Data as of Sep 19, 2026.
GLD vs HFGM: how they differ
Over the year GLD returned more, +19.5% to HFGM's +12.8%, and GLD charges 0.40% to HFGM's 1.01%.
SPDR Gold Shares and Unlimited HFGM Global Macro ETF.
| GLD SPDR Gold Shares | HFGM Unlimited HFGM Global Macro ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core fund | Alternatives ETF |
| Issuer | State Street | Unlimited |
| What it is | Holds gold | Global macro |
| Total return, 1 year | +19.5% | +12.8% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +3.0 pts | −3.8 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 1.01% |
| Net assets | $147.8bn | $155m |
GLD in plain words
GLD holds gold. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 it returned +19.5% with distributions reinvested, against +16.6% for the S&P 500 and +21.8% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.40% a year. It sat 19.1% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 18, 2026.
HFGM in plain words
HFGM is a global macro fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.57 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.89, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.89% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 22 of those 52 weeks, by 1.24% on average. In the same weeks HFGM fell 0.92% on average, a down-week capture of 73.9%. Over the same 52 weeks HFGM returned +12.7% and a Treasury bill fund +3.6%, so it finished 9.1 percentage points ahead of cash.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GLD or HFGM?
- In the year to Sep 19, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +19.5% and HFGM returned +12.8%, so GLD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, GLD or HFGM?
- GLD charges 0.40% a year and HFGM charges 1.01%, so GLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are GLD and HFGM the same kind of fund?
- No. GLD is a commodity ETF and HFGM is an alternatives ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.
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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 HFGM, data as of Sep 19, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-hfgm Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources