The SPDR That Eats Itself

SPDR Gold Shares, GLD, has a 0.40% annual expense ratio. But since practically all the fund's holdings consist of gold bullion, the fund's portfolio has no dividend or interest income coming in to pay fund expenses. Instead, the fund covers its expenses by selling off a tiny fraction of its bullion every month.

As a result, GLD's amount of gold per share has gradually declined 8.2 percent since the fund's November 2004 inception.

As a result, each individual GLD share now represents 8.2% less gold than they did the fund’s November 2004 launch: about 0.0918 troy ounce, down from 0.1 ounce at inception.

Those sales have tax consequences for U.S. shareholders in taxable accounts: Because the trust is structured as a grantor trust, U.S. tax law treats each shareholder as though they owned that gold bullion directly. So every time the fund sells gold, it produces a small capital gain (or loss) for every holder. For shares held more than a year, gains are taxed as collectibles, at a top federal rate of 28%; shorter-term gains are taxed as ordinary income.

Holders in taxable accounts can use capital losses elsewhere in their portfolios to offset those gains.

First launched in November 2004, GLD is the first U.S. traded gold exchange traded fund, and the first U.S.-listed ETF backed by a physical asset. On Monday, October 12, the shares closed at $382.15, down 0.63% for the day.

The fund sells bullion to pay the fees

The fund's fee accrues daily at 0.40% a year of net asset value (NAV) — the value of the trust’s gold minus accrued expenses — divided by the number shares outstanding.

The fund's trustee, Bank of New York Mellon, values the gold each day at the LBMA Gold Price PM, a benchmark set in an electronic auction at 3 p.m. London time. The fund sponsor World Gold Trust Services, uses the fees to pay the trust’s ordinary costs, including custody, trustee, legal, audit and listing fees.

The trust earns no income and pays no dividend. According to the prospectus and a FAQ on their website, a small quantity of gold is sold every month to pay the expenses. None of the proceeds are distributed.

In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, the trust sold 34,843 ounces to pay expenses. Each share represented about 0.0918 ounce of gold, down from 0.1 ounce (8.2%) as of the 2004 launch.

GLD's performance

GLD struggled through September, closing down 8.5% on the month, and down 3.34% year to date as of the end of the quarter

However, through September 30, 2026, the fund has generated annualized returns of 10.37% per year since inception, and 18.62% annualized over the previous five years. Over the one year ended that day, the the fund's net asset value rose 8.74%.

Taxed like the gold

The U.S. tax code treats bullion sales as collectibles. As such, gains on bullion held 1 year or longer are taxed at the taxpayer's ordinafy in come rate, up to a cap of 28% — a less favorable rate than the 20% rate assessed on most other long-term capital gains.

When the fund sells gold to raise money to pay its expenses, those taxable gains are distributed to the shareholder — even though the fund has distributed no cash to pay the taxes with.

Neither the trust nor brokers are required to report those sales on Form 1099-B. The trust posts an example of the calculation for holders who do not receive one.

iShares, in the annual reports for the year ended December 31, 2025, says a long-term gain on the iShares Gold Trust and on iShares Gold Trust Micro is taxed as a collectible, at a maximum federal rate of 28%. State Street's FAQ for SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust says the same.

The same job, at several prices

The cheaper products are separate trusts, not share classes of this one. They hold physical gold too. Assets below are the sponsors' figures as of October 9, 2026.

SPDR Gold Shares is the largest of the four, and the fee is the highest, four times the fee on SPDR Gold MiniShares. About $3.4 billion of these shares change hands on an average day, more than seven times the dollar volume in the iShares Gold Trust. A holder who needs to sell a large position is a smaller part of that day's trading here than in the cheaper trusts.