Are FTLS and GLD in the same category?

FTLS is an alternatives ETF and GLD is a commodity ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

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

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTLS returned +8.5% and GLD +2.8%.

Which is cheaper, FTLS or GLD?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.98 percentage points a year. That is about $98 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

FTLS vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTLS returned +8.5% to GLD's +2.8%, and GLD charges 0.40% to FTLS's 1.38%.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $2.6bn for First Trust Long/Short Equity and $131.3bn for SPDR Gold Shares.

FTLS on its own →GLD on its own →

At a glance

+8.5%

FTLS total return, 1 year

+2.8%

GLD total return, 1 year

1.38%

FTLS expense ratio

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.98 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.7 points; GLD is far larger, $131.3bn against $2.6bn.

FTLS vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FTLS	GLD
Return
Measure	FTLS	GLD
Total return, 1 year	+8.5%	+2.8%
Total return, 52 weeks	+7.7%
Drawdown
Measure	FTLS	GLD
Below its high		24.9%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTLS	GLD
What it tracks	not published	Gold
Treasury bills, 52 weeks	+3.7%
Against cash	4.1 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	FTLS	GLD
Expense ratio	1.38%	0.40%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$2.6bn	$131.3bn
Holdings
Measure	FTLS	GLD
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	FTLS	GLD
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns	+0.83
Beta to the S&P 500	+0.48: about 0.48% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell	fell 0.48%
Down-week capture	44.7%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell	26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

FTLS First Trust Long/Short Equity GLD SPDR Gold Shares

Where it sits Alternatives ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer First Trust State Street

What it is Long-short equity Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +8.5% +2.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.8% (VOO) +2.9% (IAU)

Gap to its benchmark −6.3 pts vs VOO −0.1 pts vs IAU

Expense ratio 1.38% 0.40%

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.6bn $131.3bn

FTLS and GLD on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

FTLS

FTLS is a long-short equity fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.83 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.48, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.48% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks FTLS fell 0.48% on average, a down-week capture of 44.7%. Over the same 52 weeks FTLS returned +7.7% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 4.1 percentage points ahead of cash.

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 Nov 4, 2026 it returned +2.8% with distributions reinvested, against +2.9% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.9% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Nov 4, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are FTLS and GLD in the same category?: FTLS is an alternatives ETF and GLD is a commodity ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, FTLS or GLD?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTLS returned +8.5% and GLD +2.8%.
Which is cheaper, FTLS or GLD?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.98 percentage points a year. That is about $98 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

FTLS vs VOO FTLS vs QQQ FTLS vs SPY FTLS vs IVV CLSE vs GLD GLD vs ORR GLD vs LSEQ CSM vs GLD

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →SPY, the S&P 500 fund these are measured against →FTLS on its own →GLD on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →FTLS dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FTLS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FTLS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FTLS ↗

State Street website ↗

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

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ETFIQ, FTLS against GLD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftls-vs-gld

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