GDX vs. GLDM: Gold Miners With Leverage or Direct Gold Price Exposure

VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT:GDX) offers equity exposure to gold mining companies with higher risk and return swings, while SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (NYSEMKT:GLDM) provides direct access to gold bullion prices at a much lower cost, with markedly less volatility.

GDX and GLDM serve different corners of the gold investment landscape: GDX tracks a basket of global gold miners, making it sensitive to both gold prices and mining company performance, while GLDM is designed to mirror the price movement of physical gold itself. This comparison looks at how these two popular options stack up on cost, risk, return, and underlying portfolio.

Snapshot (cost & size)

Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year weekly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months.

GLDM stands out for its much lower expense ratio, which could make it more attractive for cost-conscious investors, while GDX is pricier but comes with equity exposure to mining companies.

Performance & risk comparison

What's inside

GLDM is structured to reflect the price of physical gold, aiming for a close match with gold bullion performance over time. With 7.5 years on the market and $26.8 billion in assets under management, GLDM does not hold a diversified basket of companies—instead, it offers pure-play gold exposure. This approach results in a portfolio that is less volatile and less sensitive to factors affecting gold miners, such as operational risks or company-specific events.

GDX, by contrast, invests exclusively in gold mining companies. Its top holdings—Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE:AEM), Newmont Corp (NYSE:NEM), and Barrick Mining Corp (NYSE:B) add company and management risk on top of gold price movements. This can lead to higher volatility and potentially outsized gains or losses compared to direct gold exposure. With 55 holdings, GDX captures the performance of a broad segment of the global gold mining industry.

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What this means for investors

Gold exposure is often misunderstood because the same label can hide very different risks. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF and the SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust can both benefit over time when gold prices rise, but they get there through different paths. GLDM reflects the price of physical gold itself. GDX relies on how mining companies turn that price into profits, which involves a process that is influenced by costs, execution, and investor sentiment toward stocks. Choosing between the two ETFs means deciding whether you want exposure to gold’s price or to the economics of producing it.

The difference becomes most apparent when gold and stocks stop moving in sync. GLDM generally does what investors expect gold to do: track the metal and help steady a portfolio when confidence in financial markets weakens. GDX, on the other hand, adds operating leverage. When gold prices rise and margins improve, mining stocks can surge. But when costs increase, or equity markets sell off, miners can struggle even if gold is holding steady. The wider swings are not a flaw but reflect the realities of owning businesses rather than a commodity.

For investors, the choice is about how closely they want gold exposure to track the metal itself. GLDM is built for investors who want gold to behave like gold, with fewer moving parts and less reliance on company decisions. GDX is tied to how mining businesses perform, which means returns can run ahead of gold at times, but can also lag when costs rise or stock markets weaken.

Glossary

ETF: Exchange-traded fund that trades on stock exchanges and holds a basket of underlying assets.
Expense ratio: Annual fund fee, expressed as a percentage of assets, deducted to cover operating costs.
AUM: Assets under management; the total market value of all assets a fund manages.
Gold bullion ETF: An ETF that holds physical gold bars to closely track the spot price of gold.
Equity exposure: Investment exposure to stocks or stock-based securities, participating in company profits and losses.
Volatility: The degree of variation in an investment’s price over time, indicating how much it fluctuates.
Drawdown: The decline from an investment’s peak value to its subsequent lowest point over a period.
Max drawdown: The largest observed peak-to-trough decline in an investment’s value over a specified time frame.
Beta: A measure of an investment’s volatility relative to a benchmark index, often the S&P 500.
Total return: Investment performance including price changes plus all income, assuming dividends and distributions are reinvested.
Holdings: The individual securities or assets that make up a fund’s portfolio.
Sector allocation: How a fund’s assets are distributed across different industries or sectors of the economy.

Eric Trie has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.