IAU Offers Lower Cost Gold Exposure Than SIL

Will Healy, The Motley Fool

Tue, February 3, 2026 astatine 7:20 AM CST 4 min read

The Global X - Silver Miners ETF (NYSEMKT:SIL) and iShares Gold Trust (NYSEMKT:IAU) disagree astir notably successful plus focus, volatility, and cost: SIL targets metallic mining stocks with higher terms swings and expenses, portion IAU provides nonstop golden vulnerability with little fees and substantially little volatility.

SIL and IAU some entreaty to investors seeking precious metals vulnerability but instrumentality fundamentally antithetic approaches. SIL holds a portfolio of planetary metallic mining companies, introducing equity hazard and assemblage concentration, whereas IAU tracks the terms of carnal gold, providing nonstop commodity vulnerability without operating institution risk. This examination explores their cost, risk, returns, and portfolio constitution to assistance investors determine which whitethorn amended lucifer their objectives.

Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year play returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months.

IAU is much affordable, charging little than fractional the disbursal ratio of SIL, which whitethorn entreaty to cost-conscious investors oregon those seeking to clasp for the agelong term.

IAU is structured to way the terms of carnal gold, making it a pure-play connected gold's spot price. The money has been operating for 21 years and, with $79.7 cardinal successful assets nether management, represents a ample and highly liquid mode to summation vulnerability to gold. As a trust, it does not clasp equities oregon diversify crossed sectors; instead, its show intimately mirrors golden itself, and assemblage information lists it arsenic 100% existent property owed to money classification conventions, not due to the fact that of existent holdings.

In contrast, SIL invests wholly successful basal materials, with each holdings successful metallic mining companies. Its apical positions see Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE:WPM), Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS), and Coeur Mining Inc (NYSE:CDE), which unneurotic marque up a important information of the fund. This means SIL's show tin beryllium influenced by company-specific factors, operational risks, and equity marketplace swings successful summation to metallic prices. SIL holds 41 companies, offering immoderate diversification wrong the metallic mining manufacture but not beyond it. Neither money employs leverage oregon hedging strategies, and some are straightforward plays connected their respective metals.