Which returned more over the last year, GLDM or SDY?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLDM returned +2.8% and SDY +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, GLDM or SDY?

GLDM is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

GLDM vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLDM is a commodity fund and SDY an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SDY returned +16.5% against +2.8%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $30.6bn for SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust and $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.

GLDM on its own →SDY on its own →

At a glance

+2.8%

GLDM total return, 1 year

+16.5%

SDY total return, 1 year

0.10%

GLDM expense ratio

0.35%

SDY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLDM costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.7 points; GLDM is 1.4 times larger.

GLDM vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLDM	SDY
Return
Measure	GLDM	SDY
Total return, 1 year	+2.8%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	GLDM	SDY
Below its high	24.5%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLDM	SDY
What it tracks	Gold	S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLDM	SDY
Expense ratio	0.10%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$30.6bn	$21.9bn
Holdings
Measure	GLDM	SDY
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		84%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		20.4%

Method

Risk and return

Jul 6, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 433 weekly returns

GLDM SDY

Return

Total return edge GLDM +215.1% +110.4%

Annualized edge GLDM +14.8% +9.3%

Price return edge GLDM +215.1% +68.2%

Risk

Volatility edge GLDM (slight) 16.0% 17.5%

Max drawdown edge GLDM −24.0% −32.4%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge GLDM 0.77 0.44

Sortino edge GLDM 1.17 0.62

Calmar edge GLDM 0.62 0.29

Reading

GLDM returned more: +215.1% to +110.4%. GLDM swung slightly less: 16.0% to 17.5%. GLDM fell less at its worst: −24.0% to −32.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GLDM vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLDM	SDY	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+215.1%	+110.4%	GLDM	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+14.8%	+9.3%	GLDM	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+215.1%	+68.2%	GLDM	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	16.0%	17.5%	GLDM (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	10.5%	12.5%	GLDM	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−24.0%	−32.4%	GLDM	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.77	0.44	GLDM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.17	0.62	GLDM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.62	0.29	GLDM	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 433 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

GLDM SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust SDY State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Holds gold Tracks the S&P Dividend

Total return, 1 year +2.8% +16.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +0.3 pts vs GLD not measured

Expense ratio 0.10% 0.35%

Holdings not counted 156

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $30.6bn $21.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-2654E133EF

GLDM and SDY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. GLDM follows Gold and SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLDM returned +2.8% and SDY +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 13.7 points.
Cost. GLDM charges 0.10% of assets a year and SDY 0.35%, a gap of 0.25 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

GLDM

Its expense ratio is 0.10% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

GLDM holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.8% with distributions reinvested, against +2.5% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.5% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

SDY

SDY tracks the S&P Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLDM or SDY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLDM returned +2.8% and SDY +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, GLDM or SDY?: GLDM is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLDM vs RSP GLDM vs NOBL GLDM vs VOE COWZ vs GLDM IAU vs SDY SDY vs USO SDY vs SLV SDY vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

SDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SDY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, GLDM against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gldm-vs-sdy

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