Data as of Sep 19, 2026.
GLD vs HFMF: how they differ
Over the year GLD returned more, +19.5% to HFMF's +8.7%, and GLD charges 0.40% to HFMF's 0.97%.
SPDR Gold Shares and Unlimited HFMF Managed Futures ETF.
| GLD SPDR Gold Shares | HFMF Unlimited HFMF Managed Futures ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core fund | Alternatives ETF |
| Issuer | State Street | Unlimited |
| What it is | Holds gold | Managed futures |
| Total return, 1 year | +19.5% | +8.7% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +3.0 pts | −7.9 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.97% |
| Net assets | $147.8bn | $23m |
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.
HFMF in plain words
HFMF is a managed futures 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 +0.20 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.24, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.24% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 22 of those 52 weeks, by 1.24% on average. In the same weeks HFMF fell 0.16% on average, a down-week capture of 12.7%. Over the same 52 weeks HFMF returned +8.7% and a Treasury bill fund +3.6%, so it finished 5.0 percentage points ahead of cash.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GLD or HFMF?
- In the year to Sep 19, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +19.5% and HFMF returned +8.7%, so GLD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, GLD or HFMF?
- GLD charges 0.40% a year and HFMF charges 0.97%, so GLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are GLD and HFMF the same kind of fund?
- No. GLD is a commodity ETF and HFMF 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 HFMF, data as of Sep 19, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-hfmf Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources