ETF Evaluator: UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN () Follow This ETF

UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN Overview

UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN (GLDI) is an actively managed Commodities Commodities Focused exchange-traded fund (ETF). UBS AG launched the ETF in 2013.

The investment seeks to replicate, net of expenses, the Credit Suisse NASDAQ Gold FLOWSTM 103 Index. The index measures the return of a “covered call” strategy on the shares of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the “GLD Shares”) by reflecting changes in the price of the GLD Shares and the notional option premiums received from the sale of monthly call options on the GLD Shares less notional trading costs incurred in connection with the covered call strategy.

About UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN (GLDI)

There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 13.51 years: Not Disclosed (2013). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: CS NASDAQ Gold FLOWS 103 PR USD index with a weighting of 100%. UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN has securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 0.0% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN is part of the Real Assets global asset class and is within the Commodities ETF group. UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN has 0.0% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $166 million in total assets, which is below the $4 billion average for the Commodities Focused category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

GLDI Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Commodities Focused category. UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN has an expense ratio of 0.65%, which is 15% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN has a portfolio turnover rate of 0%, which indicates that it holds its assets around /years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 15% for the Commodities Focused category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN returned 1.8%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Commodities Focused category had an average return of 5.1%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN has a trailing yield of 26.19%, which is above the 7.11% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

UBS ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned -4.9%, 36.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 12.5% over the past year (grade of D), 16.3% over the past three years (grade of C) and 10.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 7.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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