ETF Versus

GLDM vs XLU

SPDR Gold MiniShares vs State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-10

GLDM SPDR

SPDR Gold MiniShares (GLDM) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to gold securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.10%. Launched in 2018, the fund has a 8-year track record.

AUM: $31.3B ER: 0.10% Yield: N/A Since: Jun 25, 2018
XLU SPDR

State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to us sector - utilities securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers an attractive dividend yield of 2.51%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $25.1B ER: 0.08% Yield: 2.51% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

XLU has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.08% vs 0.10%), saving about $40 per $10,000 over 10 years. Over the past year, GLDM has significantly outperformed with a 50.3% return vs 25.8%.

Key Metrics

Metric GLDM XLU
Expense Ratio 0.10% 0.08%
Dividend Yield N/A 2.5%
Fund Family SPDR SPDR
Category Gold US Sector - Utilities

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

85 130 175 220 265 310 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
GLDM +173.7%
XLU +46.2%

Performance Comparison

Period GLDM XLU Difference
1 Month -8.03% +2.70% -10.73%
3 Months +3.80% +11.36% -7.56%
6 Months +15.97% +4.33% +11.64%
YTD +10.05% +9.81% +0.24%
1 Year +50.25% +25.77% +24.48%
3 Years +137.19% +36.00% +101.19%
5 Years +173.65% +46.16% +127.49%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period GLDM Fees XLU Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $199 $159 $40
$10,000 20 years $856 $686 $170
$10,000 30 years $2,758 $2,212 $546
$50,000 10 years $995 $797 $198
$50,000 30 years $13,790 $11,061 $2,728
$100,000 30 years $27,580 $22,123 $5,457

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric GLDM XLU
Annualized Volatility 17.7% 17.2%
Max Drawdown -20.9% -28.1%
Sharpe Ratio 0.98 0.27

Dividend Comparison

Metric GLDM XLU
Annual Dividend (per share) $0.00 $1.19
Dividend Yield 0.00% 2.51%
Distribution Frequency None Quarterly

Top Holdings

XLU Top Holdings

NameWeight
NextEra Energy, Inc.NEE13.52%
The Southern CompanySO7.38%
Duke Energy CorporationDUK7.06%
Constellation Energy CorporationCEG6.11%
American Electric Power Company, Inc.AEP5.02%
SempraSRE4.45%
Dominion Energy, Inc.D3.72%
Entergy CorporationETR3.57%
Exelon CorporationEXC3.47%
Vistra Corp.VST3.42%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose XLU if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose GLDM if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

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