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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and MAGS +5.8%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or MAGS?

MAGS is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

GLD vs MAGS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and MAGS an actively managed equity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MAGS returned +5.8% against +2.5%.

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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $5.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF.

GLD on its own →MAGS on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+5.8%

MAGS total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.30%

MAGS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

MAGS costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.3 points; GLD is far larger, $135.8bn against $5.5bn.

GLD vs MAGS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	MAGS
Return
Measure	GLD	MAGS
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+5.8%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	MAGS
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.1%, high on Oct 13, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	MAGS
What it tracks	Gold	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	MAGS
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.30%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$5.5bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	MAGS
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		22%
Holdings dated		Jun 30, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		29.3%

Method

Risk and return

Apr 21, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 183 weekly returns

GLD MAGS

Return

Total return edge MAGS +99.0% +189.1%

Annualized edge MAGS +21.6% +35.2%

Price return edge MAGS +99.0% +181.4%

Risk

Volatility edge GLD 18.0% 24.0%

Max drawdown edge GLD (slight) −24.2% −26.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge MAGS 0.92 1.19

Sortino edge MAGS 1.44 1.97

Calmar edge MAGS 0.89 1.33

Reading

MAGS returned more: +189.1% to +99.0%. GLD swung less: 18.0% to 24.0%. GLD fell slightly less at its worst: −24.2% to −26.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GLD vs MAGS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	MAGS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+99.0%	+189.1%	MAGS	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+21.6%	+35.2%	MAGS	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+99.0%	+181.4%	MAGS	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	18.0%	24.0%	GLD	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.5%	14.5%	GLD	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−24.2%	−26.6%	GLD (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.92	1.19	MAGS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.44	1.97	MAGS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.89	1.33	MAGS	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 183 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares MAGS Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street Roundhill

What it is Holds gold Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +5.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU not measured

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.30%

Holdings not counted 8

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and MAGS as of Oct 28, 2026 $135.8bn $5.5bn

GLD and MAGS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-7F576AFBBC

GLD and MAGS do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. GLD follows Gold and MAGS follows No index, actively managed.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLD returned +2.5% and MAGS +5.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.3 points.
Cost. GLD charges 0.40% of assets a year and MAGS 0.30%, a gap of 0.10 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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 28, 2026 it returned +2.5% with distributions reinvested, against +2.7% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.7% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

MAGS

MAGS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +5.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.30% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 8 positions, with the top ten at 29.3%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Oct 13, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or MAGS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and MAGS +5.8%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or MAGS?: MAGS is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs XOVR GLD vs VOOG GLD vs MGK GLD vs VONG IAU vs MAGS GLDM vs MAGS MAGS vs SLV MAGS vs SIVR

Where to next

GLD on its own →MAGS on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →MAGS dividend history →MAGS holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

MAGS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MAGS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Roundhill page for MAGS ↗

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

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ETFIQ, GLD against MAGS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-mags

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