Over 3 years, GLD compounded at +31.3% a year and GDX at +52.1% a year.
GLD (SPDR® Gold Shares) is the physical gold and GDX (VanEck Gold Miners ETF) is the gold miners. This page tracks the difference in price, risk, and relative strength, and refreshes weekly.
Performance & Risk Snapshot
GLD vs GDX · adjusted close data, as of September 4, 2026
| Metric | GLD
Physical gold | GDX
Gold miners |
|---|
| Total return |
| 1 week | −0.5% | −0.4% |
| 1 month | +4.4% | +18.3% |
| 3 months | +2.7% | +25.9% |
| 1 year | +24.5% | +54.8% |
| 3 years annualized | +31.3% | +52.1% |
| 5 years annualized | +19.2% | +27.0% |
| Full period annualized, since 2006 | +9.5% | +5.8% |
| Risk (trailing 3Y) |
| Volatility annualized, Yang–Zhang | 21.1% | 39.3% |
| Max drawdown | −26.4% | −38.9% |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.27 | 1.05 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.77 | 1.48 |
| Calmar ratio | 1.18 | 1.34 |
| Trend (price vs its own SMA) |
| Price vs 10-month SMA regime | Below | Above |
| Price vs 13-week SMA intermediate | Above | Above |
| Cost & income |
| Expense ratio | 0.400% | 0.510% |
| Dividend yield TTM | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| Assets under management | $146B | $29B |
| Relationship |
| Correlation to each other daily, 3Y | 0.83 |
| GDX beta to GLD | 1.55 |
| Correlation to SPY daily, 3Y | 0.17 | 0.32 |
How to read this. The snapshot table starts with a 3-year pair correlation of 0.83. It then shows 3-year volatility of 21.1% for GLD and 39.3% for GDX, with max drawdowns of 26.4% and 38.9% over the same window.
This week
GLD fell 0.5% and trades below its regime trend and above its intermediate trend. GDX fell 0.4% and trades above its regime trend and above its intermediate trend. GDX relative to GLD rose 0.1%, with no cross this week, and sits near the top of its 12-month range; GLD is 18.0% below its January 29, 2026 high and GDX 14.3% below its February 27, 2026 high.
GDX/GLD ratio
0.244
12-mo range 0.187 to 0.247
Ratio, 1 week
+0.1%
week over week
GLD from high
−18.0%
from its January 29, 2026 high
GDX from high
−14.3%
from its February 27, 2026 high
Stock exposure
GLD holds only the physical metal. GDX has 58.3% in its top 10 holdings, with its top names concentrated in Basic Materials.
Top 10 Holdings & Weights
Share of fund assets in each of the ten largest positions
GDX top 10
Top 10 = 58.3% of the fund
NEM10.71%
AEM10.64%
ABX7.39%
WPM5.74%
AU5.34%
FNV4.71%
K4.35%
GFI4.28%
PAAS2.63%
NST2.56%
Growth of $100
Over the full period, GLD compounded at +9.5% a year and GDX at +5.8% a year. Over 5 years, GLD compounded at +19.2% a year and GDX at +27.0% a year.
Max historyMONTHLY · MAX HISTORY
GDX / GLD Ratio
The ratio tracks GDX relative to GLD, and a rising line means GDX is leading GLD. The ratio sits above its 10-month moving average and above its 13-week moving average, and the near-term trend favors GDX.
Max historyMONTHLY · 10M SMA
Last 5 yearsWEEKLY · 13W SMA
Where the ratio stands
Full-range percentile
68th
GDX/GLD full history
5-year percentile
99th
within last 5 years
Z-score
0.01
vs full-history mean
The ratio stands at the 68th percentile of full history and the 99th percentile of the last 5 years. Its z-score is 0.01.
Rolling Volatility
The latest 126-day volatility reading is 27.3% for GLD and 52.6% for GDX.
Annualized realized volatility (Yang–Zhang)WEEKLY · 5Y · 126D WINDOW
Rolling Correlation (GDX vs GLD)
The latest 126-day correlation between GLD and GDX is 0.88. A higher reading means the two funds move more tightly together.
GDX – GLD daily-return correlationWEEKLY · 5Y · 126D WINDOW
Rolling Correlation to Equities
The latest 126-day correlation to the S&P 500 is 0.53 for GLD and 0.59 for GDX. That gap means GLD's path has separated more from the index at the latest 126-day reading.
Correlation to the S&P 500 (SPY)WEEKLY · 5Y · 126D WINDOW
Drawdown
Over the trailing three years, GLD posted a max drawdown of 26.4% and GDX 38.9%.
Drawdown from prior peak (dashed lines mark the 3Y and 5Y max drawdown)DAILY · 5Y
Time underwater
GLD longest underwater
106 mo
2011 to 2020
GDX longest underwater
167 mo
2011 to 2025
GLD spent 106 months (2011 to 2020) below its prior peak and GDX 167 months (2011 to 2025).
Upside / Downside Capture
Across full common history, monthly returns, GDX captured 173% of GLD's up moves and 206% of GLD's down moves. The capture ratio is 0.84, which points to larger participation on down moves than on up moves.
Upside capture
173%
GDX vs GLD, up months, full period
Downside capture
206%
GDX vs GLD, down months, full period
Capture ratio
0.84
up ÷ down, full period
Beyond the price
Tax treatment. GLD is a grantor trust holding bullion, so long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate (up to 28%), not the lower rate on equity gains. GDX holds equities and is taxed as a normal position. Income. Bullion pays nothing, while GDX carries a 0.8% yield. Cost. GLD's 0.400% expense ratio sits below GDX's 0.510%.
Where these fit at Quantlake
Quantlake's model portfolios use direct bullion exposure (GLD or IAU) rather than miners, for its lower equity correlation and volatility. Gold appears in the All Weather-Inspired, Bogle+, and Growth & Stability models, each sizing it differently against the rest of the book.
Related
Definitions
Total return: price change plus reinvested dividends, using adjusted-close prices.
Annualized volatility (Yang–Zhang): spread of returns scaled to one year; the Yang–Zhang estimator uses the open, high, low, and close of each bar, so it is more efficient than a close-to-close estimate.
Maximum drawdown: the largest peak-to-trough decline over the period.
Sharpe ratio: return earned per unit of total volatility.
Sortino ratio: like Sharpe, but penalizes only downside volatility.
Calmar ratio: annualized return divided by the worst drawdown.
Trend filters (regime / intermediate / tactical): moving-average timeframes in the Quantlake taxonomy: the 10-month average marks the regime (long-term) trend, the 13-week the intermediate trend, and the 20-day the tactical trend. A price or ratio above its average is an uptrend on that horizon, below it a downtrend.
Correlation: co-movement between two return streams, from −1 to +1.
Beta: sensitivity to a reference; a beta of 2 moves about twice a given reference move.
Relative-strength ratio: one fund's price divided by another; a rising ratio means the numerator is outperforming.
Upside / downside capture: the share of the benchmark's up (down) moves the fund reproduces; a capture ratio above 1 is favorable.
The Bottom Line
GLD has delivered the stronger full-period compounding record, and GDX has delivered the stronger recent multi-year run with higher risk. The pair ties closely to gold, but miners add more operating sensitivity and longer recovery spans.
Romain Gandon
CEO, Quantlake
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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