Data as of Sep 4, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
GLD vs SPY
SPDR Gold Shares and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
| GLD SPDR Gold Shares | SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core fund | Core fund |
| Issuer | State Street | State Street |
| What it is | Gold | S&P 500, book from IVV |
| Total return, 1 year | +24.5% | +20.0% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +20.0% | +20.0% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +4.5 pts | +0.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | not published | not published |
| Holdings | n/a | 504 |
GLD in plain words
GLD is a commodity fund tracking Gold. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 it returned +24.5% with distributions reinvested, against +20.0% for the S&P 500 and +25.6% for the Nasdaq-100. It sat 18.0% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 4, 2026.
SPY in plain words
SPY is a index equity fund tracking S&P 500, book from IVV. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 it returned +20.0% with distributions reinvested, against +20.0% for the S&P 500 and +25.6% for the Nasdaq-100. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GLD or SPY?
- In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +24.5% and SPY returned +20.0%, so GLD returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Other comparisons
Where to next
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, GLD against SPY, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/GLD-SPY.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources