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Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Rank 182Up 2
#18 in Index Funds & ETFs
of 20 ranked entries
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
State Street · Launched 2004
GLD is structured to hold physical gold bullion in vaults, with each share representing a fractional claim on that bullion — a fundamentally different mechanism than any equity or bond fund on this list. Recorded specifics: launched 2004, issuer State Street, category Alternative. Panel highlighted backed by physically held gold bullion rather than derivatives or mining stocks, deep liquidity makes it one of the largest commodity-backed ETFs structurally and long track record since 2004 across multiple economic cycles. The reservation on record is higher expense ratio than most equity or bond funds on this list.
Alternative
Score breakdown
How SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) earned 73.7
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Index Funds & ETFs.
- Cost efficiencyweight 30%
- 71.1
- Tracking disciplineweight 25%
- 76.1
- Structural liquidityweight 25%
- 74.7
- Diversification breadthweight 20%
- 73.2
On the record
Recorded detail
| Launched | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Issuer | State Street |
| Category | Alternative |
| Expense ratio | 0.4% |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Backed by physically held gold bullion rather than derivatives or mining stocks
- Deep liquidity makes it one of the largest commodity-backed ETFs structurally
- Long track record since 2004 across multiple economic cycles
Where it gives ground
- Higher expense ratio than most equity or bond funds on this list
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
From the same list
Ranked alongside it
Rank 01Editor’s pickVanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)
Vanguard · Launched 2010
VOO tracks the S&P 500 at one of the lowest expense ratios of any fund on this list, and Vanguard’s mutual ownership structure — the fund company is owned by its own funds — is the structural reason costs have stayed this low for over a decade.
96.5/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 02Editor’s pickSPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)
State Street · Launched 1993
SPY was the first ETF ever listed in the United States and remains, by trading volume, the most liquid fund on earth — a structural advantage in execution cost that its lower-fee younger rivals still cannot fully replicate.
96.4/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
Rank 03Editor’s pickiShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)
BlackRock · Launched 2000
IVV sits structurally between SPY’s deep liquidity and VOO’s rock-bottom cost, matching VOO’s expense ratio while carrying BlackRock’s scale as the world’s largest asset manager behind it.
94.9/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
Rank 04Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)
Vanguard · Launched 2001
VTI extends beyond the S&P 500’s large-cap boundary to include mid- and small-cap US companies in a single fund, structurally the broadest single-ticket exposure to the US equity market available at this cost.
94.2/100 Top 49 score3Down 3
Rank 05Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ)
Invesco · Launched 1999
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 rather than a broad market index, which structurally concentrates it in technology and growth-oriented companies far more than any general market fund on this list.
91.7/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
Rank 06Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS)
Vanguard · Launched 2011
VXUS is structured to capture developed and emerging markets outside the US in one fund, the standard structural complement investors pair with a US-only fund like VTI for global diversification.
90.2/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Rank 07Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)
Vanguard · Launched 2007
BND tracks a broad US investment-grade bond index, structurally the fixed-income counterweight most commonly paired against equity funds like VTI in a diversified portfolio structure.
89.8/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 08Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA)
Vanguard · Launched 2007
VEA is structured around developed international markets specifically, excluding emerging markets, which gives it a narrower and structurally more stable international mandate than VXUS.
88.5/100 Top 49 scoreNewNew entry
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Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.