Gold and Silver ETFs for Your IRA: Every Physical Metal Fund Compared (21 Funds, 2026)

You can hold gold and silver ETFs in any ordinary IRA, and 21 US-listed funds are built to hold real metal, with stated yearly fees from 0.09% to 0.60% as of November 2026. They do not all work the same way, and the differences cost real dollars.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a fund whose shares trade on a stock exchange like a company's shares. A physically backed fund owns metal bars. Its sponsor's fee is the yearly charge for running it. This page is part of our gold IRA comparisons, built from each fund's own SEC filing.

The page starts with the full table, then costs in dollars and ounces and the three legal forms. Then come the IRA and Roth rules, who holds the bars and the other metals. It ends with the fact that decides your case. We do not name a best fund.

All 21 Physical Metal Funds at a Glance: Fees, Custodians and Structure#

The table below lists all 21 US-listed funds built to hold physical gold, silver, platinum or palladium. Each row gives the stated fee, custodian and legal form from the fund's latest SEC filing. A waived fee is a lower rate the sponsor charges for a set time. The custodian is the bank or vault that holds the bars.

All 21 US-listed physical precious metal funds, from their SEC filings, checked November 6, 2026

We built this list from the SEC's company ticker file on November 6, 2026. Then we read each fund's latest 10-K or 40-F or, for the two Texas funds, the preliminary registration statement. Their fees are proposed, and we have not confirmed that they trade yet. Verified launch dates are in the timeline further down. Fees change, so check the fund's own page before you buy.

The funds differ a lot in size. On September 28, 2026, GLD held $141.0 billion of net assets (the value of its metal, less costs), IAU $61.7 billion, GLDM $30.3 billion and SLV $30.3 billion. FGDL held $475.6 million on March 31, 2026.

A gold IRA that holds coins is the other way to own gold for retirement. Our gold IRA vs gold ETF page prices both routes.

What Do Physical Metal Funds Cost Inside an IRA?#

Inside an IRA, a physical metal fund costs you three things: its yearly fee, a small trading cost and any broker fee. For a buy-and-hold saver, the yearly fee is the largest of the three.

You never get a bill for the fee. The fund sells small amounts of its metal to pay the sponsor, so the metal behind each share shrinks over time. NAV (net asset value) is the value of the fund's metal per share, after costs.

The GLD 10-K describes the effect. The gap between the share price and the gold price "reflects the cumulative effect of the Trust expenses." In plain English: every year of fees leaves each share with a little less gold.

Yearly fees in dollars: $4.50 to $30 on $5,000, $90 to $600 on $100,000#

On a $100,000 IRA holding, the 21 funds charge from $90 a year (IAUM at its stated fee) to $600 a year (PPLT, PALL and GLTR), as of November 2026. The table turns each fee level into dollars for three account sizes.

Yearly fund fee in dollars at each fee level, stated fees, November 2026

These are first-year fees at a flat metal price; the fee rises when metal rises. MER (management expense ratio) is the Canadian name for the all-in yearly cost, and it adds Canadian taxes to the Sprott management fee.

Share prices matter for small accounts. On September 28, 2026, one share's NAV was $379.97 for GLD, $81.98 for GLDM, $77.91 for IAU and $55.40 for SLV. So $1,000 buys two GLD shares but twelve GLDM shares. That gap counts if your broker does not sell fractional shares inside an IRA.

Physical gold in an IRA works another way. The custodian and the vault charge flat dollar fees, not a percentage, as listed in our guide to gold IRA fees.

Temporary fee waivers: IAUM until June 30, 2027 and SIVR until February 28, 2027#

Two funds charge less than their stated fee until a set date: IAUM 0.07% (not 0.09%) through June 30, 2027, and SIVR 0.30% (not 0.45%) through February 28, 2027. A waiver is a temporary discount the sponsor chooses to give.

The IAUM 10-K says fees after the waiver "will not exceed 0.07% through June 30, 2027." It adds that the sponsor "may revert to the 0.09% fee prior to June 30, 2027," with 30 days' notice. In plain English: the discount can end early, and it ends on that date unless the sponsor renews it.

