Gold has reasserted itself as a core portfolio diversifier in 2026, giving GCC investors a choice between a Tadawul-listed, Shariah-compliant gold ETF and the world's largest physically backed gold ETF. Here's how Albilad Gold ETF (9405.SR) compares with SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) across structure, costs, performance, and accessibility.
ETF Comparison at a Glance
Fund Structure and Investment Objective
Both funds are physically backed, meaning investors gain exposure to physical gold held on behalf of the fund rather than through futures or derivatives. This structure reduces the counterparty risk associated with synthetic gold products.
Albilad Gold ETF
Albilad Gold ETF tracks the DGCX spot gold contract (DGSG) and stores its bullion in Dubai's Multi Commodities Centre. The fund stores physical gold in Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) vaults, with bullion sourced primarily from SAM Precious Metal Refinery, Al Etihad Dubai, and Emirates Dubai. As a Shariah-compliant ETF regulated by Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority, it provides GCC investors with direct exposure to physical gold through a locally listed investment vehicle.
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
GLD tracks the LBMA Gold Price PM and holds physical bullion primarily with HSBC Bank plc, while JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. serves as an additional custodian. The trust is sponsored by World Gold Trust Services, LLC, with State Street Investment Management (formerly SSGA) as the marketing agent. GLD is not a registered investment company under the 1940 Act and carries none of the associated regulatory protections a structural nuance investors should understand, though this is standard for commodity trusts.
Benchmark Comparison
Although both funds provide exposure to physical gold, they measure performance against different benchmarks. Albilad Gold ETF tracks the DGCX Spot Gold Price (DGSG), a benchmark linked to the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange that reflects regional spot gold pricing in the Middle East. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), by contrast, tracks the LBMA Gold Price PM, the globally recognised benchmark administered by the London Bullion Market Association and serving as the reference price for much of the international physical gold market. In practice, both benchmarks generally move in line with global gold prices, but differences in pricing methodology, trading venues, and regional market conventions can contribute to small variations in fund performance and tracking over time.
Performance Snapshot
The performance of Albilad Gold ETF and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) has remained closely aligned across comparable time horizons, reflecting their shared objective of tracking the price of physical gold. Over the past year, GLD returned 27.29%, slightly ahead of 25.83% for Albilad Gold ETF. Similarly, over one month, GLD gained 5.69% compared with 4.98% for Albilad Gold ETF, while both funds recorded comparable declines over the three- and six-month periods as gold prices corrected from earlier highs.
Over the five-year period, GLD delivered a cumulative return of 146.32%, compared with 124.50% for Albilad Gold ETF. Although GLD outperformed across each measured period, the performance gap remained relatively modest and likely reflects differences in expense ratios, tracking efficiency, local market dynamics, and trading environment rather than materially different exposure to gold prices.
Overall, both ETFs have closely mirrored movements in the global gold market, suggesting that the choice between them depends less on expected returns and more on factors such as cost, liquidity, market access, and investment preferences.
Fees, Liquidity, and Trading Efficiency
The expense ratio gap is the single clearest differentiator. Albilad's Total Expense Ratio of 0.13% is roughly one-third of GLD's 0.40% gross expense ratio, a meaningful edge for long-term, buy-and-hold GCC investors, especially given gold's typically modest expected returns relative to equities.
However, liquidity favors GLD decisively. GLD's average daily trading volume exceeds 7 million shares against a $130.3 billion asset base, compared with around 63,000 units for Albilad Gold ETF, with single-day trade counts in the low hundreds (116 trades, SAR 303,597 (US$80,959) value traded on a recent session per Saudi Exchange data). For large institutional tickets, GLD's depth and tight bid-ask spreads reduce execution costs that could otherwise offset Albilad's lower expense ratio.
Accessibility for GCC Investors
Since the SAR is pegged to the USD, currency risk between the two funds is minimal for Saudi-based investors, a structural advantage that isn't available when comparing, say, SAR-denominated funds to EUR or GBP assets. That said, Albilad offers direct Tadawul settlement in local currency without US brokerage account requirements, dividend withholding tax exposure, or cross-border wire costs practical frictions that matter for retail investors in the Kingdom.
Additional Metrics
Bottom Line
Both Albilad Gold ETF and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) provide physically backed exposure to gold, but they cater to different investor needs. Albilad Gold ETF stands out for Saudi and GCC investors seeking a Shariah-compliant, locally listed vehicle with a lower expense ratio than GLD and settlement in Saudi riyals. GLD, meanwhile, remains the benchmark choice for global investors, offering unmatched scale, deep liquidity, and a long-established track record backed by one of the world's largest physically backed gold trusts.
For investors focused on accessibility within the GCC and alignment with Islamic finance principles, Albilad Gold ETF is a compelling option. Those prioritising trading liquidity, institutional execution, and global market access may find GLD better suited to their portfolios. Ultimately, both funds offer exposure to the same underlying asset, making the choice less about gold itself and more about cost, market access, investment structure, and portfolio objectives.
