---
title: "How to Invest in Gold and Commodities Through ETFs (2026)"
description: "How gold, silver and oil ETFs work, what they cost, the risks behind futures funds, and the questions to ask an AI before you buy one."
url: https://moneda.com/blog/how-to-invest-in-gold-and-commodities-etfs
lang: en
---

# How to Invest in Gold and Commodities Through ETFs (2026)

> How gold, silver and oil ETFs work, what they cost, the risks behind futures funds, and the questions to ask an AI before you buy one.

Published: 2026-10-23
Updated: 2026-10-23
Author: Federico Kunze Küllmer

Source: https://moneda.com/blog/how-to-invest-in-gold-and-commodities-etfs

---
*Federico Kunze Küllmer is the founder of Moneda, one of the tools compared here.*


> **Short answer**: The simplest way to own gold or other commodities is through an exchange-traded fund (ETF), a fund that trades on a stock exchange like a share. Gold and silver ETFs such as GLD, IAU and SLV hold physical metal, so their price follows the metal minus a yearly fee (0.40%, 0.25% and 0.50% on their issuers' pages today). Oil ETFs such as USO usually hold futures contracts instead, which can drift away from the oil price over time. Pick the commodity, check what the fund actually holds, compare fees, decide how much of your portfolio it should be, then buy it through any broker that offers US-listed ETFs.

People buy gold for different reasons. Some want a hedge against inflation. Some want something that doesn't move in step with stocks. Some just like owning something physical, even if it sits in a vault they will never see. An ETF gives you the price exposure without storage, insurance or a dealer's markup on coins.

This guide walks through how commodity ETFs work, how to compare them, and what to check yourself before you buy. It also shows the questions worth asking an AI along the way.

## What a commodity ETF is

An ETF is a basket of assets that trades on an exchange during market hours. You buy and sell units of it through a broker, the same way you would buy a share of a company.

Commodity ETFs come in two main types, and the difference matters more than anything else in this guide.

**Physically backed funds** buy the actual metal and store it. [GLD](https://www.spdrgoldshares.com/usa/gld/)'s sponsor says its gold is held in allocated form by custodians (JPMorgan Chase Bank and HSBC Bank). The [iShares Gold Trust (IAU)](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239561/ishares-gold-trust-fund) reported about 463 tonnes of gold in trust on 22 October 2026. When gold rises 5%, these funds rise by roughly the same amount, minus fees.

**Futures-based funds** don't hold the commodity. They hold contracts that promise to buy it at a set price on a future date. Oil is the usual example: storing barrels is costly, so funds like [USO (United States Oil Fund)](https://www.uscfinvestments.com/uso) hold near-month crude oil futures instead. Every month the fund has to sell the expiring contract and buy the next one. That "roll" costs money when later contracts are priced higher than near ones, a situation called contango. So a futures fund can lose value even in a month when the spot price of oil (the price for delivery today) is flat.

USO's own page says it "is not a proxy for trading directly in the oil markets," and warns that an investor may lose all or most of an investment. Take that warning seriously. It is the issuer talking.

| | Physically backed | Futures-based |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it holds | The metal, in a vault | Futures contracts, swaps, cash |
| Examples | GLD, IAU, SLV | USO |
| Tracks the spot price | Closely, minus fees | Can drift, because of roll costs |
| Suited to | Long-term holding | Shorter holding periods |

## Step 1: Decide why you want the exposure

Your reason shapes the right fund and the right amount.

- If you want a long-term hedge or a diversifier, physically backed gold is the usual choice. It is simple and cheap to hold.
- If you want silver, the same logic applies, but silver tends to swing more than gold.
- If you want a short-term view on oil, a futures fund is the common tool. It is built for shorter holding periods, and the roll cost makes it a poor buy-and-forget asset.

Be honest about this step. A lot of disappointment with commodity ETFs comes from holding a futures fund for years and expecting it to track the headline oil price.

Questions to ask an AI:

- "What has gold done in years when US stocks fell more than 20%?"
- "Explain contango in plain English using USO as the example."
- "Why does silver move more than gold?"

## Step 2: Check what the fund actually holds

Go to the issuer's own page, not a summary site. Our guide on [how to research an ETF](/blog/how-to-research-an-etf) covers this in more detail. Look for three things.

1. **The holding.** Is it metal in a vault, or futures and swaps? USO's page says it holds oil futures, over-the-counter swaps and cash-like collateral.
2. **The benchmark.** IAU and [SLV](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239855/ishares-silver-trust-fund) reference the [LBMA](https://www.lbma.org.uk) Gold Price and LBMA Silver Price, the daily London auction prices used across the industry.
3. **The structure.** Many gold and silver funds are set up as grantor trusts rather than standard funds. That can change how gains are taxed in some countries, so check the rules where you live.

The prospectus is the legal document behind every ETF. It is long, but the risk factors section is worth ten minutes before you put real money in.

## Step 3: Compare the costs

The expense ratio is the yearly fee, taken as a percentage of what you hold. You never pay it as a bill. It comes out of the fund's value bit by bit.