The three fee breaks are worth the amounts below on a $100,000 holding.

• IAUM: $70 a year now and $90 after the waiver ends, or $20 more.
• SIVR: $300 a year now and $450 after the waiver ends, or $150 more. Its 2025 fees of $7,297,886 equal 0.30% of assets, so holders really pay the lower rate (10-K, FY 2025).
• AAAU: no break for exchange buyers, because its "Sponsor Fee Rebate Agreement" covers only some investors who buy newly issued shares from an Authorized Participant.

An Authorized Participant is a large dealer that creates and redeems fund shares directly with the trust. To compare funds fairly, use the stated fee, since a waiver can end.

How fees shrink the metal behind each share: GLD lost 8.3% of its gold in 22 years#

One GLD share held 0.1000 ounce of gold at launch on November 18, 2004 and about 0.0917 ounce on September 28, 2026, so 8.3% of the gold went to fees. In grams, each share fell from 3.11 g to 2.85 g.

The math uses two numbers from September 28, 2026: GLD's NAV of $379.97 and the LBMA Gold Price PM of $4,144.55. Dividing the NAV by the gold price gives 0.09168 ounce per share. The 8.32% loss over 21.86 years works out to 0.397% a year, the same as GLD's 0.40% fee. The LBMA Gold Price, a London benchmark set twice a day, is explained in what is the spot price of gold.

GLDM gives a second check. Its NAV of $81.98 on the same day equals 0.01978 ounce, against 0.0200 ounce at launch. That base is 1/50 ounce after a 2022 reverse split, a step that combined shares so each holds more metal. The loss is 1.10% in 8.26 years.

GLDM's fee history predicts that loss. It charged 0.18% from June 25, 2018 and 0.10% from February 23, 2022, which predicts 1.11%. The filings and the arithmetic agree within 0.01 point.

Ounces left from 1,000 ounces after 10 years at each fee, flat price

A physical gold IRA does not lose ounces this way; its fees are billed in dollars.

What do fund fees cost over 10 years on $100,000?#

At a flat metal price, 10 years of fees take $896 from $100,000 in IAUM at its stated fee and $996 in GLDM. The same holding loses $2,472 in IAU, $3,929 in GLD and $5,841 in PPLT, PALL or GLTR. The formula is $100,000 times (1 minus (1 minus the fee) to the 10th power).

These are fees only. Our ETF comparison adds a trading cost and gets $1,035 for GLDM.

Trading costs and broker fees: the spread, commissions and exit fees#

Buying or selling a fund costs about half its bid-ask spread. The bid-ask spread is the gap between the price buyers pay and the price sellers get. Morningstar measured it at 0.010% of price for GLD, 0.013% for IAU and GLDM, and 0.077% for BAR over the three months to August 31, 2026. So the low-fee GLDM costs almost the same to trade as the biggest fund.

A daily trader pays the spread on every trade, so a narrow spread matters more than the fee. The spread figures come from one source, Morningstar's September 22, 2026 analysis.

Switching funds inside an IRA costs no tax. Selling GLD and buying GLDM in the same IRA costs about half of each spread, or about $11.50 on $100,000. The fee saving is 0.30 point, or $300 a year at a flat price.

Outside an IRA, the same sale would be a collectible gain, taxed at up to 28% long-term. Place the sale and the purchase close together, so you spend little time out of gold.

Broker fees are small for most IRA owners. Fidelity and E*TRADE charged $0 online commission for ETFs on fee schedules read September 29, 2026. Exit fees apply only when you move the whole account, and the broker table further down lists them.

ETF vs ETN vs Closed-End Fund: Which Gold Funds Own Metal and What You Own#

As of November 2026, 17 of the 21 US-listed physical metal funds are US trusts that hold bars at a custodian, and 4 are Sprott's Canadian closed-end trusts. An exchange-traded note such as Bank of Montreal's SHNY owns no gold at all. The legal form decides what you own and whom you depend on.

