ETFdb Realtime Rating & Analyst Report for GLD
GLD is a passive Grantor Trust that seeks to replicate the Gold Bullion. This ETF is designed to track the spot price of gold bullion
| ETFdb Category | Expense Ratio | Inception Date | Issuer | Structure | YTD Return * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precious Metals | 0.40% | 2004-11-18 | State Street | Grantor Trust | -0.24% |
* As of 05-23-2012
GLD Realtime Rating: By Metric
| Metric | Metric Realtime Rating | A+ Metric Rated ETF |
|---|---|---|
| Liquidity | A | SLV |
| Expenses | A- | IAU |
| Performance | A | IAU |
| Volatility | A | TBAR |
| Dividend | n/a | SGOL |
| Concentration | n/a | DBP |
The first adjacent table gives investors an individual Realtime Rating for GLD on several different metrics, including liquidity, expenses, performance, volatility, dividend, and concentration of holdings. The "A+ Metric Rated ETF" field, available to ETFdb Pro members, shows the ETF in the Precious Metals ETFdb Category with the highest Metric Realtime Rating for each individual field.
GLD Realtime Rating: Overall
| ETFdb Rating Type | Overall Rating | A+ Overall Rated ETF |
|---|---|---|
| Realtime Rating (Overall) | A | SGOL |
The second table shows the overall Realtime Rating for GLD, as well as the A+ Overall Rated ETF in GLD's Category. To view information on how the ETFdb Realtime Ratings work, click here.
ETFdb Analyst Report for GLD
Asset Allocation
GLD is one of the most popular ETFs in the world, offering exposure to an asset class that has become increasingly important to the asset allocation process in recent years. GLD can be used in a number of different ways; some may establish short term positions as a way of hedging against equity market volatility, dollar weakness, or inflation. Others may wish to include gold exposure as part of a long-term investment strategy. GLD is a relatively straightforward product; the underlying assets consist of gold bullion stored in secure vaults. As such, the price of this ETF can be expected to move in lock step with spot gold prices. The physically-backed nature of this product eliminates any of the uncertainties introduced through futures-based strategies, though investors also have the option to approach this precious metal through futures-based funds such as UBG and DGL. The primary alternatives to GLD are other physically-backed gold ETFs, including AGOL, SGOL, and IAU. The first two on that list may appeal to investors looking to vault their gold outside of New York and London; AGOL stores bullion in Singapore, while SGOL's vaults are located in Switzerland. IAU is, in our opinion, represents a better way to play gold through the exchange-traded structure. While the underlying assets are similar and interchangeable, the expense ratios on these two funds are not. IAU is cheaper by 15 basis points; that margin isn't enormous, but is enough to essentially guarantee that GLD will lag behind IAU in terms of performance. Investors in IAU give up very little in the way of liquidity (that fund is massive as well) and will add a few basis points to their bottom lines. Bigger isn't always better; GLD is certainly an efficient tool for adding gold to a portfolio, but there is a better option out there that should be appealing particularly to cost conscious investors.
GLD In-Depth
The following tables and charts contain in-depth metrics for GLD and compare it to similar peer ETFs within its ETFdb Category.
Expense Analysis
This section compares the cost efficiency of GLD to peers in the same ETFdb Category.
| GLD | ETF Average | ETF Wtd. Avgerage |
|---|---|---|
| 0.40% | 0.59% | 0.32% |
Comparative Analysis: Precious Metals ETFdb Category
| Lo | Average | Hi | GLD Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| IAU: 0.25% | 0.55% | TBAR: 1.00% | 7 of 20 |
Commission Free Trading in GLD
GLD is not currently available for commission free trading on any platforms. There are 0 ETFs in the Precious Metals ETFdb Category available commission free.
