# AAAU ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What AAAU holds, its 0.18% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (AAAU) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Each share of this fund stands for a small amount of real gold bars kept in vaults. It charges 0.18% a year. From August 2018 to October 2026 it returned about 16.6% a year, and its worst drop was −26.3%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.18% a year (about $18 on $10,000).
- Started trading on July 26, 2018.
- Worst drop since 2018: −26.3%.
- No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## What does AAAU hold?

Each share of this fund stands for a small amount of real gold bars kept in vaults. Its price follows the price of gold, minus the yearly fee. It does not pay interest or dividends.

It tracks the LBMA Gold Price PM.

| Fact | AAAU |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF |
| Issuer | Goldman Sachs Asset Management |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% a year |
| Started trading | July 26, 2018 |
| Tracks | LBMA Gold Price PM |
| Type | Gold, ETF |
| Facts checked | October 17, 2026 on the [Goldman Sachs Asset Management fund page](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1708646/000119312526067559/d56933d10k.htm) |

## What is the AAAU expense ratio?

AAAU charges 0.18% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.18% fee comes to about $18 a year.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## How has AAAU done since 2018?

From August 2018 to October 2026, AAAU returned about 16.6% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $34,983 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Measure | AAAU |
| --- | --- |
| Total return | 249.8% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 16.6% |
| Worst drop from a high | −26.3% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 17.4% |
| Last 12 months | −3.4% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 29.3% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 18.5% |

Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## AAAU returns by year

| Year | AAAU return |
| --- | --- |
| 2026 (part of the year) | −3.5% |
| 2025 | 64.0% |
| 2024 | 27.0% |
| 2023 | 12.9% |
| 2022 | −0.5% |
| 2021 | −4.0% |
| 2020 | 25.0% |
| 2019 | 18.2% |
| 2018 (part of the year) | 9.2% |

## What was AAAU's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. AAAU's worst fall was −26.3%, from January 29, 2026 to July 16, 2026. By October 16, 2026 it had not yet climbed back to that high.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold AAAU?

No classic strategy holds AAAU yet. You can add it to your own rules in the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and see how they would have done.

## How does AAAU compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for AAAU:

- [GLDM](https://tactfolio.com/etf/gldm.md): SPDR Gold MiniShares, 0.1% a year
- [SGOL](https://tactfolio.com/etf/sgol.md): abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF, 0.17% a year
- [BAR](https://tactfolio.com/etf/bar.md): GraniteShares Gold Trust, 0.1749% a year
- [GLD](https://tactfolio.com/etf/gld.md): SPDR Gold Shares, 0.4% a year

See [all 8 AAAU alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/aaau.md), compared on the same dates as AAAU.

## Test AAAU in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add AAAU, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for AAAU. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns.

Fund facts come from Goldman Sachs Asset Management. We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Commodities](https://tactfolio.com/learn/commodities-explained): Commodities are raw goods like oil, gold and wheat.
- [Risk parity](https://tactfolio.com/learn/risk-parity): Risk parity balances risk instead of dollars. See a simple stock and bond example, why funds use leverage, and what went wrong in 2022.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of AAAU?

AAAU charges 0.18% a year, according to Goldman Sachs Asset Management as of October 17, 2026. That is about $18 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did AAAU start trading?

AAAU started trading on July 26, 2018. It is run by Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

### What does AAAU track?

AAAU tracks the LBMA Gold Price PM. Each share of this fund stands for a small amount of real gold bars kept in vaults.

### How much has AAAU returned per year?

From August 2018 to October 2026, AAAU returned about 16.6% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −26.3%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Which strategies use AAAU?

None of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold AAAU yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

## Sources

- [Goldman Sachs Asset Management: Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF fund page](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1708646/000119312526067559/d56933d10k.htm)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.