The SEC's investor bulletin on exchange-traded notes says "ETNs are unsecured debt obligations of financial institutions." It adds: "Unlike ETFs, ETNs do not own an underlying portfolio of assets and this makes holders of ETNs subject to the creditworthiness of the issuer." Creditworthiness is the bank's ability to pay its debts. The SEC's bulletin on publicly traded closed-end funds says: "The market price for closed-end fund shares may be greater or less than the shares' net asset value (NAV)."

In plain English: an ETN is a loan to a bank that pays you a return tied to gold. A closed-end fund can cost more or less than the metal it owns. The table puts the structures side by side.

Three fund structures, what you own and who owes you, from SEC filings and bulletins, November 2026

Brokers and articles often call all of these "ETFs." Legally, the US gold trusts are not investment companies under the 1940 Act, so the wider name, exchange-traded product, fits them better.

US trusts: 17 funds that hold bars, 13 confirmed as grantor trusts#

Seventeen of the 21 funds are US trusts that hold bars in a custodian's vault, and each share is a fraction of the trust's metal. A grantor trust is a trust whose owners are taxed as if they held the metal directly. Thirteen of the 17 are confirmed grantor trusts. You own a slice of the bars, not a claim on a bank.

GLD shows how the checks work. Bureau Veritas, an outside inspection firm, "conducts two counts each year" of GLD's gold, its 10-K says. Shares are created and redeemed only in baskets, large blocks of shares, by Authorized Participants. At GLTR, a basket has been 25,000 shares since June 18, 2024.

Two newer funds add their own rules. FGDL holds only gold refined after 2012 under the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance, allocated (set aside as specific bars) "on a best efforts basis," its 10-K says.

YSAU and YSAG are series of the Texas Precious Metals Trust. Their preliminary S-1/A says each fund is not registered under the 1940 Act and "is not a commodity pool." Whether they are taxed as grantor trusts is not established in the filings we read, and the same is true of FGDL and PLTM. The S-1/A names a private Texas vault, not a bank, as their custodian.

Closed-end trusts: Sprott's 4 Canadian trusts and the premium or discount#

Sprott's PHYS, PSLV, CEF and SPPP are Canadian closed-end trusts that store their metal at the Royal Canadian Mint. Their units can trade above or below the value of that metal. A premium means the units cost more than the metal behind them. A discount means they cost less.

The CEF 40-F describes Sprott's trusts as closed-end funds listed on the TSX and NYSE Arca. The Mint is "a Canadian Crown corporation," a company owned by the Canadian government. Each trust charges a management fee plus Canadian taxes: PHYS 0.35%, PSLV 0.45%, CEF 0.40% and SPPP 0.50% (40-F filings of March 13 and 16, 2026).

CEF has a longer history. Sprott announced a deal for Central Fund of Canada Limited on October 2, 2017. "On January 16, 2018, the Arrangement was completed," the 40-F says, and each class A share became one unit.

Sprott units can be redeemed each month for metal or cash, with minimums shown in the IRA section. For US tax, the four trusts are PFICs, also explained there.

Exchange-traded notes: no gold, only a bank's promise#

An exchange-traded note owns no gold: SHNY, the MicroSectors Gold 3X Leveraged ETN, is unsecured debt of Bank of Montreal paying three times GLD's daily move, minus fees. Unsecured means no assets are pledged to repay you. Leveraged means the note multiplies daily gains and losses.

BMO's pricing supplement (Amendment No. 4, August 26, 2026) says: "The notes are unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of Bank of Montreal." It also says the notes "are not intended to be held to maturity. Instead, the notes are intended to be daily trading tools for sophisticated investors." A Daily Investor Fee runs "based on a rate of 0.95% per annum," plus a Daily Financing Charge.

In plain English: if the bank cannot pay, you are only a creditor. The leverage resets each day, so over months the result can differ sharply from three times gold's move. SHNY is not one of the 21 funds.

Futures funds and mining funds are not physical metal funds#

Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (DBP) holds gold and silver futures contracts, and VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) holds mining company shares, so neither is in the 21-fund table. DBP's 10-K (filed March 2, 2026) says the fund "invests in futures contracts in an attempt to track its Index." GDX charges a 0.51% expense ratio (December 31, 2025 report) and is taxed as stock outside an IRA. Mining shares are compared in gold IRA vs gold mining stocks.

