Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GLD vs VBR: Differences, Returns & Fees
GLD is a commodity fund and VBR an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VBR returned +17.6% against +2.5%.
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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $35.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF.
Pair scorecard
VBR costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.1 points; GLD is 4.0 times larger.
| Measure | GLD | VBR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.5% | +17.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026 | 3.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Gold | Morningstar US Small Cap Value Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.05% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $141.7bn | $35.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 30% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 5.9% | |
Risk and return
Nov 26, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,143 weekly returnsGLD returned more: +709.5% to +570.4%. GLD swung less: 17.3% to 22.0%. GLD fell less at its worst: −44.7% to −61.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GLD | VBR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +709.5% | +570.4% | GLD | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.0% | +9.0% | GLD (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +709.5% | +318.0% | GLD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.3% | 22.0% | GLD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.9% | 15.5% | GLD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −44.7% | −61.3% | GLD | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.53 | 0.42 | GLD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.77 | 0.60 | GLD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.22 | 0.15 | GLD | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,143 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
GLD and VBR on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GLD and VBR do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. GLD follows Gold and VBR follows Morningstar US Small Cap Value Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLD returned +2.5% and VBR +17.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 15.1 points.
- Cost. GLD charges 0.40% of assets a year and VBR 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.
VBR
VBR tracks an index of Small-Cap Value. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 30% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 822 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 3.9% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GLD or VBR?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VBR +17.6%.
- Which is cheaper, GLD or VBR?
- VBR 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 VBR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-vbr
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GLD against VBR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-vbr
[GLD against VBR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-vbr)
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