**Gold ETF showdown: Which one should you pick?**

Gold is up 12.7% YTD and investors are scrambling to add exposure. Physical gold? Pain in the ass. ETFs are way easier.

Three main players to compare:

**GLD** - The OG. $61.3B AUM, highest expense ratio at 0.40%. Best performance YTD (12.71%) and 1Y (19.87%), but bleeding $513M in outflows last quarter.

**GLDM** - The budget pick. Lowest fees at 0.10%, lowest NAV per share. $7.38B AUM, solid returns (12.39% YTD), and actually seeing inflows ($110M). Launched 2018, still underrated.

**IAU** - The middle child. $28.4B AUM, 0.25% fee. Returns lag slightly (12.35% YTD), massive $617M outflows recently.

**Bottom line:** All three track the same gold price, so returns are nearly identical. Pick based on fees + your entry point. GLDM offers the cheapest way in if you're building long-term. GLD has the most liquidity if size matters to you. IAU? Solid but caught in the middle.