Can You Hold a Gold ETF in an IRA or a Roth IRA?#

Yes: you can buy gold, silver, platinum and palladium funds in an ordinary traditional or Roth IRA at a brokerage. Fund shares are securities, not the coins and bars the collectibles rule covers. A brokerage IRA is an ordinary IRA at a firm such as Fidelity or Schwab.

In tax law, a collectible includes most coins and metal (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(2)). An IRA that buys one is treated as making a distribution (408(m)(1)). Physical coins need the exception in 408(m)(3) and a self-directed IRA, an IRA whose custodian can hold metal. Fund shares need neither. How 408(m) works is set out in the IRS collectibles rule.

What the IRS ruled about gold trust shares in an IRA#

In private letter ruling 200732026, released August 10, 2007, the IRS ruled that an IRA buying shares of a physically backed gold trust is not buying a collectible. A private letter ruling is a written IRS answer to one taxpayer about its own facts.

The ruling, signed May 17, 2007, says the purchase "will not constitute the acquisition of a collectible within the meaning of section 408(m) of the Code." In plain English: holding the shares in an IRA is fine.

A private letter ruling is not precedent, meaning others cannot rely on it as law. It binds only the taxpayer who asked (26 U.S.C. 6110(k)(3)). OUNZ's 10-K says its trust holds its own ruling to the same effect. No ruling names each of the 21 funds, so IRA owners rely on the 2007 principle and on brokers offering these funds in IRAs.

The full ruling, including when a redemption becomes a collectible, is quoted on our gold IRA vs gold ETF comparison.

Gold ETFs in a Roth IRA: tax-free once the withdrawal is qualified#

In a Roth IRA, gains on a gold fund come out tax-free once the withdrawal is qualified, exactly as gains on a stock fund do. A qualified distribution meets the Roth five-year rule plus a listed event, such as reaching age 59 1/2, death or disability (IRS Publication 590-B).

So yes, you can hold gold in a Roth IRA through a fund at any broker that offers ETFs. Coins in a Roth need a self-directed IRA.

Contributions go into a Roth as cash, never as metal. For 2026 the limit is $7,500, plus a $1,100 catch-up contribution, the extra amount allowed at age 50 or older (IRS Notice 2025-67).

Physical coins in a Roth are covered on Roth gold IRA.

Gold ETFs in a traditional IRA: ordinary income at withdrawal, never the 28% rate#

In a traditional IRA, money from selling a gold fund is taxed as ordinary income when you withdraw it, at your normal rate, and the 28% collectibles rate never applies. Ordinary income is taxed at the same rates as wages. Selling the fund inside the IRA creates no tax at all.

The table shows the three account types side by side.

How gold fund gains are taxed by account, 2026

Withholding means the IRA sends part of your withdrawal to the IRS for you, as a down payment on your tax (10% by default, Publication 590-B).

The full rules on how gold IRAs are taxed run from contribution to distribution.

Sprott's Canadian trusts in an IRA: no Form 8621#

PHYS, PSLV, CEF and SPPP are PFICs for US tax, but inside an IRA you file no Form 8621 for them. A PFIC (passive foreign investment company) is a US tax label for some foreign funds. Form 8621 is its yearly report.

The Form 8621 instructions (Rev. December 2025) say an IRA owner "is not treated as a shareholder of the PFIC." In plain English: the yearly PFIC paperwork applies only in a taxable account.

The CEF and SPPP 40-Fs commit each trust to decide every year whether it was a PFIC and to provide a "PFIC Annual Information Statement." That statement matters outside an IRA, where the QEF (qualified electing fund) election, a yearly reporting choice, changes the tax.

Taking metal out of a fund inside an IRA: OUNZ coins and Sprott's bar minimums#

Only OUNZ lets an ordinary holder swap shares for coins or small bars, and inside an IRA that swap is either a taxable distribution or the purchase of a collectible. The other 20 funds pay out metal only in large amounts or only to dealers.

Can you get metal from the fund? Terms from the funds' filings and what they mean in an IRA, November 2026

A Good Delivery bar is the large bar, roughly 400 ounces for gold, that banks trade in London. A volume-weighted price is an average that gives more weight to prices at which more shares traded.

