2. THREE GOLD ETFs WORTH CONSIDERING

13 October 2025

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1. Reflections on portfolio construction

2. Trader’s Take section in gold ETFs

See previous article.

1. Balancing Gold with the Real Economy

A sound portfolio doesn’t live on bullion alone. Gold provides the bedrock - protection against monetary folly and market tremors - but lasting wealth also needs exposure to the productive world. Alongside a core weighted towards gold and miners, investors should hold select equities in energy and industrials, the two sectors most closely tied to tangible output and inflation dynamics. This combination anchors the portfolio in real assets while still capturing the pulse of economic growth.

2. ETFs Worth Considering

SGLN – iShares Physical Gold ETC
TER 0.12 % | AUM ≈ £13 billion
SGLN is the simplest sterling-denominated route to hold physical gold. Each share is backed by allocated bullion (?) stored in London vaults, tracking the spot price almost perfectly and remaining unhedged to the US dollar. It’s a low-cost, transparent way to preserve purchasing power or hedge against monetary excess.

AUCP – Legal & General Gold Mining UCITS ETF
TER 0.65 % | AUM ≈ $400 million
AUCP tracks the FTSE Gold Mines Index, providing exposure to leading global gold-mining companies such as Newmont, Barrick and Agnico Eagle. It sits between pure bullion and high-risk junior miners, offering leverage to gold prices without extreme volatility. In strong bull phases, AUCP tends to outperform the metal; in corrections, it retreats faster. Its higher TER reflects the costs of maintaining sector purity and global weighting.

GDXJ – VanEck Junior Gold Miners UCITS ETF
TER 0.55 % | AUM ≈ $4 billion
GDXJ invests in smaller, fast-growing exploration and development miners. It brings higher potential returns - and greater volatility - than large-cap funds like AUCP. When gold rallies, juniors can surge; when sentiment turns, they can fall hard. Best suited to investors who understand the cycle and can ride the swings of this high-beta segment.

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Trader’s Take: How to blend the three in one gold strategy

Together, these three funds offer a complete exposure to gold’s ecosystem: SGLN anchors the portfolio in physical metal, the ultimate store of value; AUCP adds torque through major miners leveraged to gold prices; and GDXJ supplies the speculative edge via junior explorers with outsized upside in a bull cycle. In a stagflationary world where real assets regain power over paper promises, a balanced mix of roughly 50% SGLN, 30% AUCP and 20% GDXJ offers both defence and opportunity - the timeless metal, the producers, and the dreamers who dig it out of the ground.