Investors who were paying just casual attention to markets last year likely know that gold was one of 2025's best-performing assets. The commodity carried that momentum into 2026, giving market participants good reason to examine a variety of bullion-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Speaking of the union of ETFs and the yellow metal, a quick history lesson is warranted. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD 1.97%), which is backed by physical gold, debuted in November 2004. Today, it's a $181.29 billion ETF widely credited with democratizing gold investing.
This gold ETF breaks from the traditional pack and is beating rivals this year. Image source: Getty Images.
Yes, the SPDR Gold Shares and its physically backed peers broadened the audience of gold investors, and those ETFs are fine ideas during bullion bull markets, such as the current one. Still, the gold ETF arena is evolving, and there are benefits for investors if they know where to look. One example is the WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (GDMN 3.30%), which is proving to be more glittery than traditional gold ETFs.
Getting to Know GDMN
For the uninitiated, this $283.53 million ETF turned four years old last December, but the real question is: In the here and now, is the fund extending its track record of topping traditional rivals? On a year-to-date basis, the WisdomTree ETF is lapping the SPDR Gold Shares ETF with ease.
How that outperformance is accumulating is obviously essential. Regarding the WisdomTree ETF, exploring what makes it tick unveils what sets it apart from its more traditional contemporaries. Put simply, this actively managed fund is a two-pronged approach to bullion investing. It provides exposure to the gold futures market and a basket of gold mining equities.
In bygone eras of gold investing, investors would have had to buy both assets separately or purchase a gold-backed ETF and shares of a miner to accomplish what the WisdomTree ETF does in one fell swoop. So yes, it lives up to the efficient billing in its name.
Given its futures exposure, this ETF provides some leverage to spot gold prices, but its mining sleeve is a source of intrigue. Some experts view the industry as capable of generating more upside for investors, citing attractive margins. Gold miners are unloved in some circles, but if gold continues trending higher, market participants may be compelled to embrace shares of companies that mine the yellow metal.
NYSEMKT: GDMN
Key Data Points
The fundamental outlook bodes well for this ETF
Considering the ETF's breathtaking run to start 2026, which followed a stellar 2025, it's fair for investors to wonder how much shine the fund has left. Nothing is guaranteed, but the answer may prove to be "plenty."
Geopolitical volatility, global central banks' voracious appetite for the commodity, and the questionable status of the dollar as a reserve currency (because commodities are priced in dollars, the weaker the dollar, the better) each act as catalysts for gold. If they arrive in unison, all the better for the WisdomTree ETF.
This fund's annual fee is 0.45%, or $45 on a $10,000 investment.