The OUNZ 10-K covers a delivery of gold "to an IRA or Tax-Qualified Account." Such an exchange "would constitute the acquisition of a collectible," it says. In plain English: for almost every IRA owner, a fund's "take delivery" feature does not work inside the IRA.

Which coins and bars meet 408(m)(3) is listed under IRA-eligible precious metals.

RMDs and moving fund shares out of an IRA#

Required minimum distributions work the same for fund shares as for stocks. An RMD is the amount you must take out each year from age 73 or 75, depending on birth year. The IRA's value on December 31 of the previous year sets the amount, and you sell shares for cash or move them in kind to a taxable account.

The Uniform Lifetime divisor is 26.5 at 73 and 24.6 at 75 (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9). So $100,000 of fund shares at age 73 means an RMD of about $3,774.

In kind means moving the shares themselves, not cash. A share transfer out of a traditional IRA is taxed at its fair market value on the transfer date. That value generally becomes your cost basis, the starting price for later gains. A later sale of a grantor-trust metal fund outside the IRA is a collectible gain, taxed at up to 28% long-term.

A physical gold IRA charges a fee to move metal out in kind. Equity Trust charges $125 per in-kind distribution, plus shipping, on its precious-metals-only schedule (FS-0004-05, Rev. 081726). Coin-based RMDs are covered in gold IRA required minimum distributions.

Who Holds the Metal? 5 Custodians Behind All 21 Funds#

Five custodians hold the metal for all 21 funds, led by JPMorgan Chase Bank and ICBC Standard Bank as sole custodian of 7 funds each. HSBC with JPMorgan holds GLD's gold, and the Royal Canadian Mint serves the 4 Sprott trusts. Texas Precious Metals in Shiner, Texas, is named for the 2 new Texas funds.

Who holds the metal behind each fund, from the funds' filings, November 2026

JPMorgan and ICBC are the sole custodians for 14 of the 21 funds, or 15 counting GLD, where JPMorgan shares custody with HSBC. Only 6 funds keep, or are set to keep, their metal outside a commercial bank: the 4 Sprott trusts and the 2 Texas funds.

The money is concentrated too. On September 28, 2026, JPMorgan alone held the metal behind IAU ($61.7 billion), GLDM ($30.3 billion) and SLV ($30.3 billion), or $122.3 billion. It also shares GLD's $141.0 billion with HSBC.

The GLD 10-K says shareholders "cannot be assured" that a custodian keeps insurance for the trust's gold. A gold IRA's own vaults, and how their insurance pays, are compared on gold IRA depositories.

SIPC (the Securities Investor Protection Corporation) protects you if your broker fails, not if the price falls or a fund's custodian fails. It covers securities up to $500,000, including a $250,000 cash limit, and never covers physical metal or commodities (15 U.S.C. 78lll(14)). FDIC does not insure vault contents.

The table shows only each fund's main custodian, not the subcustodians (other vault firms) it may hire.

Texas Precious Metals Depository (TPMD) is a private vault in Shiner run by the dealer Texas Precious Metals. It is not the state-run Texas Bullion Depository. The vault itself is profiled on Texas Precious Metals Depository.

Silver, Platinum and Palladium Funds: 10 Funds Compared#

Ten of the 21 funds hold, or are set to hold, silver, platinum or palladium, and they cost more than the cheapest gold funds. Their fees run from 0.30% (SIVR, waived until February 28, 2027) to 0.60% a year (PPLT, PALL, GLTR), as of November 2026.

Silver, platinum, palladium and mixed metal funds, from their SEC filings, November 2026

Silver funds swing harder than gold funds. The SLV 10-K reports that silver rose 149.01% in 2025 on an LBMA basis. SLV's NAV then fell 15.1% from December 31, 2025 to September 28, 2026, while IAU fell 4.0%. From the January 2026 peak to the July low, silver fell 53.3% and gold 26.1% (LBMA PM). These are past numbers, not a forecast.

A silver fund gives you silver's price with no coins to store. Coins and bars held directly are covered on our silver IRA guide.

