Gold ETFs: What They Are & Most Popular Ones in 2026
Gold often tends to be in the spotlight when investors reassess risk during global uncertainty and seek a safe haven. This pattern re-emerged in 2025 as interest in gold surged among both individual investors and central banks. In fact, sustained central bank buying pushed gold ahead of the Euro to become the world’s second-largest reserve asset.¹
For retail investors as well, opportunities to invest in gold have evolved with time. Many are now choosing gold ETFs. According to the World Gold Council, this rising demand for gold ETFs has led to strong inflows, taking total assets under management (AUM) and overall gold holdings to record highs.²
What are gold ETFs, why do they attract attention during economic uncertainty, what types are available, how do they compare with other gold investments, and which are the most popular today? Let’s explore these questions in this article.
The information in this article is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
What is a Gold ETF?
An exchange-traded fund is a basket of securities that aims to track an underlying asset. Gold ETFs, therefore, are funds that are designed to track the performance of gold and are sometimes described as gold tracking ETFs.
Buying gold ETFs works much like buying shares on the stock exchange. However, they can differ in structure and the way they provide exposure to gold.
Types of Gold ETFs
There are three major types of gold ETFs, each offering a different approach to investing in gold:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Gold ETFs
While different types of gold ETFs have made investing in gold more accessible, it’s important to weigh both the benefits and the potential risks before investing in them.
Advantages of investing in Gold ETFs
- Security: The first and most valuable advantage is that an investor does not have to worry about the security and insurance associated with storing precious metals at home in the form of gold bullion.
- Cost-effectiveness: The overall expense and risk involved when buying and selling ETFs are generally lower than the cost incurred in storing, insuring, and eventually selling physical gold.
- Convenient: You don’t have to personally select the coins or bars you want to own. Instead, you access a trading platform, like MetaTrader 5 and select the ETF you want to trade or invest in.
- Liquidity: Many gold ETFs are highly liquid financial products, meaning investors can divest from them quickly, securely, and efficiently.
Gold ETFs Disadvantages
- Trading Costs: Investment in gold ETFs is generally considered a relatively low-cost way to gain exposure to gold. However, they do come with an annual expense ratio that investors should consider before investing. For traders who frequently trade gold ETFs, commissions and fund expenses may add up over time.
- Tracking Error: Gold ETFs are designed to mirror the price of gold, but they don’t always move perfectly in sync with each other. You may often find small differences between an ETF’s returns and the actual gold price, which is known as tracking error. This happens as a result of management fees, operating costs, and, in the case of futures-based ETFs, the cost of rolling over contracts.
- Less Diversification: While investing or trading gold ETFs, you will be prone to less diversity in comparison with other ETFs, since here you invest in one single asset.
- Gold ETF Risks: Certain gold ETFs might contain more risk than others. For example, while comparing a gold ETF vs gold mining ETF, gold miners ETFs may carry additional risk because they are exposed to both gold price movements and company-specific risks.
Most Popular Gold ETFs
Here is a list of some of the largest gold ETFs, based on their Assets Under Management (AUM).
Source: The ETF Database. Data as on 12 February 2026. For informational purposes only.
How to Choose the Top Gold ETF
Since all gold ETFs don’t function in the same way, investors should look at several important factors before making a decision.
1. Expense Ratio
The expense ratio is an important consideration. Lower ratios may help reduce the drag on returns over time, but this should be balanced with other considerations like fund quality and strategy.
2. Tracking Error
It’s important to evaluate how closely an ETF follows the price of gold. Physically backed ETFs typically have lower tracking error as compared to futures-based ETFs due to factors like contract rollovers. By evaluating tracking error, you may be able to understand how accurately the ETF reflects gold’s performance.
3. Liquidity & AUM
While selecting an ETF from a trading point of view, liquidity and AUM should be considered. Higher liquidity often ensures the flexibility of buying and selling without disrupting the price too much, and a larger AUM indicates greater investor confidence.
