KGLD vs YGLD

KGLDCKurv Gold Enhanced Income ETF

YGLDCSimplify Gold Strategy PLUS Income ETF

In short

KGLD Most gold income funds hold metal and sell calls on it. KGLD builds the gold position out of options instead, parks the freed cash in short-dated bonds, then writes calls on top. Active, no index, monthly payouts, 0.99%.

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

KGLD The Fund seeks to maximize total return through active management of efficient gold exposure while also generating potentially tax-efficient income.

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

• KGLD Gold exposure is built from options: buy calls, sell puts at matching strikes and expiries on gold ETPs. The freed collateral sits in short-dated bonds, a second income stream.sec.gov
• Actively managed against no index. The adviser picks strikes and expiries, and may write uncovered calls when it sees volatility mispriced in the market.sec.gov
• Bullion itself pays nothing. Here the monthly cash is manufactured from option premiums plus the bond collateral sitting behind the options.sec.gov
• Sits in the upper half of its gold-income peer group on our review.

• 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

• KGLD Written calls limit participation once gold runs past the strike, and uncovered writing beyond the long position carries risks the prospectus spells out.sec.gov
• 0.99% with no waiver. Near the category median, but above listed peers YGLD (0.62%) and IAUI (0.79%).
• Launched in 2025, so the record is short. The fund discloses that payouts can include return of capital, which reduces NAV per share.sec.gov

• 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 KGLD profile⁠

Full YGLD profile⁠