Platinum and palladium funds are allowed in an IRA like gold funds, because you hold shares, not metal. Physical platinum or palladium must pass a fineness test, meaning purity in parts per thousand. The tax code accepts .9995-fine bullion or the Platinum Eagle by name (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)). Physical platinum rules are on platinum IRA.

PALL is the only palladium-only fund, and SPPP holds both platinum and palladium. GLTR is the only fund that holds all four metals in one share, at 0.60% a year since October 22, 2010.

Palladium coins and bars are covered on palladium IRA.

Which Physical Metal Fund Fits Your IRA? The Fact That Decides, by Situation#

No single fund fits every IRA; for a long hold, the deciding fact is usually the stated fee. For frequent trades it is the spread, and for where the metal sits it is the custodian or delivery terms.

Which fact decides, by reader situation, November 2026

For the most common case, a saver who buys once and holds for 10 years, the stated fee moves the most money. On $100,000 at a flat price, 0.09% costs $896 over 10 years and 0.40% costs $3,929. That gap of $3,033 is larger than any trading cost in the table.

We do not rank funds or name a best fund, and no fund sponsor can pay to change this table.

How Do You Buy a Gold ETF in Your IRA, and When Is a Physical Gold IRA Different?#

You buy a gold ETF in your IRA the way you buy any stock fund: search the ticker at your brokerage and place an order. There is no custodian, vault or dealer to arrange. A physical gold IRA is a different account with its own custodian and vault.

SafeOunce takes no money from any company named on this page.

If you want coins instead, see how to open a gold IRA in 5 steps.

Buying fund shares in an IRA you already have#

Buying a metal fund in an existing IRA takes four steps and, at Fidelity and E*TRADE, no online commission. The four steps are listed below.

1. Check that your IRA sits at a brokerage that offers ETFs.
2. Look up the ticker and its stated fee in the 21-fund table above.
3. Place a limit order during market hours. A limit order sets the most you will pay.
4. Record the purchase price and date for your own files.

Broker facts for metal funds in an IRA, from fee schedules read September 29, 2026

Fidelity is the one broker here that also sells coins inside an ordinary IRA; those coins are priced on Fidelity gold IRA. Exit fees matter only if you move the whole account.

Vanguard runs no gold fund of its own, so its customers buy a third-party fund such as GLD or IAU.

Each broker's rules for gold are on its own page: Vanguard and gold IRAs, Charles Schwab and gold IRAs and E*TRADE and Morgan Stanley IRAs and gold.

Gold ETF vs physical gold IRA: the short answer#

On $100,000 held 10 years at a flat gold price, a low-fee gold fund costs about $1,000 and the cheapest physical gold IRA we priced about $6,300. Only the gold IRA can pay you in coins. GLDM comes to $1,035 with a trading cost, and the low-cost gold IRA route to $6,341, both as of September 29, 2026. Every cost layer is in gold IRA vs gold ETF.

Can a 401(k) hold a gold ETF?#

A 401(k) can hold a gold fund only if the plan's menu or its brokerage window offers one; you cannot add a fund the plan does not allow. A brokerage window lets you buy funds outside the menu. Both are explained in can you hold gold in a 401(k).

Gold ETF tax outside an IRA in 2026: up to 37% short-term and 28% long-term#

In 2026, gains on physically backed metal funds held outside an IRA for a year or less are taxed at ordinary rates of up to 37%. Long-term gains, on funds held longer, are taxed at no more than 28%. So GLD is taxed differently from a stock fund outside an IRA, but not inside one.

The 28% cap comes from the collectibles rules in 26 U.S.C. 1(h)(4)-(5). IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets the 2026 brackets, with the 37% top rate above $640,600 single and $768,700 joint. GLD's tax FAQ (January 2026) says collectibles gains are "taxed at a maximum rate of 28%." It adds: "if a U.S. shareholder is otherwise subject to rate lower than 28%, the 28% rate does not apply."

In plain English: long-term gains are taxed at your normal rate, but never above 28%. The cap only helps above $201,775 of taxable income single or $403,550 joint, where the 2026 ordinary rate rises past 24%.

