GDX vs SGDM

GDXBVanEck Gold Miners ETF

SGDMBSprott Gold Miners ETF

In short

GDX The original gold miner ETF, running since 2006. Roughly 60 mining companies in one ticker, for people who want equity exposure to gold's economics rather than a bar in a vault.

SGDM SGDM doesn't just rank gold miners by size. It tracks a custom-factors index of roughly 50 larger miners listed in Canada and the US, and charges 0.46%, under its peer group's median fee.

Stated mandate

GDX GDX seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index, which is designed to represent companies involved in gold mining.

SGDM The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Solactive Gold Miners Custom Factors Index, which targets larger gold companies listed on Canadian and major U.S. exchanges.

Why people hold it

• GDX Launched in 2006, this is the elder statesman of gold mining funds: a multi-billion-dollar portfolio that is very actively traded, which usually means easy entries and exits.
• Owns the diggers, not the metal. It tracks the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index, roughly 60 companies whose profits swing on the gap between gold prices and mining costs.
• At a 0.51% expense ratio it sits right at the typical price for a precious-metals miner fund, and it grades in the top quartile of its 18-fund peer group.

• SGDM Fee of 0.46% sits under the median for precious-metals miner funds, and under both GDX (0.51%) and GDXJ (0.52%).
• Rules-based and named out loud: it follows the Solactive Gold Miners Custom Factors Index (SOLGMCFT), and it has stayed close to that stated mandate.
• Running since 2014, a long life for a thematic fund, and it holds about 50 larger gold companies rather than a sprawling list.
• Lands in the upper half of the gold and silver miner group in our review, with high confidence in the underlying data.

Worth knowing

• GDX Cheaper shelf-mates exist. RING covers global gold miners at 0.39%, so you are paying a bit extra here, largely for scale and trading depth.
• Miner stocks are not bullion. They carry operating costs, debt, labor and country risk on top of the gold price, so moves tend to be sharper in both directions.
• Distributions come annually or semiannually, so this is an equity growth vehicle rather than a steady income line.

• SGDM Thinly traded next to the category's giants, so spreads can be wider and larger orders can push the price around.
• The index sticks to Canadian and major US listings, so gold miners quoted only on other exchanges sit outside the portfolio.
• One industry, driven by the gold price and how well mines actually run, so the ride is bumpier than a broad stock fund.

Full GDX profile⁠

Full SGDM profile⁠