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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights GLD, IAU, GLDM, SGOL and IAUM

Zacks Equity Research
Updated ·6-min read

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 17, 2023 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. ETFs recently featured in the blog include: SPDR Gold Trust ETF GLD, iShares Gold Trust IAU, SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust GLDM, Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF SGOL and iShares Gold Trust Micro IAUM.

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Gold ETFs Hit New 52-Week Highs

Gold has been shining in recent months, buoyed by safe-haven demand amid recession fears and the banking turmoil. The Fed rate hike paused bets; lower Treasury yields and a weaker dollar also added to the strength.

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The most actively traded gold-futures contract rose to $2,055.30 an ounce, up about 13% year-to-date. That has put the bullion within striking distance of its record high reached in the summer of 2020. After logging the best monthly performance since July 2020, gold is on track for the second consecutive gain in April (read: Gold Shines in March: 5 ETFs That Gained the Most).

With the rise in prices, almost all gold ETFs hit a new 52-week high in the last trading session. We have highlighted the most popular ones that are flying high. Each of these funds gained 10.4% from a year-to-date look.

Behind the Rise in Gold Price

The latest batch of economic data points to a slowdown in the economy, prompting bets that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its rate-hike cycle. The yellow metal is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding bullion. A pause or slowdown in the pace of rate hikes will lift gold price higher. The CME FedWatch tool shows markets are pricing in a 66.8% chance of a 25 basis-point hike in May, with rate cuts seen in the back half of the year.

Additionally, the recent collapse of several U.S. banks led to worries about financial instability across the globe, thus raising the appeal for the yellow metal as a safe haven and a store of value. Growing recession fears and intensifying geopolitical tensions compelled investors to flock to gold. The International Monetary Fund warned that the risk of a recession has grown for advanced economies in the wake of bank failures in the United States and Europe and slashed its outlook for global growth this year.

Notably, gold is often used as a means of preserving wealth during times of financial and political uncertainty. It usually does well when other asset classes struggle (read: 4 ETF Areas to Benefit as Geopolitical Concerns Intensifying).

The dollar index slid to a one-year low, supporting the rally in the gold price as a weak dollar makes bullion cheaper for overseas buyers. Further, a boost in gold buying by central banks this year has added fuel to the rally.

Here's a detailed discussion on the five ETFs mentioned earlier:

SPDR Gold Trust ETF

SPDR Gold Trust ETF tracks the price of gold bullion measured in U.S. dollars and kept in London under the custody of HSBC Bank USA. It is an ultra-popular gold ETF, with AUM of $60 billion and a heavy volume of about 7.6 million shares a day.

SPDR Gold Trust ETF charges 40 bps in fees per year from investors and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook (read: 5 ETFs to Play as Inflation Cools Down to 5%).

iShares Gold Trust

iShares Gold Trust offers exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of gold bullion. It is backed by physical gold under the custody of JP Morgan Chase Bank in London.

iShares Gold Trust charges 25 bps in annual fees. It is liquid and popular, trading in average daily volumes of 5 million shares and has AUM of $29 billion.

SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust

SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion. It is a slightly modified alternative to the State Street behemoth gold fund SPDR Gold Trust ETF.

SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust is the low-cost choice in the U.S. listed physically gold-backed ETF space, charging investors 10 bps in annual fees. It has $6.2 billion in AUM and trades in a solid average daily volume of 1.2 million shares.

Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF

Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF tracks the price of gold bullion. The Trust holds allocated physical gold bullion bars stored in secure vaults in Zurich, Switzerland and London, the United Kingdom.

Aberdeen Standard Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF has amassed $2.7 billion in its asset base and trades in a solid volume of 2.5 million shares per day. It charges 17 bps in annual fees per year.

iShares Gold Trust Micro

iShares Gold Trust Micro offers exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of gold bullion. It is the lowest-cost gold ETF on the market, having an expense ratio of 0.09% (read: Can Gold ETFs Continue Their Winning Run?).

iShares Gold Trust Micro has amassed $1 billion in its asset base while trading in an average daily volume of 428,000 shares.

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Zacks Investment Research

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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SPDR Gold Shares (GLD): ETF Research Reports

iShares Gold Trust (IAU): ETF Research Reports

abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL): ETF Research Reports

SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM): ETF Research Reports

iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM): ETF Research Reports

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Zacks Investment Research