Performance Analysis
This section shows how GLD has performed relative to its peer group ETFdb Category.
| GLD | Category Lo | Category Hi | GLD Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Week* | 1.45% | USV: -0.54% | SIVR: 2.67% | 9 of 20 |
| 4 Week* | -5.01% | PTM: -11.43% | TBAR: 0.10% | 4 of 20 |
| 13 Week* | -12.33% | PTM: -22.10% | TBAR: -7.39% | 4 of 20 |
| 26 Week* | -8.01% | DBS: -13.30% | PALL: 1.58% | 6 of 20 |
| YTD* | -0.24% | PALL: -9.34% | PTM: 3.85% | 10 of 20 |
| 1 Year* | 2.04% | DBS: -25.11% | TBAR: 5.42% | 5 of 20 |
| 3 Year* | 61.04% | PGM: 15.75% | SLV: 86.55% | 7 of 11 |
| 5 Year* | 132.47% | DBS: 95.07% | IAU: 132.94% | 2 of 6 |
* As of 05-23-2012
Volatility Analysis
This section shows how the volatility of GLD compares to the peer group ETFdb Category.
| GLD | Category Lo | Category Hi | GLD Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volatility: 5 Day* | 112.45% | BLNG: 10.98% | SLV: 340.83% | 7 of 20 |
| Volatility: 20 Day* | 15.39% | TBAR: 10.50% | USV: 38.49% | 17 of 20 |
| Volatility: 50 Day* | 14.60% | TBAR: 7.83% | USV: 44.63% | 19 of 20 |
| Volatility: 200 Day* | 17.61% | TBAR: 14.60% | USV: 45.77% | 19 of 20 |
| Beta* | 1.08 | TBAR: 0.58 | USV: 3.10 | 19 of 20 |
| Standard Deviation* | 8.63% | IAU: 0.87% | PPLT: 12.93% | 4 of 19 |
* As of 05-23-2012
Technical Analysis
This section highlights technical strength metrics for GLD.
| Moving Averages * | Support & Resistance * | Williams & Rel. Strength * | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Day MA | $155.94 | Lower Bolinger (10Day) | $148.81 | Williams % (10) | 56.67 |
| 60 Day MA | $159.75 | Upper Bolinger (10Day) | $156.14 | Williams % (20) | 77.76 |
| MACD 15 Day | -2.55 | Lower Bolinger (30Day) | $149.58 | Rel. Strength (10) | 36 |
| MACD 100 Day | -10.29 | Upper Bolinger (30Day) | $164.92 | Rel. Strength (20) | 38 |
| Support Level | $149.69 | Rel. Strength (30) | 40 | ||
| Resistance Level | $152.69 | ||||
* As of 05-23-2012
Dividend & Valuation Analysis
This section shows how the dividend yield and P/E multiple of GLD compare to the peer group ETFdb Category.
| GLD | Category Lo | Category Hi | GLD Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Dividend Yield* | 0.00% | UBG: 0.00% | SGOL: 0.00% | 7 of 13 |
| P/E Ratio* | n/a | UBG: n/a | PPLT: n/a | 13 of 19 |
* As of 05-23-2012
Concentration Analysis
This section compares how balanced and deep GLD is relative to the peer group ETFdb Category.
| GLD | Category Lo | Category Hi | GLD Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number Of Holdings** | 1 | PPLT: 1 | DBP: 14 | 4 of 13 |
| % Assets In Top 10** | 100.00% | WITE: 100.00% | DBS: 133.03% | 5 of 13 |
**As of 2012-05-03
Alternative ETFs
Other ETFs in the Precious Metals ETFdb Category include:
| Type | Ticker | Expense Ratio | Assets | Avg. Daily Vol | YTD Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest | IAU | 0.25% | $8,967.8 M | 6,092,130 | -0.07% |
| Largest (AUM) | IAU | 0.25% | $8,967.8 M | 6,092,130 | -0.07% |
| Most Liquid (Volume) | SLV | 0.50% | $8,702.7 M | 17,833,846 | 0.41% |
| Top YTD Performer | PTM | 0.65% | $33.5 M | 22,641 | 3.85% |
© 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
