Commodity ETFs expand beyond spot-price tracking

Asset managers are widening options for commodity exposure with funds that do not simply track spot prices. Recent launches include the Y’all Street Physical Gold ETF (YSAU), which holds all of its bullion in the United States, and the Texas Capital Oil Index ETF (OILT), which tracks shares of Texas oil and gas companies rather than crude oil.

Established physical gold ETFs remain available for investors seeking direct metal exposure. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) charges 40 basis points and stores bullion in London, New York and Zurich under custodians including HSBC and JPMorgan. iShares Gold Trust (IAU) charges 25 basis points and holds metal in New York, London and Toronto, with JPMorgan involved in management. These funds offer high liquidity, tight bid-ask spreads and active options markets.

Lower-cost gold options target buy-and-hold retail investors. SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM) and iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM) have expense ratios of 10 and 9 basis points, respectively, and use smaller share prices to make trading easier for individual investors without fractional-share platforms.

After strong returns in 2025, many physical gold ETFs fell about 6% year-to-date in 2026 amid a firmer Federal Reserve interest-rate stance and geopolitical tensions. Despite price declines, investors added assets to lower-cost gold funds: GLDM recorded inflows of roughly $4.28 billion in 2026 and IAUM saw about $829.19 million of net new money over the same period.

YSAU, launched recently by Y’all Street, charges 24 basis points and stores 100% of its allocated gold in a secure vault operated by Texas Precious Metals near Shiner, Texas. The fund keeps custody of its bullion entirely on U.S. soil.

OILT follows the Alerian Texas Weighted Oil and Gas Index, which targets companies extracting oil and natural gas in Texas. OILT does not hold barrels of crude or track crude spot prices; it provides exposure through regional energy company equities. The fund returned about 25.9% in 2026 as oil prices remained higher than in 2025. VettaFi serves as the index provider for OILT and receives an index licensing fee; VettaFi is not the issuer or sponsor and is not responsible for the fund’s administration or trading.

Investors now choose among funds that prioritize trading liquidity and options depth (GLD, IAU), lower ongoing costs and smaller share sizes for long-term holdings (GLDM, IAUM), domestic custody of physical metal (YSAU) or sector and regional equity exposure to energy companies (OILT).