GDXJ vs SGDM

GDXJBVanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF

SGDMBSprott Gold Miners ETF

In short

GDXJ The junior tier of the gold trade. GDXJ tracks an index of small-cap gold and silver miners, about 120 names worldwide, and has done so since 2009. It owns the up-and-comers rather than the household-name majors.

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

GDXJ GDXJ seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index, which represents small-capitalization companies primarily engaged in gold and/or silver 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

• GDXJ Small by design: the index covers companies primarily engaged in gold and/or silver mining at the small-capitalization end, roughly 120 of them across global markets.
• Silver rides along. The mandate covers gold and/or silver miners, so the basket is broader precious metals than the name suggests.
• One of the busiest tickets in the junior-miner niche: a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades very actively, which matters when the whole sector moves at once.
• 0.52% a year sits right at the median for precious-metals miner funds, and roughly the same sticker as VanEck's large-cap sibling GDX at 0.51%.

• 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

• GDXJ Junior miners are the jumpy end of a jumpy sector: smaller companies, fewer mines, and moves that can run far wider than the metal itself.
• Income is not the story here. Distributions land once or twice a year at most.
• Average price, not a bargain. Cheaper miner funds exist in the group, including RING at 0.39%.

• 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 GDXJ profile⁠

Full SGDM profile⁠