Top Gold ETFs for 2025

For investors seeking to hedge against the unpredictable economy, gold ETFs offer a more manageable and cost-effective way to invest in the commodity.

Gold has repeatedly had all-time price highs in recent months amid concerns over inflation and geopolitical instability. ETFs that hold the metal can help investors capitalize on the hot market.

Thirteen gold-focused ETFs are traded in the U.S., excluding leveraged and inverse funds, as well as those with less than $50 million in assets under management (AUM). They invest directly in either gold bullion or gold futures contracts as opposed to companies that mine for the metal.

Below, we look at three gold ETFs with the lowest fees, the best 12-month return, and the most liquidity. We have excluded leveraged ETFs, which offer outsized returns but carry additional risk. The data below is as of Sept. 10, 2025.

• Performance Over One Year: 44.70%
• Expense Ratio: 0.09%
• 3-Month Average Daily Volume: 2,639,706
• AUM: $4.1 billion
• Inception Date: June 15, 2021
• Issuer: BlackRock Inc.

Unlike many other gold exchange-traded products, IAUM is structured as a true ETF (as opposed to a commodity pool or grantor trust). It trades on the NYSE Arca and also uses the LBMA Gold Price as a benchmark. IAUM can be used to diversify a portfolio of securities and to protect against inflation. The sole holding of IAUM is gold bullion.

• Performance Over One Year: 45.04%
• Expense Ratio: 0.15%
• 3-Month Average Daily Volume: 41,800
• AUM: $262.6 million
• Inception Date: June 30, 2022
• Issuer: Franklin Templeton

A grantor trust, FGDL sources gold bullion from LBMA-accredited refiners that must provide evidence of their environmental responsibility and efforts to combat money laundering, human rights abuses, and other factors. Like IAUM above, FGDL’s sole holding is gold bullion.

• Performance Over One Year: 44.12%
• Expense Ratio: 0.40%
• Three-Month Average Daily Volume: 10,029,630
• Assets Under Management: $114.4 billion
• Inception Date: Nov. 18, 2004
• Issuer: State Street

SPDR Gold Trust tracks the LBMA Gold Price as a benchmark. The goal of this fund is to reflect the price of gold bullion. It is the most popular and oldest gold ETF trading on the U.S. market.

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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above ETFs.