GOLI vs YGLD

GOLIDDefiance Gold Enhanced Options Income ETF

YGLDCSimplify Gold Strategy PLUS Income ETF

In short

GOLI Most gold income funds hold the metal and sell calls. GOLI flips the trade: it builds gold exposure synthetically with options on SPDR Gold Shares, then sells at-the-money or in-the-money puts at least weekly to harvest premium. Income first, metal second.

YGLD Most gold-income ETFs sell calls on gold and cap its upside. YGLD flips it: up to roughly 150% gold exposure via futures, with the income coming from option spreads written on other ETFs. 0.62% a year, below the category norm.

Stated mandate

GOLI GOLI seeks current income through options while retaining indirect exposure to SPDR® Gold Shares (GLD), with potential gains limited by its strategy.

YGLD The Fund seeks income and capital appreciation through an actively managed gold futures strategy and an income-generating options strategy.

Why people hold it

• GOLI A put-writing engine rather than a covered call: it sells puts on GLD struck at the money or up to 5% in the money at least once a week, so premium and intrinsic value both feed income.defianceetfs.com
• Because the strikes can sit in the money, Defiance describes a payoff that can work whether gold rises, sits flat, or slips modestly from where the option was written.defianceetfs.com
• Bullion pays no dividend and no interest. This fund's whole job is manufacturing cash flow from it, with a stated aim of income paid on a weekly cadence.defianceetfs.com

• YGLD The income is not carved out of gold's upside. Rather than selling calls on gold, the fund writes put and call spreads on equity, bond and currency ETFs, and distributes monthly.sec.gov
• At 0.62% it undercuts every peer at the top of the gold-income group: IAUI at 0.79%, SLJY at 0.76%, IGLD at 0.85%, KGLD at 0.99%. Gross and net are the same figure, with no waiver holding it down.
• Futures carry the gold exposure, targeting about 150% per dollar at the start of each quarter and resetting quarterly, not daily. No daily compounding reset to track.sec.govsimplify.us

Worth knowing

• GOLI At 1.04% it sits above the roughly 1% median for gold options-income funds, with cheaper routes in the same cohort (YGLD at 0.53%, IAUI at 0.79%), and it trades thinly, so spreads add to the tab.
• Upside is limited by design, and you never own metal: exposure is assembled from options referencing GLD, not bullion or GLD shares.defianceetfs.com
• Defiance discloses that payouts have included return of capital, which lowers NAV and share price over time, and the fund only launched in 2025, so the record is short.defianceetfs.com

• YGLD Leverage works in both directions. At roughly 150% exposure a drop in gold lands harder, and since the reset is quarterly, actual exposure drifts above or below that target in between.simplify.us
• The options sleeve carries its own separate risk: a written spread can lose up to the gap between its two strike prices, on ETFs that have nothing to do with gold.simplify.us
• Plumbing to know: up to 25% of assets sits in a wholly owned Cayman subsidiary outside 1940 Act protections, and this is one of the smaller, lighter-traded funds in its category.sec.gov

Full GOLI profile⁠

Full YGLD profile⁠