Are GLD and HEDG in the same category?

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

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

In the year to Oct 27, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +1.4% and HEDG +9.4%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or HEDG?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.56 percentage points a year. That is about $56 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 27, 2026.

Across categories

GLD vs HEDG: Differences, Returns & Fees

Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, GLD returned +1.4% to HEDG's +9.4%, and GLD charges 0.40% to HEDG's 0.96%.

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Net assets: $134.6bn on Oct 26, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $427m on Jul 31, 2026 for Equable Shares Hedged Equity ETF.

GLD on its own →HEDG on its own →

At a glance

+1.4%

GLD total return, 1 year

+9.4%

HEDG total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.96%

HEDG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.56 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.0 points.

GLD vs HEDG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	HEDG
Return
Measure	GLD	HEDG
Total return, 1 year	+1.4%	+9.4%
Total return, 52 weeks		+9.4%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	HEDG
Below its high	24.9%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	GLD	HEDG
What it tracks	Gold	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		5.8 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	HEDG
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.96%
Net assets, GLD as of Oct 26, 2026 and HEDG as of Jul 31, 2026	$134.6bn	$427m
Holdings
Measure	GLD	HEDG
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	GLD	HEDG
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.85
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.28: about 0.28% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.21%
Down-week capture		19.4%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell		25 of 52, by 1.10% on average

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares HEDG Equable Shares Hedged Equity ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer State Street Equable Shares

What it is Holds gold Hedged equity

Total return, 1 year +1.4% +9.4%

Its benchmark over the same days +1.6% (IAU) +13.6% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU −4.2 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.96%

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 26, 2026 and HEDG as of Jul 31, 2026 $134.6bn $427m

GLD and HEDG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 27, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

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 27, 2026 it returned +1.4% with distributions reinvested, against +1.6% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.9% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 27, 2026.

HEDG

HEDG is a hedged equity fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.85 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.28, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.28% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 25 of those 52 weeks, by 1.10% on average. In the same weeks HEDG fell 0.21% on average, a down-week capture of 19.4%. Over the same 52 weeks HEDG returned +9.4% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 5.8 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are GLD and HEDG in the same category?: GLD is a commodity ETF and HEDG is an alternatives ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, GLD or HEDG?: In the year to Oct 27, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +1.4% and HEDG +9.4%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or HEDG?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.56 percentage points a year. That is about $56 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs SHDG GLD vs TAIL GLD vs PHEQ GLD vs KSPY HEDG vs VOO HEDG vs QQQ HEDG vs SPY HEDG vs IVV

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

HEDG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HEDG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Equable Shares website ↗

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

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ETFIQ, GLD against HEDG, data as of Oct 27, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-hedg

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