Gold prices have gained over 8% in the past year amid investors turning to the precious metal for a hedge against inflation and rising geopolitical risks. The yellow metal has also benefited from a lackluster U.S. dollar in recent months as investors dial back the Federal Reserve’s interest rate expectations. Typically, the gold price and the U.S. dollar have an inverse correlation because demand for the precious metal fluctuates depending on the strength of the dollar.

Instead of physically holding the bullion, investors can gain cost-effective exposure to the metal by holding gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Below, we review the top gold ETFs that have generated the best returns over the past year. We exclude inverse and leveraged ETFs, as well as funds with less than $50 million in assets under management (AUM). All data below is as of Sept. 22.

iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM)

• Performance Over One-Year: 14.72%
• Expense Ratio: 0.09%
• Annual Dividend Yield: N/A
• Three-Month Average Daily Volume: 186,252
• Assets Under Management: $902.19 million
• Inception Date: June 15, 2021
• Issuer: Blackrock

The ETF aims to track the spot gold price by holding physical gold bullion. IAUM suits investors seeking a hedge against inflation and to diversify their portfolio. Given the fund’s low expense ratio, it also suits traders wanting to speculate on gold’s day-to-day price fluctuations. IAUM shares trade at 1/100th of the spot price for gold, making the fund ideal for investors who want to trade small order sizes.

abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL)

• Performance Over One-Year: 14.67%
• Expense Ratio: 0.17%
• Annual Dividend Yield: N/A
• Three-Month Average Daily Volume: N/A
• Assets Under Management: $2.69 billion
• Inception Date: Sept. 9, 2009
• Issuer: Abrdn Plc

SGOL aims to provide a cost-effective product for investors to gain exposure to the spot gold price. Like IAUM, the fund holds physical gold bars. The fund managers have structured the ETF as a grantor trust preventing trustees from lending the underlying gold. SGOL also trades at 1/100th of the spot price for gold, making it easier to gain smaller amounts of exposure to the precious metal.

 Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (AAAU)

• Performance Over One-Year: 14.64%
• Expense Ratio: 0.18%
• Annual Dividend Yield: N/A
• Three-Month Average Daily Volume: 1,017,447
• Assets Under Management: $550.26 million
• Inception Date: July 26, 2018
• Issuer: Goldman Sachs

Like the first two funds, this ETF has an investment objective to provide a similar return to the spot gold price by holding gold bars. AAAU is also structured as a grantor trust, meaning the fund’s trustees can not lend out its assets. The fund was acquired by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) in 2020 from Cottonwood ETF Holdings. After the acquisition, the fund lost its convertibility feature, preventing investors from converting fund shares for delivery of physical gold through gold coins and bars.

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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above ETFs.