For active traders, an alternative is also available where one may trade CFDs on gold ETFs. This approach offers leveraged exposure and the ability to go long or short without holding the underlying asset. However, please bear in mind that leverage may amplify both potential gains and losses. CFDs are complex financial instruments and may not be suitable for all investors.
4. Physical Backing & Custody
The next factor to consider is how the ETF gains exposure to gold. Many of the funds from the list above are backed by physical gold bullion. Others, such as the ProShares Ultra Gold Fund, are made up solely of gold futures, which tend to be more volatile and are better suited for investors seeking exposure to commodity futures rather than physical spot gold. However, it is also worth noting that this fund has one of the highest expense ratios on the list.
Ultimately, how a gold ETF gains exposure to gold has a big impact on its risk and overall returns. These differences often become more relevant during periods of economic uncertainty, when demand for gold-related investments tends to increase as investors look for defensive assets.
Why Gold ETFs Tend to Gain Attention During Economic Uncertainty
Gold is popular among investors because precious metals are used to hedge against currency devaluation, recessions, inflation, and deflation. Gold also acts as a safe-haven asset during times of market turbulence and economic uncertainty.
Many investors tend to like the simplicity of gold; they know it’s a tangible asset and has intrinsic worth. Gaining exposure to gold through an ETF therefore represents a practical and accessible choice for many investors, allowing them to participate in gold price movements without the need to store or insure physical bullion. As a result, gold ETFs often see increased demand when markets become uncertain.
That said, investing in a gold ETF is just one of several ways investors can gain exposure to gold. Let’s compare gold ETFs with other common gold investment options available to retail investors.
Gold ETFs vs. Other Ways to Invest in Gold
While gold ETFs offer a convenient and liquid way to access gold prices, investors can also gain exposure through physical gold, gold mining stocks, gold mutual funds or gold futures.
Each approach differs in terms of risk, complexity, and how closely it tracks the price of gold.
The Bottomline on Gold ETFs
Regardless of the current state of affairs in both the world and the economy, it is important to consider all kinds of financial options when designing your own trading and investing portfolio. Gold has historically played a role as a store of value and a potential hedge during periods of economic uncertainty. These days, gold ETFs have made access to gold more convenient for many investors.
That said, gold ETFs are just one of several ways to gain exposure to gold. Depending on your investment objective, risk tolerance, and time horizon, alternatives such as physical gold, gold mutual funds, mining stocks, or futures may also be considered. However, as with any investment, careful evaluation is essential.
With Admirals, you can trade CFDs on different ETFs, including gold ETFs. CFDs allow traders to attempt to profit from both rising and falling prices after analysing a gold ETF chart to identify price trends. However, CFDs are complex financial instruments and may not be suitable for everyone, as they carry a high level of risk.
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Frequently Asked Questions on Gold ETFs
Which is the best gold ETF to invest?
There isn’t a universally best gold ETF. Different ETFs suit different investors depending on several factors like expense ratios, AUM and tracking accuracy, to name a few.
Is a gold ETF a good investment?
A gold ETF can be a suitable option for investors seeking exposure to gold through a liquid, exchange-traded product. However, whether it is appropriate or not depends on individual risk tolerance and overall portfolio composition.
How much gold is one gold ETF?
This varies by ETF. Physically backed gold ETFs typically represent a fraction of an ounce of gold per share.
Can I buy a gold ETF directly?
Yes, gold ETFs are traded on stock exchanges and could be accessed through your trading account, and the process is similar to buying shares.
Are gold ETFs available in the UK?
Investors looking for a UK gold ETF should be aware that, under current UCITS rules, physically backed gold ETFs are not available in the UK or the EU. Instead, products that hold physical gold bullion are typically structured as exchange-traded commodities (ETCs).
Are gold ETFs safe?
Gold ETFs can offer a relatively straightforward way to gain exposure to gold, but they are not risk-free. Their suitability may vary from investor to investor and often depends on factors such as where the fund invests, its costs, and overall market conditions.
Source:
¹ https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/11/gold-overtakes-euro-as-second-biggest-global-reserve-asset.html
² https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-etfs-holdings-and-flows/2026/02
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