GSG vs. PBDC

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and Putnam BDC Income ETF (PBDC).

GSG and PBDC are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. GSG is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the S&P GSCI Total Return Index. It was launched on Jul 21, 2006. PBDC is an actively managed fund by Putnam. It was launched on Sep 29, 2022.

Performance

GSG vs. PBDC - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and Putnam BDC Income ETF (PBDC). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

GSG vs. PBDC - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022
GSG iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust	38.38%	5.93%	8.52%	-5.51%	3.16%
PBDC Putnam BDC Income ETF	-11.37%	-1.77%	19.43%	30.52%	10.86%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, GSG achieves a 38.38% return, which is significantly higher than PBDC's -11.37% return.

GSG

• 1D: -1.05%
• 1M: 18.45%
• YTD: 38.38%
• 6M: 39.22%
• 1Y: 40.14%
• 3Y*: 16.62%
• 5Y*: 17.68%
• 10Y*: 8.98%

PBDC

• 1D: -1.67%
• 1M: -0.77%
• YTD: -11.37%
• 6M: -8.48%
• 1Y: -14.06%
• 3Y*: 8.72%
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

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

GSG vs. PBDC - Expense Ratio Comparison

GSG has a 0.75% expense ratio, which is lower than PBDC's 6.79% expense ratio.

PBDC

Putnam BDC Income ETF

GSG

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust

Return for Risk

GSG vs. PBDC — Risk / Return Rank

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

GSG

GSG Risk / Return Rank: 87
GSG Sharpe Ratio Rank: 88
GSG Sortino Ratio Rank: 89
GSG Omega Ratio Rank: 85
GSG Calmar Ratio Rank: 92
GSG Martin Ratio Rank: 81

PBDC

PBDC Risk / Return Rank: 2
PBDC Sharpe Ratio Rank: 2
PBDC Sortino Ratio Rank: 3
PBDC Omega Ratio Rank: 2
PBDC Calmar Ratio Rank: 2
PBDC Martin Ratio Rank: 1

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.

GSG vs. PBDC - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and Putnam BDC Income ETF (PBDC). 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.

	GSG	PBDC	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.91	-0.65	+2.56
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.58	-0.79	+3.37
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.35	0.90	+0.45
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	3.37	-0.67	+4.04
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	9.40	-1.42	+10.82
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

GSG vs. PBDC - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current GSG Sharpe Ratio is 1.91, which is higher than the PBDC Sharpe Ratio of -0.65. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of GSG and PBDC, 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

	GSG	PBDC	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.91	-0.65	+2.56
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.81	—	—
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.41	—	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	-0.09	0.74	-0.84

Correlation

The correlation between GSG and PBDC is 0.15, 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

GSG vs. PBDC - Dividend Comparison

GSG has not paid dividends to shareholders, while PBDC's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 11.89%.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022
GSG iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
PBDC Putnam BDC Income ETF	11.89%	10.53%	9.29%	9.86%	3.40%

Drawdowns

GSG vs. PBDC - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum GSG drawdown since its inception was -89.62%, which is greater than PBDC's maximum drawdown of -20.47%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for GSG and PBDC.

Drawdown Indicators

	GSG	PBDC	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-89.62%	-20.47%	-69.15%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-11.91%	-20.15%	+8.24%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-29.12%	—	—
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-57.64%	—	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-58.22%	-18.70%	-39.52%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-63.77%	-4.15%	-59.62%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	4.27%	9.54%	-5.27%

Volatility

GSG vs. PBDC - Volatility Comparison

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) has a higher volatility of 11.23% compared to Putnam BDC Income ETF (PBDC) at 6.39%. This indicates that GSG's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than PBDC based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	GSG	PBDC	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	11.23%	6.39%	+4.84%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	16.29%	14.34%	+1.95%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	21.14%	21.68%	-0.54%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	21.97%	16.75%	+5.22%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	21.77%	16.75%	+5.02%