USERX vs. SGOL

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USERX) and abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL).

USERX is managed by US Global. It was launched on Jun 30, 1974. SGOL is a passively managed fund by abrdn that tracks the performance of the LBMA Gold Price PM ($/ozt). It was launched on Sep 9, 2009.

Performance

USERX vs. SGOL - 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 abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

USERX vs. SGOL - 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%
SGOL abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF	8.62%	63.99%	26.90%	12.99%	-0.51%	-3.94%	25.03%	18.21%	-1.94%	12.86%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, USERX achieves a -3.65% return, which is significantly lower than SGOL's 8.62% return. Over the past 10 years, USERX has outperformed SGOL with an annualized return of 17.26%, while SGOL has yielded a comparatively lower 14.11% annualized return.

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%

SGOL

• 1D: 3.77%
• 1M: -10.99%
• YTD: 8.62%
• 6M: 21.22%
• 1Y: 49.63%
• 3Y*: 33.23%
• 5Y*: 21.84%
• 10Y*: 14.11%

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

USERX vs. SGOL - Expense Ratio Comparison

USERX has a 1.52% expense ratio, which is higher than SGOL's 0.17% expense ratio.

USERX

U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund

SGOL

abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF

Return for Risk

USERX vs. SGOL — 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

SGOL

SGOL Risk / Return Rank: 87
SGOL Sharpe Ratio Rank: 89
SGOL Sortino Ratio Rank: 86
SGOL Omega Ratio Rank: 86
SGOL Calmar Ratio Rank: 89
SGOL Martin Ratio Rank: 87

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. SGOL - 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 abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL). 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	SGOL	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	2.19	1.81	+0.38
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.42	2.25	+0.17
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.36	1.33	+0.02
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	2.89	2.71	+0.19
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	10.76	10.02	+0.74
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. SGOL - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current USERX Sharpe Ratio is 2.19, which is comparable to the SGOL Sharpe Ratio of 1.81. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of USERX and SGOL, 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	SGOL	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	2.19	1.81	+0.38
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.64	1.25	-0.60
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.51	0.89	-0.38
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.00	0.58	-0.58

Correlation

The correlation between USERX and SGOL is 0.75, which is considered to be high. That indicates a strong positive relationship between their price movements. Having highly-correlated positions in a portfolio may signal a lack of diversification, potentially leading to increased risk during market downturns.

Dividends

USERX vs. SGOL - Dividend Comparison

USERX's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 3.06%, while SGOL has not paid dividends to shareholders.

	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%
SGOL abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%

Drawdowns

USERX vs. SGOL - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum USERX drawdown since its inception was -97.74%, which is greater than SGOL's maximum drawdown of -45.51%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for USERX and SGOL.

Drawdown Indicators

	USERX	SGOL	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-97.74%	-45.51%	-52.23%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-32.20%	-19.14%	-13.06%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-43.45%	-20.92%	-22.53%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-43.45%	-21.56%	-21.89%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-47.32%	-13.21%	-34.11%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-75.18%	-18.46%	-56.72%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	8.66%	5.17%	+3.49%

Volatility

USERX vs. SGOL - Volatility Comparison

U.S. Global Investors Gold & Precious Metals Fund (USERX) has a higher volatility of 16.05% compared to abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL) at 10.97%. This indicates that USERX's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SGOL based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	USERX	SGOL	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	16.05%	10.97%	+5.08%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	37.16%	24.00%	+13.16%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	43.96%	27.51%	+16.45%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	32.50%	17.63%	+14.87%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	33.98%	15.84%	+18.14%