--- title: "Each share of SPDR Gold Shares was backed by 8.2% less gold in June 2026 than at launch" url: "https://etf.net/news/gld-fee-shrinks-gold-per-share-2026-10-28" published_at: "2026-10-28T16:34:32.726Z" updated_at: "2026-10-28T16:34:32.726Z" byline: "ETF.net Research" --- # Each share of SPDR Gold Shares was backed by 8.2% less gold in June 2026 than at launch The trust sells gold to pay a 0.40% annual fee, and over a decade the shares have trailed the London price by about that much. By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 28, 2026. Each share of State Street Investment Management's SPDR Gold Shares, GLD, was backed by **8.2%** less gold in June 2026 than at its launch on Nov. 18, 2004. [State Street](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/spdr-gold-shares-gld) explains the decline on the fund page. "GLD does not generate any income, and as GLD regularly sells gold to pay for its ongoing expenses, the amount of gold represented by each Share will decline over time to that extent." ## The fee comes out of the bars State Street Investment Management markets the shares. Its [fact sheet](https://www.ssga.com/library-content/products/factsheets/etfs/us/factsheet-us-en-gld.pdf) says State Street Global Advisors is now State Street Investment Management, and states the trust's objective as the price of gold bullion, less expenses. The trust's [quarterly report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1222333/000143774926025680/gld20260630_10q.htm) for the period ended June 30, 2026, still names State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors as marketing agent. The sponsor that collects the fee is World Gold Trust Services. The fact sheet calls the World Gold Council an affiliate of that sponsor. Bank of New York Mellon is the trustee. The quarterly report says the trustee does not manage the gold, does not time purchases or sales to get ahead of the price, and does not hedge a fall. The only recurring fixed expense is the sponsor's fee, **0.40%** a year of the daily value, accruing every day. World Gold Trust Services collects it and pays the ordinary bills, including the vault and the marketing agent. The gold is sold to raise that money. The trust's [January FAQ](https://files.spdrgoldshares.com/spdr-cms/2026-03/GLD-FAQs-January-2026.pdf) says the trustee sells a small quantity every month. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, those sales came to 34,843 ounces. At launch the custodian received 30,000 ounces for 300,000 shares, a tenth of an ounce each, the trust's [annual report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1222333/000119312520301561/d74464d10k.htm) for the year ended Sept. 30, 2020, records. Compounded from that Nov. 18, 2004 listing through June 30, 2026, the 0.40% fee takes a tenth of an ounce down by 8.3%, to 0.09171 ounces. Gold delivered on redemptions in June 2026 averaged 0.09179 ounces a share, 8.2% below the tenth of an ounce at launch. New shares are issued for the gold a share represents at the time, not for a tenth of an ounce. Nothing is paid out, so the change in the share price is the return. ## London sets the value The gold is valued at the London Bullion Market Association afternoon price, the LBMA Gold Price PM, an auction that ICE Benchmark Administration runs in London. The trustee calculates the net asset value, the gold minus what the trust owes, per share, at the earlier of that auction's announcement or noon in New York. If the auction has not printed by noon, the trust uses the last auction price it has. The shares keep trading on NYSE Arca, where they are listed, until 4 p.m. in New York. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the net asset value was $371.85. The shares closed at $372.28, 43 cents above it. ## The bars are allocated, with two exceptions Only authorized participants, the firms allowed to create and redeem shares, deal with the trustee, and only in baskets of 100,000 shares. At the Oct. 27 close a basket was worth $37.2 million. The FAQ says a shareholder who wants the metal has to arrange that with a broker. The trustee does not deal with the public. The bars are allocated, specific bars identified as the trust's, held by HSBC Bank plc and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. At June 30, 2026, the custodians held 32.3 million ounces, all of it allocated. The FAQ says the gold is not held that way in two cases. Metal for a creation or a redemption passes through an unallocated account, and the gold sold each month for the fee is moved there to be sold. In an unallocated account the trust is an unsecured creditor of the custodian, not the owner of a named bar. The FAQ says creation and redemption activity has generally been small compared with the trust's holdings, and that the monthly sales have been very small. It also says each custodian moves any gold still unallocated back into allocated form at the end of the business day. The trust does not insure the gold. In its [annual report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1222333/000143774925036305/gld20250930_10k.htm) for the year ended Sept. 30, 2025, it said the custodians keep insurance on terms they choose, the coverage does not extend to the full amount they hold, and the trust is not a beneficiary of it. ## Other trusts charge less to hold gold Three other physical-gold trusts do the same job for a lower annual fee. The fees are the sponsors' annual charges. The assets are the issuers' figures as of Oct. 27. Table: Fund, Annual fee, Assets on Oct. 27 GLDM has the same stated objective, the gold price less expenses. Its sponsor is WGC USA Asset Management Company, not World Gold Trust Services. State Street's [page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/spdr-gold-minishares-gldm) for the fund calls the World Gold Council an affiliate of that sponsor, and names the same marketing agent, State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors. iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor, the sponsor of IAUM, said in its [report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1759124/000143774926026003/iaum20260630_10q.htm) for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, that it had waived that trust's fee so it would not exceed 0.07% through June 30, 2027. ## The shares have trailed the London price Over the 10 years through Sept. 30, 2026, [State Street's figures](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/spdr-gold-shares-gld) show net asset value returning 11.74% a year and the London afternoon price returning 12.18%. The gap is 0.44 percentage points a year, against a fee of 0.40%. The one-year gap through that date was 0.44 percentage points as well. The quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026, says the divergence of the share price and the net asset value from the gold price over time reflects the cumulative effect of the trust's expenses. We read the missing gold, and the gap to the London price, as that fee. Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/gld-fee-shrinks-gold-per-share-2026-10-28. Please cite the page URL.