company shares. For example, if the Index rises 1% in a single day, the ETF should rise 2%; if the Index falls 1% in a single day, the ETF should fall 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 1.19%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X Shares ETF seeks to double the inverse single-day performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index — an index of gold mining company shares. For example, if the Index rises 1% in a single day, the ETF should fall 2%; if the Index falls 1% in a single day, the ETF should rise 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 1.07%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares ETF seeks to double the single-day performance of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index — an index of foreign and domestic micro-, small- and mid-capitalization junior gold mining companies. For example, if the Index rises 1% in a single day, the ETF should rise 2%; if the Index falls 1% in a single day, the ETF should fall 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 1.15%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2X Shares ETF seeks to double the inverse single-day performance of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index — an index of foreign and domestic micro-, small- and mid-capitalization junior gold mining companies. For example, if the Index rises 1% in a single day, the ETF should fall 2%; if the Index falls 1% in a single day, the ETF should rise 2%. This ETF’s expense ratio is 1.02%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN seeks to triple the daily performance of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (the “GDX”) and the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (the “GDXJ”). For example, if GDX and GDXJ rise by 1% in a single day, the MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN should rise 3%; if GDX and GDXJ fall by 1% in a single day, the MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN should fall 3%. This ETN’s expense ratio is .95%. Learn more about this ETN on its official web page.
 

The MicroSectors Gold Miners -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN seeks to triple the inverse single-day performance of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (the “GDX”) and the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (the “GDXJ”). For example, if GDX and GDXJ rise by 1% in a single day, the MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN should fall 3%; if GDX and GDXJ fall by 1% in a single day, the MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN should rise 3%. This ETN’s expense ratio is .95%. Learn more about this ETN on its official web page.
 

The U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF seeks to track the performance of the U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners Index — an index of companies engaged in the production of precious metals and minerals either through active (mining or production) or passive (owning royalties or production streams) means. This ETF’s expense ratio is .60%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

Silver Mining Shares Funds:

The iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF seeks to track the performance of the MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index — a global index of silver exploration or metals mining shares. This ETF’s expense ratio is .39%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The Global X Silver Miners ETF seeks to track the performance of the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index — an index of silver mining company shares. This ETF’s expense ratio is .65%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The ETFMG Prime Junior Silver Miners ETF seeks to track the performance of the Prime Junior Silver Miners & Explorers Index — an index of junior silver mining and exploration company shares. This ETF’s expense ratio is .69%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.
 

The ETFMG Prime 2x Daily Junior Silver Miners ETF seeks to double the single-day performance of the Prime Junior Silver Miners & Explorers Index — an index of junior silver mining and exploration company shares. This ETF’s expense ratio is .97%. Learn more about this ETF on its official web page.