It's an understatement to say that gold prices have been bumpy this year. Mining stocks reflect that turbulence.
Amid military conflict in Iran, gold is belying its safe-haven status. The largest ETF backed by physical holdings of the commodity is off more than 14% over the past month.
WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners ETF offers 1.8x leveraged exposure split equally between gold and gold miners, enhancing capital efficiency. GDMN remains a "Buy," supported by robust gold demand from retail, institutional, and central bank buyers, and favorable miner margins. Miners benefit from parabolic gold prices and linear cost increases, but low CapEx and regulatory hurdles constrain new supply.
The scintillating pace established by gold last year is extending into 2026. The WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (GDMN) surged almost 42% since the start of 2026.
Experienced gold investors know that when it comes to global demand, few markets are as important to the commodity as India. For one thing, the country is the world's largest by population.
WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund ETF has dramatically outperformed gold and peer ETFs during gold's parabolic rally. GDMN's leveraged mix of gold miners and gold futures drove a 226% gain in 2025 and 58.3% in early 2026, surpassing GDX and GDXJ. With gold above $5,300, risk has become unacceptable; I recommend taking profits or using stops to protect capital.
The WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund ETF (GDMN) has delivered 230% return year-to-date. But that stellar performance, comes with strings attached and some important considerations for equity investors. The GDMN could serve a very different role as part of an all-equity portfolio to what direct gold exposure does.
With just a couple of weeks left in 2025, it's clear gold will rank as one of this year's best-performing assets. It set more than 50 record highs this year and there's time left to add to that tally.
Physical gold ETFs retreated over the past week. That situation has been particularly onerous for gold mining equities and ETFs.
The largest ETF backed by physical holdings of gold has more than tripled YTD returns of the S&P 500. Some investors may interpret that as meaning bullion's upside from here could be capped.
For some novice investors, gold can be a frustrating asset. There are examples of it not living up to its reputation as a hedging asset over shorter holding periods.
It's been a banner year for spot gold and shares of miners. That's reflected by the WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (GDMN).