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Launched · SEC filings

Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF

AAAUCboeGoldman SachsB

$38.87+0.60 (+1.57%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

B64/ 100

Rank 5 of 10 in Physical Gold

B64/100Rank 5 of 10inPhysical Gold
Intraday session: up, 79 prints from 38.27 to 38.87. Range 38.81 to 39.10. Use the arrow keys to read each point.38.4038.6039.0010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.18%
Fund size
$2.55B
1Y total return
−3.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
No data
Holdings
1
Avg volume · 30D
1.33M sh
52W range
low $38.14high $54.71
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net AAAU Grade

Based on 5 of 6 pillars

B

Score 64 out of 100

Category
Physical Gold⁠
Rank
5 of 10
Six-pillar profile for AAAU. Scores out of 100: Cost 59, Risk 49, Mission 100, Tradability 39, Holdings not scored, Durability 41. Strongest: Mission (100). Weakest: Tradability (39). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.

Score 64 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    B59 out of 100
    Rank 4 of 10

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    A100 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 9

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    C49 out of 100
    Rank 2 of 10

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    D39 out of 100
    Rank 7 of 10

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    Not scored

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    C41 out of 100
    Rank 7 of 10

Our read on AAAU

ETF.net Research

In short

BGoldman's bullion box. AAAU holds physical gold and its shares are built to reflect the metal's price minus a 0.18% fee. No manager, no strategy, no index games. Open since 2018 and now a multi-billion-dollar trust.

Stated mandate

The Shares are designed to reflect the price of gold, less the Trust’s operating expenses. The Trust is not actively managed.

Why people hold it

  • One job, plainly done: the trust holds physical gold and its shares are designed to reflect gold's price less operating expenses. Not actively managed.
  • A multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund, the kind of scale and turnover that helps keep the share price tethered to the bullion behind it.
  • Trading since 2018 with Goldman Sachs as sponsor: an established wrapper, not a recent launch hoping to gather assets.

Worth knowing

  • Not the cheapest bullion on the shelf. GLDM and IAUM charge roughly a tenth of a percent and FGDL runs at zero, against 0.18% here.
  • No income here. The trust has paid no distributions, so the entire result rides on the metal's price.
  • Expenses come off the top: shares reflect gold's price less the trust's costs, a small ongoing drag that compounds the longer you hold.

AAAU Holdings

Asset class
Other
Holdings
1
Top-10 weight
100%
Largest holding
Physical Gold100.0%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueHeld by ETFs
1No dataPhysical Gold100.00%0$2.55B8

Showing 1–1 of 1 holdings

AAAU Performance

Launched Jul 26, 2018

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

Not enough history yet.
AAAU$9,694
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. AAAU $9,694. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$12,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for AAAU. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodAAAU
Year to date−10.1%
1 month−6.6%
3 months−4.2%
1 year−3.1%
3 yearsper year+24.8%
5 yearsper year+16.6%
10 yearsFund is under 10 years oldper yearNo data

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for AAAU
YearReturn barAAAU
2026 YTD−10.1%
2025+64.0%
2024+27.0%
2023+12.9%
2022−0.5%
2021−4.0%
2020+25.0%

AAAU in the news

AAAU Dividends

This fund pays no distributions.
No dataLast 12 months
Payout per share
No dataLast 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

AAAU Risk

Risk pillarC49 out of 100Rank 2 of 10 in Physical Gold
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
19.4%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
1.02
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−28.1%
Trough Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.31
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

AAAU Cost

Compare AAAU and IAUM

Overpaying vs IAUM, cheapest in Physical Gold

$1,851

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • AAAU 0.18%

    $3,749

  • IAUM 0.09% Cheapest

    $1,898

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • AAAU 0.18%
  • IAUM 0.09%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$1K$2K$3K$4K051015202530AAAU $3,749IAUM $1,898

Year by year

YearAAAUIAUMOverpaying
10$328$165$163
20$1,281$646$635
30$3,749$1,898$1,851

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