Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

vsCompare their flowsaskIQ about these two fundsAsk the committee about these two funds
Across categories

GLDM vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share
Share on XDownload as PDF

GLDM is a commodity fund and VGSH a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLDM returned +2.8% against +1.7%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about GLDM and VGSH

Net assets: $30.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust, and $35.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF.

At a glance
+2.8%
GLDM total return, 1 year
+1.7%
VGSH total return, 1 year
0.10%
GLDM expense ratio
0.03%
VGSH expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VGSH costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.1 points; VGSH is 1.1 times larger.

GLDM vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureGLDMVGSH
Return
Total return, 1 year+2.8%+1.7%
Drawdown
Below its high24.5%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksGoldBloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.10%0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$30.7bn$35.1bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published

Method

Risk and return

Jul 6, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 433 weekly returns
GLDM VGSH
Return
Total return edge GLDM +215.1% +19.3%
Annualized edge GLDM +14.8% +2.1%
Price return edge GLDM +215.1% −3.5%
Risk
Volatility edge VGSH 16.0% 1.6%
Max drawdown edge VGSH −24.0% −5.5%
Downside capture 99.6% 96.0%
Beta 1.00 0.98
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge GLDM 0.77 −0.42
Sortino edge GLDM 1.17 −0.59
Treynor 0.123 −0.002
Calmar edge GLDM 0.62 0.39
Against the benchmark
Alpha +0.3% a year 0.0% a year
Alpha t-stat 1.42 0.22
Information ratio 0.43 0.07
Tracking error 0.6% 0.3%

Each against its own benchmark: GLDM against GLD, Jul 6, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026; VGSH against SCHO, Aug 13, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

GLDM returned more: +215.1% to +19.3%. VGSH swung less: 1.6% to 16.0%. VGSH fell less at its worst: −5.5% to −24.0%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: GLDM vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureGLDMVGSHEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+215.1%+19.3%GLDMPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+14.8%+2.1%GLDMTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+215.1%−3.5%GLDMPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility16.0%1.6%VGSHSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation10.5%1.1%VGSHLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−24.0%−5.5%VGSHDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture100.0%97.7%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture99.6%96.0%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta1.000.98Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared1.000.94Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.77−0.42GLDMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.17−0.59GLDMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.123−0.002Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.620.39GLDMAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkGLDSCHOThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+0.3% a year0.0% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat1.420.22Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−0.1% to +0.7%−0.1% to +0.2%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio0.430.07Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error0.6%0.3%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

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 VGSH Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF
Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF
What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Short-Term Treasury
Total return, 1 year +2.8% +1.7%
Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) +1.8% (SCHO)
Gap to its benchmark +0.3 pts vs GLD −0.1 pts vs SCHO
Expense ratio 0.10% 0.03%
Holdings not counted 93
Net assets, GLDM as of Oct 27, 2026 and VGSH as of Sep 30, 2026 $30.6bn $35.1bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CF4C89B36F

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

  1. What each follows. GLDM follows Gold and VGSH follows Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index.
  2. One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLDM returned +2.8% and VGSH +1.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 1.1 points.
  3. Cost (similar). GLDM charges 0.10% of assets a year and VGSH 0.03%, a gap of 0.07 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

GLDM flows, by email on Sundays.

One-click unsubscribe. See Privacy.

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.

VGSH

VGSH tracks an index of Short-Term Treasury. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against +1.8% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLDM or VGSH?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLDM returned +2.8% and VGSH +1.7%.
Which is cheaper, GLDM or VGSH?
VGSH is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
Other comparisons
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.