SGDM is an actively rules-based ETF focusing on larger gold mining companies listed in the U.S. and Canada. It tracks the Solactive Gold Miners Custom Factors Index and emphasizes firms excelling in revenue growth, free cash flow yield, and lower debt-to-equity ratios.
It is a robust way to tap into gold equities with a lean toward financially healthy operations.
At its core, SGDM is not just another passive fund. Launched in 2014, it is a rules-based ETF that tracks the Solactive Gold Miners Custom Factors Index.
Unlike some broader mining ETFs, SGDM places emphasis on quality, leaning into companies that demonstrate strong revenue growth, healthy free cash flow yield, and lower debt-to-equity ratios. In other words, it is designed to capture the upside of gold miners while avoiding the pitfalls of firms with weaker financial structures. With an expense ratio of around 0.50%, it positions itself as a focused but disciplined vehicle for gold equity exposure.
When you go into the portfolio, the concentration becomes clear. The fund typically holds between thirty-five and forty stocks, but the top ten account for nearly two-thirds of assets. The names here are hardly surprising, they are the heavyweights of the gold mining world.
Newmont, for example, commands roughly 13% of the fund, while Agnico Eagle Mines makes up around 12%. Other giants such as Wheaton Precious Metals, Franco-Nevada, Kinross Gold, Royal Gold, Barrick Gold, and Pan American Silver all figure prominently. The portfolio is overwhelmingly tilted toward Canada (with about 64–76% of exposure), followed by the United States (17–21%), with a small slice in South Africa. This heavy North American focus underscores how the region continues to dominate global gold production.
So why has SGDM surged so dramatically in 2025? The performance figures are jaw-dropping. By May, the fund was already up nearly 55% year-to-date, and by the end of June, that figure had climbed to about 63%.
This momentum was largely fueled by the broader gold price rally, which itself has been driven by geopolitical uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and renewed demand for safe-haven assets. The beauty of SGDM, however, is that it doesn’t just mirror gold’s moves, it amplifies them. Because mining stocks tend to move with leverage relative to the underlying metal, the ETF was able to capture outsized gains as gold prices climbed.
But it wasn’t just gold’s spot price doing the heavy lifting. SGDM’s rules-based selection also mattered. By concentrating on miners with strong cash flows and healthier balance sheets, the ETF ensured that its portfolio was made up of companies that could actually deliver shareholder returns in an upcycle.
Investors rotated into these kinds of assets not only because of gold’s shine, but also because they offered a mix of growth potential and financial stability. This mix made SGDM a natural destination for capital in a year marked by political instability and market turbulence.
Of course, such a powerful rally doesn’t come without risks. SGDM is volatile, very volatile. Annualized volatility measures hover in the 30–38% range, meaning investors have to be prepared for gut-wrenching swings both upward and downward. Its correlation to broader equity markets is also quite low. For example, its beta relative to the S&P 500 is only about 0.2, with an R² of just 1%. That makes SGDM an excellent diversifier, but also a fund that truly “dances to its own beat.” The flipside of this independence, however, is that when gold falls out of favor, SGDM can plummet even faster than the metal itself.
Still, the story of 2025 so far is one of triumph. Gold has reasserted itself as a hedge against chaos, and SGDM has served as the leveraged proxy for that narrative. Investors who bought into the ETF were rewarded with eye-popping gains. Its concentrated exposure to top-tier miners meant that when giants like Newmont or Agnico jumped, SGDM jumped higher. And with nearly all of its weight in the gold mining sector, there was no dilution of returns.
To sum it up, SGDM in 2025 has been the quintessential high-reward play for those willing to stomach volatility. It is a pure bet on gold miners, sharpened by its focus on balance sheet strength, and it has paid off spectacularly this year. For investors, it offers both a diversifier, since it doesn’t move in lockstep with the S&P 500 or other global equity indices, and a speculative rollercoaster ride that can magnify both the glory and the pain of gold’s cycles.
