Get the weekly note
ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

Data as of .

GDX vs METL: which is really different?

GDX and METL hold 8% of their weight in the same names, and GDX returned more over the year.

VanEck Gold Miners ETF and Sprott Active Metals & Miners ETF.

10.9%GDX in the S&P 500
12.5%METL in the S&P 500
+39.8%GDX total return, 1 year
+32.8%METL total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: GDX scores higher

How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?

GDX 77.7METL 740.1, the lowest in this set91.8, the highest

A percentile among the 379 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All thematic ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed

GDX89% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 59% of the fund · 59 holdings filed Sep 17, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 59% of the fund
METL88% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
13%88%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 38% of the fund · 45 holdings filed Sep 18, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in13%88%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 38% of the fund

8% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, GDX and METL hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions GDX and METL both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingGDXMETL
Pan American Silver Corp2.72%3.07%
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp5.74%2.30%
Coeur Mining Inc2.19%1.14%
Cia De Minas Buenaventura Saa0.87%3.63%
Endeavour Silver Corp0.38%4.06%
Silvercorp Metals Inc0.35%0.60%
Only in each
Only in GDXOnly in METL
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd 10.99%Hudbay Minerals Inc. 4.30%
Newmont Corp 10.88%Nucor Corp. 4.28%
Barrick Mining Corp 7.75%Major Drilling Group International Inc. 4.03%
Franco-Nevada Corp 5.22%NexGen Energy Ltd. 3.66%
Anglogold Ashanti Plc 4.96%Cameco Corp. 3.59%
Kinross Gold Corp 4.12%Steel Dynamics Inc. 3.50%
Gold Fields Ltd 4.11%ATALAYA MINING COPPER SA 3.47%
Northern Star Resources Ltd 2.45%Vizsla Silver Corp. 3.38%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 18, 2026.

Performance, window by window

GDX and METL over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
GDXMETLGDXMETLGDXMETL
3 months+15.7%−4.2%+13.5 pts−6.5 pts+18.2 pts−1.8 pts
6 months+19.2%+10.9%+1.1 pts−7.1 pts−5.1 pts−13.3 pts
1 year+39.8%+32.8%+23.2 pts+16.2 pts+18.0 pts+11.0 pts
3 years+236.3%not published+157.8 ptsnot published+138.1 ptsnot published
Since launch+133.2%+35.0%−670.3 pts+16.6 pts−1557.0 pts+10.2 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
GDX and METL on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GDX
VanEck Gold Miners ETF
Holds 59 stocks in gold miners, 11% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
METL
Sprott Active Metals & Miners ETF
Holds 45 stocks in miners and metals, 12% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssuerVanEckSprott
ThemeGold minersMiners and metals
In the S&P 50010.9%12.5%
Active share vs the S&P 50099.8%99.7%
In the Nasdaq-1000.0%0.0%
Holdings5945
Top ten, share of the fund58.5%37.9%
Expense ratio0.51%0.99%
Fee for the differing part0.51%0.99%
Total return, 1 year+39.8%+32.8%
vs the S&P 500+23.2 pts+16.2 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100+18.0 pts+11.0 pts
Below its high−17.6%−19.4%
Net assets$28.4bn$85m

GDX in plain words

By weight, 11% of GDX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 58% of the fund across 59 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned +39.8% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 23.2 pts. It sits 17.6% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.

METL in plain words

By weight, 12% of METL's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 38% of the fund across 45 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned +32.8% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 16.2 pts. It sits 19.4% below its all-time high of Jan 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do GDX and METL hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 8% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is mostly different names. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, GDX or METL?
GDX has 11% of its weight in S&P 500 names and METL has 12%, so GDX differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, GDX or METL?
GDX charges 0.51% a year and METL charges 0.99%, so GDX is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

GDX against METL, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, GDX against METL, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/gdx-vs-metl Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources