Are GLD and MNA in the same category?

GLD is a commodity ETF and MNA 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 MNA?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.8% and MNA +2.9%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or MNA?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.38 percentage points a year. That is about $38 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

GLD vs MNA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, GLD returned +2.8% to MNA's +2.9%, and GLD charges 0.40% to MNA's 0.78%.

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Net assets: $131.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $252m on Jul 31, 2026 for NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF.

GLD on its own →MNA on its own →

At a glance

+2.8%

GLD total return, 1 year

+2.9%

MNA total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.78%

MNA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.38 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points.

GLD vs MNA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	MNA
Return
Measure	GLD	MNA
Total return, 1 year	+2.8%	+2.9%
Total return, 52 weeks		+2.9%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	MNA
Below its high	24.9%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	GLD	MNA
What it tracks	Gold	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		0.7 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	MNA
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.78%
Net assets, GLD as of Nov 3, 2026 and MNA as of Jul 31, 2026	$131.3bn	$252m
Holdings
Measure	GLD	MNA
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	GLD	MNA
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.22
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.05: about 0.05% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.00%
Down-week capture		0.2%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell		26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares MNA NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer State Street New York Life Investments

What it is Holds gold Event driven

Total return, 1 year +2.8% +2.9%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.9% (IAU) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs IAU not measured

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.78%

Net assets, GLD as of Nov 3, 2026 and MNA as of Jul 31, 2026 $131.3bn $252m

GLD and MNA on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

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 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.

MNA

MNA is an event driven 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 +0.22 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.05, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.05% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks MNA fell 0.00% on average, a down-week capture of 0.2%. Over the same 52 weeks MNA returned +2.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 0.7 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are GLD and MNA in the same category?: GLD is a commodity ETF and MNA 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 MNA?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.8% and MNA +2.9%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or MNA?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.38 percentage points a year. That is about $38 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs MRGR GLD vs RSBA GLD vs MKTN GLD vs HFGM MNA vs VOO MNA vs QQQ MNA vs SPY IVV vs MNA

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →SPY, the S&P 500 fund these are measured against →GLD on its own →MNA on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →MNA dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

MNA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MNA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

New York Life Investments website ↗

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

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ETFIQ, GLD against MNA, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-mna

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