Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
GLD vs ISMF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, GLD returned +2.8% to ISMF's +10.9%, and GLD charges 0.40% to ISMF's 0.80%.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $131.3bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $37m for iShares Managed Futures Active ETF.
Pair scorecard
GLD costs 0.40 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.1 points; GLD is far larger, $135.0bn against $37m.
| Measure | GLD | ISMF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.8% | +10.9% |
| Total return, 52 weeks | +10.5% | |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 24.9%, high on Jan 29, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Gold | not published |
| Treasury bills, 52 weeks | +3.7% | |
| Against cash | 6.8 points ahead | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.80% |
| Net assets | $135.0bn | $37m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Risk | ||
| Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns | +0.48 | |
| Beta to the S&P 500 | +0.31: about 0.31% for each 1% | |
| Its average week when the S&P 500 fell | fell 0.38% | |
| Down-week capture | 35.9% | |
| Weeks the S&P 500 fell | 26 of 52, by 1.07% on average | |
Risk and return
Mar 21, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 84 weekly returnsFrom Mar 2025 to Oct 2026, GLD returned more: +27.8% to +19.7%. ISMF swung less: 6.8% to 22.3%. ISMF fell less at its worst: −3.6% to −26.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GLD | ISMF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +27.8% | +19.7% | GLD | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +16.4% | +11.8% | GLD | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +27.8% | +12.5% | GLD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.3% | 6.8% | ISMF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.8% | 5.0% | ISMF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −26.5% | −3.6% | ISMF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.61 | 1.09 | ISMF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.93 | 1.48 | ISMF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.62 | 3.30 | ISMF | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 84 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
GLD and ISMF on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Client brief:
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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.
ISMF
ISMF 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 Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.48 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.31, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.31% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks ISMF fell 0.38% on average, a down-week capture of 35.9%. Over the same 52 weeks ISMF returned +10.5% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 6.8 percentage points ahead of cash.
Questions people ask
- Are GLD and ISMF in the same category?
- GLD is a commodity ETF and ISMF 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 ISMF?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.8% and ISMF +10.9%.
- Which is cheaper, GLD or ISMF?
- GLD is cheaper, by 0.40 percentage points a year. That is about $40 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
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ETFIQ, GLD against ISMF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-ismf
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). GLD against ISMF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-ismf
[GLD against ISMF (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-ismf)
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