GSG: iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust
iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds commodity futures run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund does not own stocks. It charges 0.75% a year. From July 2006 to October 2026 it lost about 1.4% a year, and its worst drop was −89.6%.
Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.75%
- about $75 on $10,000
- Return per year
- −1.4%
- since July 2006
- Worst drop
- −89.6%
- since 2006
- Started trading
- Jul 2006
- iShares (BlackRock)
Key points
- Expense ratio: 0.75% a year (about $75 on $10,000).
- Started trading on July 10, 2006.
- Worst drop since 2006: −89.6%.
- 13 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.
What does GSG hold?#
This fund does not own stocks. It holds futures contracts tied to the S&P GSCI, a broad index of commodities such as oil, gas, metals, crops and livestock, plus short-term cash-like holdings. Its value rises and falls with those raw material prices, and it sends a K-1 tax form instead of a 1099.
It tracks the S&P GSCI Total Return Index.
| Fact | GSG |
|---|---|
| Full name | iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% a year |
| Started trading | July 10, 2006 |
| Tracks | S&P GSCI Total Return Index |
| Type | Commodities, Commodity pool ETF |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the iShares (BlackRock) fund page |
What is the GSG expense ratio?#
GSG charges 0.75% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.75% fee comes to about $75 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 GSG done since 2006?#
From July 2006 to October 2026, GSG lost about 1.4% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $7,535 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Measure | GSG |
|---|---|
| Total return | −24.6% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | −1.4% |
| Worst drop from a high | −89.6% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 23.5% |
| Last 12 months | 64.6% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 18.8% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 15.7% |
| Last 10 years, per year | 9.3% |
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.
GSG returns by year#
| Year | GSG return |
|---|---|
| 2026 (part of the year) | 60.9% |
| 2025 | 5.9% |
| 2024 | 8.5% |
| 2023 | −5.5% |
| 2022 | 24.1% |
| 2021 | 38.8% |
| 2020 | −23.9% |
| 2019 | 15.6% |
| 2018 | −13.9% |
| 2017 | 3.9% |
| 2016 | 10.1% |
| 2015 | −34.1% |
| 2014 | −33.0% |
| 2013 | −1.8% |
| 2012 | −0.6% |
| 2011 | −3.3% |
| 2010 | 7.2% |
| 2009 | 11.2% |
| 2008 | −45.8% |
| 2007 | 31.6% |
| 2006 (part of the year) | −18.6% |
What was GSG’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. GSG’s worst fall was −89.6%, from July 2, 2008 to April 28, 2020. 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 GSG?#
13 classic strategies hold GSG at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.
- Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2018
- Protective Asset Allocation (PAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2016
- Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA 5), by Mebane Faber, 2007
- Vigilant Asset Allocation G12 (VAA-G12), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- GTAA 13: Faber’s 13-asset tactical allocation, by Mebane Faber, 2013
- GTAA Aggressive 3 (Faber GTAA AGG3), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- GTAA Aggressive 6 (Faber GTAA AGG6), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- Ivy Portfolio rotation (Faber’s relative strength model), by Mebane Faber and Eric Richardson, 2009
- Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- 12-Month High Switch (Meb Faber), by Mebane Faber, 2020
- Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- Ivy Portfolio (Faber and Richardson, buy and hold), by Mebane Faber and Eric Richardson, 2009
How does GSG compare with similar ETFs?#
Funds that can stand in for GSG:
- DJP: iPath Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return ETN, 0.7% a year
- DBC: Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund, 0.85% a year
- GLDM: SPDR Gold MiniShares, 0.1% a year
- SGOL: abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF, 0.17% a year
See all 8 GSG alternatives, compared on the same dates as GSG.
Test GSG 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, add GSG, 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 GSG. 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 iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.
Common questions#
What is the expense ratio of GSG?#
GSG charges 0.75% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $75 a year for every $10,000 you hold.
When did GSG start trading?#
GSG started trading on July 10, 2006. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).
What does GSG track?#
GSG tracks the S&P GSCI Total Return Index. This fund does not own stocks.
How much has GSG returned per year?#
From July 2006 to October 2026, GSG lost about 1.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −89.6%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Which strategies use GSG?#
13 of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold GSG, including Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA), Protective Asset Allocation (PAA), Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA 5).