What Are The Best Gold ETFsMany investors are interested in investing in gold. Some are wanting to add gold to their portfolio as a way to better diversify their investments, and others are looking to invest in gold because they feel it will be a good investment due to an upcoming recession and weakening of the U.S. dollar.  Investors have also traditionally found gold to be a good investment to hedge against inflation, since its price tends to increase when the cost of living rises.  It has also been found to be a great investment for deflation protection and general geopolitical uncertainty.

Luckily, for modern investors, investing in gold is actually quite easy.  No longer do you need to gain physical possession of gold bars or gold coins.  Not only are there hassles in obtaining and transporting gold, but there are also risks with “stashing it” or keeping it safe over time.

The easiest way to invest in gold, in my opinion, is by way of a gold exchange traded fund (ETF).  These funds are managed by gold experts, which gives you a better chance of earning and provides you the conveniences provided by an ETF.

Please note, there are a number of gold related ETFs available to investors.  Some of these funds include gold mining companies, while some are dedicated solely on the purchasing of physical gold.

The 5 gold ETFs featured below are all funds that focus more on physical gold, rather than mining companies, etc.

GLD ETF Fund

1. GLD (SPDR Gold Shares)

This is a fund that buys gold bullion. This means the fund is very sensitive to the price of gold and it follows gold price trends very closely.  GLD has the largest market cap of gold ETFs and is a favorite of investors.

GLD ETF Fund

2. SGOL (ETFS Physical Swiss Gold)

Another physical gold fund where all gold is stored in vaults in Zurich.  That is the key difference of this fund compared to other gold ETFs.  The fund is very liquid so you can buy or sell shares easily, allowing you take profits or add shares when you want to buy the dips.

GLD ETF Fund

3. BAR (GraniteShares Gold Trust)

This fund is designed to follow the price of gold. It uses actual gold that is stored in vaults in London, overseen by the ICBC Standard Bank.  Since it uses actual, physical gold it follows the price of gold closely.

GLD ETF Fund

4. DGL (Invesco DB Gold)

The DGL fund does not actually buy gold. Instead, it tracks the DBIQ Optimum Yield Gold Index Excess Return.  The fund does this by purchasing futures contracts.  Investors in this fund will receive a K-1 during tax season as they must pay taxes to partners.

GLD ETF Fund

5. IAU (iShares Gold Trust)

This fund also purchases physical gold.  The gold purchased in this fund is kept in vaults all over the world.  Due to the low expenses with this fund, this is a great way for investors to buy gold cheaply in a manner that would be difficult by themselves.  Taxes associated with this fund are a bit higher, as owning this fund is considered owning a collectible in the eyes of the IRS.

If you are looking for the best way to invest in gold, you really ought to consider holding some gold ETFs like the ones mentioned above. Below is a current performance snapshot for the 5 gold ETFs mentioned above.

ETF Jeff's Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there is no shortage of options available for investing in gold via ETFs. GLD is the largest of the funds in terms of market cap and has been a favorite of investors for a long time.  All 5 of these options are solid funds though, and I recommend you take a bit more time to dig into each one of them specifically in order to determine which one you like best.