Which returned more over the last year, COWZ or GLD?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWZ returned +24.4% and GLD +2.5%.

Which is cheaper, COWZ or GLD?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

COWZ vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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COWZ is an equity index fund and GLD a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, COWZ returned +24.4% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $19.5bn for Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF and $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares.

COWZ on its own →GLD on its own →

At a glance

+24.4%

COWZ total return, 1 year

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

0.49%

COWZ expense ratio

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 21.9 points; GLD is 7.0 times larger.

COWZ vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	COWZ	GLD
Return
Measure	COWZ	GLD
Total return, 1 year	+24.4%	+2.5%
Drawdown
Measure	COWZ	GLD
Below its high		24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	COWZ	GLD
What it tracks	Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	COWZ	GLD
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.40%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$19.5bn	$135.8bn
Holdings
Measure	COWZ	GLD
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	95%
Holdings dated	Jul 31, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	20.4%

Method

Side by side

COWZ Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF GLD SPDR Gold Shares

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer Pacer State Street

What it is Tracks an index of US Cash Cows 100 Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +24.4% +2.5%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +2.7% (IAU)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.2 pts vs IAU

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.40%

Holdings 100 not counted

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $19.5bn $135.8bn

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

Alert

About each fund

COWZ

COWZ tracks an index of US Cash Cows 100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +24.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.

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, COWZ or GLD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWZ returned +24.4% and GLD +2.5%.
Which is cheaper, COWZ or GLD?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

COWZ vs IAU COWZ vs GLDM COWZ vs SLV COWZ vs SIVR GLD vs SDY GLD vs VOE DVY vs GLD GLD vs NOBL

Where to next

COWZ on its own →GLD on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →COWZ dividend history →COWZ holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

COWZ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

COWZ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Pacer website ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, COWZ against GLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-gld

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