Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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AVLV vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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AVLV is an actively managed equity fund and GLD a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AVLV returned +29.6% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $22.4bn for Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF and $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares.

At a glance
+29.6%
AVLV total return, 1 year
+2.5%
GLD total return, 1 year
0.15%
AVLV expense ratio
0.40%
GLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AVLV costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 27.1 points; GLD is 6.1 times larger.

AVLV vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureAVLVGLD
Return
Total return, 1 year+29.6%+2.5%
Drawdown
Below its high24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedGold
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.15%0.40%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$22.4bn$135.8bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight84%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund26.8%

Method

Risk and return

Oct 1, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 264 weekly returns
AVLV GLD
Return
Total return edge GLD +100.3% +122.7%
Annualized edge GLD +14.7% +17.1%
Price return edge GLD +84.5% +122.7%
Risk
Volatility edge AVLV (slight) 16.0% 16.8%
Max drawdown edge AVLV −18.3% −24.2%
Downside capture 100.6% 99.9%
Beta 1.06 1.00
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge GLD 0.69 0.79
Sortino edge GLD 0.99 1.22
Treynor 0.104 0.097
Calmar edge AVLV 0.80 0.71
Against the benchmark
Alpha +2.0% a year −0.1% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.94 −0.57
Information ratio 0.52 −0.18
Tracking error 4.8% 0.7%

Each against its own benchmark: AVLV against IWD, Oct 1, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026; GLD against IAU, Feb 4, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

GLD returned more: +122.7% to +100.3%. AVLV swung slightly less: 16.0% to 16.8%. AVLV fell less at its worst: −18.3% to −24.2%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: AVLV vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureAVLVGLDEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+100.3%+122.7%GLDPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+14.7%+17.1%GLDTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+84.5%+122.7%GLDPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility16.0%16.8%AVLV (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation11.2%10.9%GLD (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−18.3%−24.2%AVLVDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture108.3%99.4%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture100.6%99.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta1.061.00Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.911.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.690.79GLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.991.22GLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1040.097Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.800.71AVLVAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkIWDIAUThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+2.0% a year−0.1% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.94−0.57Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−2.2% to +6.1%−0.4% to +0.2%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio0.52−0.18Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error4.8%0.7%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 264 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

AVLV Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF GLD SPDR Gold Shares
Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF
What it is Actively managed Holds gold
Total return, 1 year +29.6% +2.5%
Its benchmark over the same days +27.5% (IWD) +2.7% (IAU)
Gap to its benchmark +2.1 pts vs IWD −0.2 pts vs IAU
Expense ratio 0.15% 0.40%
Holdings 298 not counted
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $22.4bn $135.8bn

AVLV and GLD on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-BBF889FF97

AVLV and GLD do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. AVLV follows No index, actively managed and GLD follows Gold.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AVLV returned +29.6% and GLD +2.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 27.1 points.
  3. Cost. AVLV charges 0.15% of assets a year and GLD 0.40%, a gap of 0.25 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
AVLV

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +29.6% with distributions reinvested, against +27.5% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value.

AVLV is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 298 positions, with the top ten at 26.8%.

GLD

Its expense ratio is 0.40% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

GLD holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.5% with distributions reinvested, against +2.7% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.7% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AVLV or GLD?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AVLV returned +29.6% and GLD +2.5%.
Which is cheaper, AVLV or GLD?
AVLV is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
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ETFIQ, AVLV against GLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avlv-vs-gld

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