These 3 ETFs Let You Hold Real Gold Without the Vault

Key Points

• Physical gold ETFs are, for many investors, the easiest way to get close to direct exposure to gold.
• Given the massive rally in the spot price of gold in recent months, funds like BAR, AAAU, and PHYS are extremely popular.
• These physical gold ETFs provide a similar service to investors, but the specifics for each fund are distinct, making it worthwhile for investors to compare their offerings before making a selection.

With gold futures up about a quarter year-to-date, the world's most famous precious metal continues to hit new all-time highs.

Investors wondering if the last few months are a fluke—the result of panicked traders flocking to a safe haven amid tariff fears and other concerns—should take a longer view of gold. The spike in the price of the metal has been unfolding more or less continuously for over a year, since early 2024.

Of course, that is no guarantee that gold will continue to gain value going forward. Still, the looming threat of additional tariffs, increasing trade tensions with China, and the Trump administration's signals that it may disrupt the Federal Reserve all point to the possibility of future market turbulence.

If an investor wants to capitalize on the gold rush currently taking place around the financial world, there are multiple approaches. Stocking up on gold products like jewelry or bullion is the most traditional approach, though this exposes investors to the costs and risks of storage. Precious metals mining companies like IAMGOLD Corp. NYSE: IAG can be a decent stand-in for those metals themselves, although their shares are impacted by other factors in addition to the price of metals.

One of the most direct ways to gain precious metals exposure is through physical gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These funds hold a supply of the metal so that investors do not have to deal with custody challenges.

Three such funds—GraniteShares Gold Trust NYSEARCA: BAR, Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF NYSEARCA: AAAU, and Sprott Physical Gold Trust NYSEARCA: PHYS—offer similar but distinct approaches.

BAR: A Budget-Friendly Gold ETF with Safe Storage and High Integrity

BAR is structured as a grantor trust, meaning that the fund provider stores gold and provides investors with exposure to spot returns. BAR holds London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) good delivery bars in a vault in London. Investors can be confident in the supply of gold bullion, as BAR neither lends its holdings nor holds any derivatives.

BAR's expense ratio of 0.17% is quite competitive among physical metals funds and is less than half that of the SPDR Gold Trust NYSEARCA: GLD, among the most popular ETFs in the world and easily the largest physical gold fund by assets under management.

On the other hand, investors in ETFs structured as grantor trusts should be aware that gains are taxed as collectibles, meaning they may face a higher tax rate than traditional investments. Nonetheless, BAR's strong one-month average trading volume of close to one million shares demonstrates its popularity among investors seeking physical gold exposure.

AAAU: A High-Liquidity ETF for Active Gold Investors

Like BAR, AAAU holds LBMA good delivery bars in London. It is also structured as a grantor trust, meaning that investors should keep in mind the tax implications described above before investing in AAAU shares.

There are two subtle differences between AAAU and BAR to consider. First, AAAU has a marginally higher expense ratio of 0.18%. However, this is one basis point higher than BAR's fee, the two are so close as to make a virtually negligible difference for most investors, and each remains far lower than some of the other physical metals funds available on the market.

Second, AAAU has both a higher asset base and a significantly higher average trading volume than BAR. The one-month average trading volume for AAAU shares is about 2.2 million, more than double that of BAR. Investors considering a more active approach to trading shares of a physical gold fund might find AAAU to be more conducive to that approach.

PHYS: A Tax-Efficient ETF That Offers Physical Redemption

PHYS, like both funds above, holds good delivery gold bullion, although its custodian is the Royal Canadian Mint. The advantages of this fund are that investors have the option of redeeming their shares for physical bullion on a monthly basis (although there are minimum requirements in order to do so), and that gains on sales of shares are taxed as capital gains, rather than as collectibles. This may provide a slight tax advantage for PHYS.

In exchange for these benefits, investors can expect to pay a higher fee of 0.41% annually. Based on a trading volume of 3.8 million, though, many investors find this trade-off to be more than worthwhile for the flexibility and tax benefits PHYS can offer.