USERX vs. SCHG

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USERX) and Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG).

USERX is managed by US Global. It was launched on Jun 30, 1974. SCHG is a passively managed fund by Charles Schwab that tracks the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index. It was launched on Dec 11, 2009.

Performance

USERX vs. SCHG - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USERX) and Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

USERX vs. SCHG - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
USERX U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund	-3.65%	167.44%	16.75%	1.44%	-17.44%	-10.80%	37.16%	51.34%	-14.24%	13.07%
SCHG Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF	-10.59%	17.50%	34.95%	50.10%	-31.80%	28.11%	39.14%	36.02%	-1.36%	28.05%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, USERX achieves a -3.65% return, which is significantly higher than SCHG's -10.59% return. Both investments have delivered pretty close results over the past 10 years, with USERX having a 17.26% annualized return and SCHG not far behind at 16.83%.

USERX

• 1D: -0.77%
• 1M: -29.27%
• YTD: -3.65%
• 6M: 14.10%
• 1Y: 93.42%
• 3Y*: 41.60%
• 5Y*: 20.82%
• 10Y*: 17.26%

SCHG

• 1D: 3.67%
• 1M: -5.12%
• YTD: -10.59%
• 6M: -8.51%
• 1Y: 16.81%
• 3Y*: 21.91%
• 5Y*: 12.55%
• 10Y*: 16.83%

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

USERX vs. SCHG - Expense Ratio Comparison

USERX has a 1.52% expense ratio, which is higher than SCHG's 0.04% expense ratio.

USERX

U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund

SCHG

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF

Return for Risk

USERX vs. SCHG — Risk / Return Rank

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

USERX

USERX Risk / Return Rank: 91
USERX Sharpe Ratio Rank: 95
USERX Sortino Ratio Rank: 88
USERX Omega Ratio Rank: 86
USERX Calmar Ratio Rank: 93
USERX Martin Ratio Rank: 92

SCHG

SCHG Risk / Return Rank: 46
SCHG Sharpe Ratio Rank: 45
SCHG Sortino Ratio Rank: 50
SCHG Omega Ratio Rank: 49
SCHG Calmar Ratio Rank: 45
SCHG Martin Ratio Rank: 41

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.

USERX vs. SCHG - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USERX) and Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG). 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.

	USERX	SCHG	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	2.19	0.75	+1.44
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.42	1.23	+1.18
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.36	1.17	+0.18
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	2.89	1.03	+1.86
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	10.76	3.54	+7.22
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

USERX vs. SCHG - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current USERX Sharpe Ratio is 2.19, which is higher than the SCHG Sharpe Ratio of 0.75. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of USERX and SCHG, 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

	USERX	SCHG	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	2.19	0.75	+1.44
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.64	0.57	+0.08
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.51	0.79	-0.28
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.00	0.79	-0.79

Correlation

The correlation between USERX and SCHG is 0.23, 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

USERX vs. SCHG - Dividend Comparison

USERX's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 3.06%, more than SCHG's 0.43% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
USERX U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund	3.06%	2.95%	1.48%	0.00%	0.00%	2.13%	2.68%	0.00%	1.76%	0.00%	0.88%	0.47%
SCHG Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF	0.43%	0.36%	0.39%	0.46%	0.55%	0.42%	0.52%	0.82%	1.27%	1.01%	1.04%	1.22%

Drawdowns

USERX vs. SCHG - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum USERX drawdown since its inception was -97.74%, which is greater than SCHG's maximum drawdown of -34.59%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for USERX and SCHG.

Drawdown Indicators

	USERX	SCHG	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-97.74%	-34.59%	-63.15%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-32.20%	-16.41%	-15.79%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-43.45%	-34.59%	-8.86%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-43.45%	-34.59%	-8.86%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-47.32%	-13.34%	-33.98%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-75.18%	-5.22%	-69.96%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	8.66%	4.78%	+3.88%

Volatility

USERX vs. SCHG - Volatility Comparison

U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USERX) has a higher volatility of 16.05% compared to Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG) at 6.67%. This indicates that USERX's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SCHG based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	USERX	SCHG	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	16.05%	6.67%	+9.38%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	37.16%	12.51%	+24.65%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	43.96%	22.43%	+21.53%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	32.50%	22.32%	+10.18%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	33.98%	21.51%	+12.47%