How metal funds are taxed outside an IRA in 2026

FGDL, PLTM, YSAU and YSAG are left out because their tax status is not confirmed in the filings we read; check each fund's tax page.

Older summaries put the short-term rate at "35%," and that figure is out of date. Short-term gains are ordinary income, and the top 2026 ordinary rate is 37%.

Higher earners can also owe the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) on fund gains. IRA distributions are not subject to it (26 U.S.C. 1411(c)(5)). Worked examples are on our 28% collectibles rate page.

The Royal Mint's RMAU: launched February 2020, 1/100 ounce per share, gold vaulted in Llantrisant, Wales#

The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC (ticker RMAU) listed on the London Stock Exchange in February 2020, with each security equal to 1/100 troy ounce of gold at launch. It is backed by LBMA Good Delivery bars held in the Royal Mint's vault at Llantrisant, Wales. An ETC (exchange-traded commodity) is a security that trades on an exchange, not a fund. One troy ounce is 31.10 grams, so each security started at about 0.31 gram of gold.

HANetf's launch release, datelined "London February 2020," says the product "will list on London Stock Exchange this week." Each security is "equal to 1/100th of a troy ounce of gold at launch" and "100% backed by London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Good Delivery bars." Custody is "The Royal Mint Llantrisant (near Cardiff) Wales."

The TER, or total expense ratio, was "0.22% per annum" at launch; we have not read the current rate. The Royal Mint partnered with HANetf "to issue manage and distribute the RMAU ETC." ETF Express reported on February 17, 2020 that the product was "to launch this week."

RMAU facts checked against the launch release, and what older summaries get wrong

The release calls RMAU the Royal Mint's first listed financial product. A later HANetf release uses a new name, "The Royal Mint Responsibly Sourced Physical Gold ETC."

RMAU is listed in London. We found no US listing and no SEC filings by HANetf in the SEC ticker file and an EDGAR company search on November 6, 2026. So it is not one of the 21 funds a US brokerage IRA would normally offer. The Royal Mint's own coin is covered in British Gold Britannia in an IRA.

Physical metal funds, 2004 to 2026: a timeline#

The oldest of the 21 US-listed physical metal funds, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), launched on November 18, 2004. By September 28, 2026 it held $141.0 billion of gold, the largest of the 21. The timeline below dates each launch, closure and rule change.

Physical metal funds and IRA rules, 2004 to 2026, from SEC filings and IRS records

Two facts often appear out of date in older summaries. Central Fund of Canada has been Sprott's CEF since January 16, 2018, and WGLD closed in 2022, with its filing record on EDGAR. How metal itself became allowed in IRAs is told in our history of gold in IRAs.

6 claims about gold ETFs in IRAs, checked#

Six claims from pages that rank for gold ETFs in IRAs fail or need a correction when checked against fund filings and IRS rules. We name the pages as text with the date we read them.

Six claims about gold ETFs in IRAs, checked against documents, November 2026

Regal Assets is also not a fund; it was a gold IRA company. The full record is on our page on what happened at Regal Assets.

What are the best gold ETF funds?#

No fund is best for every IRA, but IAUM (0.09%) and GLDM (0.10%) have the lowest stated fees as of late 2026. GLD is the largest fund, and it had the narrowest spread of the large gold funds Morningstar measured (3 months to August 31, 2026). Morningstar's September 2026 analysis calls GLDM "the best choice for most investors." SafeOunce makes no pick.

Is it good to buy gold ETFs?#

A gold ETF gives you gold's price with a yearly fee and no storage to arrange, but it pays no income or dividends. Its price moves with gold, which fell 26.1% from the January 29, 2026 peak to the July 16, 2026 low (LBMA PM). The case for and against metal in retirement savings is on is a gold IRA a good investment.

Do gold mining ETFs count as gold funds?#

No: gold mining funds such as GDX own company shares, so their price can move far more than gold, and they are taxed as stock funds outside an IRA. From 2011 to 2015, GDX lost 76.8% in total (25.35% a year) while gold fell 24.6%; in 2025, GDX gained 155.57%.