Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GLD vs MGK: Differences, Returns & Fees
GLD is a commodity fund and MGK an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MGK returned +7.8% against +2.5%.
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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $34.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF.
Pair scorecard
MGK costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.3 points; GLD is 4.1 times larger.
| Measure | GLD | MGK |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.5% | +7.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026 | 4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Gold | Morningstar US Mega Cap Growth Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.05% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $141.7bn | $34.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 99% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 64.5% | |
Risk and return
Jan 4, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 981 weekly returnsMGK returned more: +1,024.1% to +330.6%. GLD swung less: 17.1% to 19.5%. GLD fell slightly less at its worst: −44.7% to −46.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GLD | MGK | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +330.6% | +1,024.1% | MGK | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.0% | +13.7% | MGK | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +330.6% | +823.8% | MGK | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.1% | 19.5% | GLD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.7% | 13.3% | GLD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −44.7% | −46.4% | GLD (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.45 | 0.68 | MGK | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.66 | 1.00 | MGK | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.18 | 0.30 | MGK | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 981 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
GLD and MGK on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GLD and MGK do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. GLD follows Gold and MGK follows Morningstar US Mega Cap Growth Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLD returned +2.5% and MGK +7.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.3 points.
- Cost. GLD charges 0.40% of assets a year and MGK 0.05%, a gap of 0.35 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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 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.
MGK
MGK tracks an index of Mega Cap Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 54 positions, with the top ten at 64.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GLD or MGK?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and MGK +7.8%.
- Which is cheaper, GLD or MGK?
- MGK is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
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ETFIQ, GLD against MGK, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-mgk
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