Here is what each issuer's page showed on 23 October 2026:

| Fund | Exposure | What it holds | Yearly fee (issuer page) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) | Gold | Physical gold bullion | 0.40% |
| iShares Gold Trust (IAU) | Gold | Physical gold bullion | 0.25% |
| iShares Silver Trust (SLV) | Silver | Physical silver bullion | 0.50% |
| United States Oil Fund (USO) | Crude oil | Oil futures, swaps, cash collateral | Not published on the page we read |

On €10,000 held for a year, the gap between 0.40% and 0.25% is €15. Small, but it repeats every year you hold.

The fee isn't the whole cost. Also check:

- **The spread**, the gap between the buy and sell price on the exchange. Big, heavily traded funds usually have tight spreads.
- **Your broker's charges**, including any commission per trade and any currency conversion fee if you pay in euros for a fund priced in dollars.
- **Roll costs** for futures funds. These don't show up in the expense ratio at all.

## Step 4: Decide how much

Commodities don't pay dividends or earn profits. Gold's return comes only from price changes. That is one reason many investors keep it to a slice of a wider portfolio rather than the core of it.

There is no single right number. A useful test (see [the best AI tools to stress-test a portfolio](/blog/best-ai-tools-to-stress-test-a-portfolio)) is to look at how your portfolio would have behaved in rough years with and without the commodity. Ask an AI to run that for you, and check the answer against the data it cites.

Questions to ask an AI:

- "Stress-test a portfolio of 90% global stocks and 10% gold against 2008, 2020 and 2022."
- "Benchmark my portfolio against gold over the last ten years."
- "What is the worst one-year fall gold has had since 2000?"

In Moneda, you can ask [the agent](/financial-agent) to build an illustrative portfolio from your goal, stress-test it against 2008, 2020 and 2022, and benchmark it against gold, an index or any fund. It shows the source behind each figure, so you can check where a number came from. It won't tell you to buy or sell. That decision stays yours.

## Step 5: Do the research, then buy

Before you place the trade, read both sides. A good research tool should give you the case for and against, not just the bull story.

Questions to ask an AI:

- "Give me the bull and bear case for gold over the next five years."
- "Compare GLD and IAU: fees, size, holdings and tracking."
- "What would make oil prices fall sharply, and what would that do to USO?"

Moneda is built for research and investing in the same place: gold, silver and oil through ETFs, researched before you buy. Moneda AI is built on [Numa 1](/models/numa-1), Moneda's financial AI engine. It researches stocks, ETFs, crypto and a few commodities through ETFs (gold, silver and oil), using company filings and live market data. It works figures out from the data and gives both the bull and bear view, and sends a daily briefing on your portfolio and the market, so you see what moved gold or oil without checking prices yourself. In Moneda's own tests in October 2026, it scored 97.9% on groundedness and 92% on claim verifiability. Those are Moneda's own tests, not independent audits.

When you're ready, you can [buy US-listed ETFs](/invest), including fractional units, in the same app. You approve every trade with your passkey (face or fingerprint). If you use [Claude](https://claude.ai) or [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com), [Moneda MCP](/developers) connects them to your Moneda account with the permissions you choose, and payments are still approved in the app.

The honest limit: Moneda invests in US-listed shares and ETFs only, so there are no European-listed gold or commodity ETFs.

## Step 6: Track it and review

Once you own a commodity ETF, a few things are worth watching:

- **Tracking.** Does the fund's return match the metal or benchmark, minus fees? A physical gold fund that lags gold by much more than its fee deserves a closer look.
- **Size changes.** A fee cut or a big outflow can change the picture.
- **Your allocation.** If gold doubles, it may now be a far bigger share of your portfolio than you meant.

You can set this up so you are told when something changes, rather than checking every week. Moneda's agent tracks a portfolio and flags changes. Any broker app with price alerts can handle the basics.

## What to verify yourself

AI can save you hours, but check these yourself on the issuer's page:

- The current expense ratio, from the fund page or prospectus.
- What the fund holds: metal or futures.
- The fund's assets and trading volume, for liquidity.
- Tax treatment in your country, especially for trust structures and futures funds.
- Your broker's commission and currency conversion fees.

If an AI gives you a number without a source, treat it as a guess until you have found it yourself.

## FAQ

**Is a gold ETF the same as owning gold?**
Not quite. A physically backed ETF owns gold and you own units of the fund, so you get the price exposure without holding bars yourself. You can't usually ask for the metal to be delivered to you as a small investor.

**Why do oil ETFs not match the oil price?**
Most hold futures, not barrels. Rolling from one contract to the next costs money when later contracts are priced higher (contango). Over months, that gap adds up.

**Which is cheaper, GLD or IAU?**
On their issuers' pages today, IAU's fee is 0.25% and GLD's is 0.40%. Both hold physical gold. Size and trading volume also matter if you trade often.

**Can I invest in gold ETFs with a small amount?**
Yes, if your broker offers fractional units. Moneda lets you buy fractional US-listed ETFs, so the share price doesn't set your minimum.

**What does a commodity ETF cost on Moneda?**
The fund's own fee applies wherever you buy it. [Moneda's Standard plan](/plans) is free, Premium starts at €9.99 a month and Ultra at €19.99 a month. Ultra includes more AI usage and commission-free trades (1, 5 or 10 per month, depending on the tier).

**Do commodities pay income?**
No. Gold, silver and oil pay no dividends or interest, so your return comes only from price changes.

This guide is for education only and is not investment advice.