GOAU vs. GAIN

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about US Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF (GOAU) and Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN).

GOAU is a passively managed fund by US Global that tracks the performance of the U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners Index. It was launched on Jun 27, 2017.

Performance

GOAU vs. GAIN - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in US Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF (GOAU) and Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

GOAU vs. GAIN - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
GOAU US Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF	9.07%	126.68%	13.78%	10.67%	-11.66%	-9.23%	14.13%	54.17%	-11.88%	7.92%
GAIN Gladstone Investment Corporation	4.44%	17.11%	5.33%	31.01%	-17.55%	82.14%	-16.56%	53.31%	-9.67%	25.54%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, GOAU achieves a 9.07% return, which is significantly higher than GAIN's 4.44% return.

GOAU

• 1D: 4.64%
• 1M: -17.24%
• YTD: 9.07%
• 6M: 14.84%
• 1Y: 87.28%
• 3Y*: 39.02%
• 5Y*: 20.93%
• 10Y*: —

GAIN

• 1D: 0.99%
• 1M: 4.28%
• YTD: 4.44%
• 6M: 6.57%
• 1Y: 18.30%
• 3Y*: 16.66%
• 5Y*: 14.94%
• 10Y*: 18.61%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

Return for Risk

GOAU vs. GAIN — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

GOAU

GOAU Risk / Return Rank: 83
GOAU Sharpe Ratio Rank: 87
GOAU Sortino Ratio Rank: 81
GOAU Omega Ratio Rank: 79
GOAU Calmar Ratio Rank: 86
GOAU Martin Ratio Rank: 81

GAIN

GAIN Risk / Return Rank: 70
GAIN Sharpe Ratio Rank: 70
GAIN Sortino Ratio Rank: 66
GAIN Omega Ratio Rank: 65
GAIN Calmar Ratio Rank: 70
GAIN Martin Ratio Rank: 81

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

GOAU vs. GAIN - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for US Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF (GOAU) and Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	GOAU	GAIN	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.88	0.85	+1.03
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.17	1.45	+0.72
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.32	1.19	+0.13
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	2.78	1.47	+1.31
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	9.55	6.29	+3.26
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

GOAU vs. GAIN - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current GOAU Sharpe Ratio is 1.88, which is higher than the GAIN Sharpe Ratio of 0.85. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of GOAU and GAIN, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	GOAU	GAIN	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.88	0.85	+1.03
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.58	0.69	-0.10
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	—	0.73	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.50	0.24	+0.27

Correlation

The correlation between GOAU and GAIN is 0.13, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

GOAU vs. GAIN - Dividend Comparison

GOAU's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 0.86%, less than GAIN's 10.46% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
GOAU US Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF	0.86%	0.94%	2.11%	0.99%	1.55%	1.28%	0.74%	0.16%	0.47%	0.27%	0.00%	0.00%
GAIN Gladstone Investment Corporation	10.46%	10.74%	12.53%	17.24%	9.88%	6.06%	9.22%	7.06%	9.24%	7.94%	8.87%	9.68%

Drawdowns

GOAU vs. GAIN - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum GOAU drawdown since its inception was -55.41%, smaller than the maximum GAIN drawdown of -80.87%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for GOAU and GAIN.

Drawdown Indicators

	GOAU	GAIN	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-55.41%	-80.87%	+25.46%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-31.15%	-13.01%	-18.14%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-48.52%	-26.26%	-22.26%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	—	-56.28%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-17.43%	-0.26%	-17.17%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-18.77%	-16.03%	-2.74%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	9.06%	3.05%	+6.01%

Volatility

GOAU vs. GAIN - Volatility Comparison

US Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF (GOAU) has a higher volatility of 17.04% compared to Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN) at 7.40%. This indicates that GOAU's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than GAIN based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	GOAU	GAIN	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	17.04%	7.40%	+9.64%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	39.44%	12.19%	+27.25%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	46.73%	21.60%	+25.13%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	35.96%	21.91%	+14.05%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	35.37%	25.40%	+9.97%