WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund

GDE

Market cap $620M

With net inflows of about $1.5 trillion for the year, 2025 was in some ways the biggest year ever for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). And with a massive and ever-growing field of funds available, the ETF space shows no signs of slowing or losing its appeal to investors in 2026.

WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund remains a "Buy," driven by gold's historic surge and robust momentum. GDE has outperformed the S&P 500 by over 25 percentage points since August, with assets under management rising to $512 million. The ETF blends U.S. large-cap equities and gold futures, offering diversification, inflation hedging, and a 4.24% trailing dividend yield.

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This year, investors have been rewarded by equities and gold. As of October 8, the S&P 500 was higher by nearly 16% YTD.

WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund (GDE) offers leveraged exposure to both gold and equities, benefiting from current macroeconomic conditions. GDE is well-positioned as gold prices rise, supported by falling oil prices, strong ETF inflows, central bank buying, and tight silver markets. The traditional gold-real yield relationship has weakened, with gold now driven by global tensions, central bank demand, and a weakening U.S. dollar.

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The implicit leverage mechanism inside GDE makes it a puzzle piece of my portfolio that I had been looking for some time. The structure built around GDE allows the introduction of gold's functions (hedging) into an equity-oriented portfolio. Which, in my opinion, makes it interesting as a satellite component of the portfolio, considering the active management and the implicit leverage.

I have a buy rating on GDE, citing its strong risk-adjusted returns and efficient exposure to both US large-cap stocks and gold. GDE has outperformed both gold and the S&P 500 since March 2024, returning 90% versus 55% and 27%, respectively. The ETF offers capital-efficient diversification, low expenses, and robust technical momentum, although liquidity concerns warrant using limit orders.

Gold is the best-performing major asset this year, enjoying a comfortable lead over its nearest competitors. Obviously, that's good news for holders of physical gold as well as investors engaged with related ETFs.

When allocating to alternative investments, like gold, market participants often grapple with how much of their portfolios should be devoted to those assets. They also wonder whether it's their equity or fixed income sleeves that will be subject to pruning.