Are GLD and QAI in the same category?

GLD is a commodity ETF and QAI 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 QAI?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.8% and QAI +7.7%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or QAI?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 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 QAI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, GLD returned +2.8% to QAI's +7.7%, and GLD charges 0.40% to QAI's 0.81%.

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Net assets: $131.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $1.0bn on Jul 31, 2026 for NYLIM Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF.

GLD on its own →QAI on its own →

At a glance

+2.8%

GLD total return, 1 year

+7.7%

QAI total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.81%

QAI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.9 points.

GLD vs QAI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	QAI
Return
Measure	GLD	QAI
Total return, 1 year	+2.8%	+7.7%
Total return, 52 weeks		+7.1%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	QAI
Below its high	24.9%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	GLD	QAI
What it tracks	Gold	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		3.5 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	QAI
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.81%
Net assets, GLD as of Nov 3, 2026 and QAI as of Jul 31, 2026	$131.3bn	$1.0bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	QAI
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	GLD	QAI
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.89
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.45: about 0.45% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.54%
Down-week capture		50.9%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell		26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares QAI NYLIM Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer State Street New York Life Investments

What it is Holds gold Multi-strategy

Total return, 1 year +2.8% +7.7%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.9% (IAU) +14.8% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs IAU −7.1 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.81%

Net assets, GLD as of Nov 3, 2026 and QAI as of Jul 31, 2026 $131.3bn $1.0bn

GLD and QAI 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.

QAI

QAI is a multi-strategy 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 +0.89 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.45, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.45% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks QAI fell 0.54% on average, a down-week capture of 50.9%. Over the same 52 weeks QAI returned +7.1% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 3.5 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are GLD and QAI in the same category?: GLD is a commodity ETF and QAI 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 QAI?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.8% and QAI +7.7%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or QAI?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs LALT FLSP vs GLD GLD vs QIS GLD vs HFND QAI vs VOO QAI vs QQQ QAI vs SPY IVV vs QAI

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

QAI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QAI 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 QAI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-qai

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