Fund Evaluator:
Sprott Gold Equity Investor (SGDLX)
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Best Performing in Equity Precious Metals Over the Last Year
| 62.7% | US Global Investors World Prec Mnral (UNWPX) |
| 56.6% | US Global Investors Gld & Prec Mtls (USERX) |
| 55.0% | Sprott Gold Equity Investor (SGDLX) |
| 53.6% | Midas Discovery (MIDSX) |
| 52.6% | Rydex Precious Metals Inv (RYPMX) |
Fund Details
Sprott Gold Equity Investor Overview
Sprott Gold Equity Investor (SGDLX) is an actively managed Sector Equity Equity Precious Metals fund. Sprott launched the fund in 1998.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities of companies located throughout the world, in both developed and emerging markets, that are primarily engaged in mining or processing gold (“Gold Related Securities”). It may also invest in gold bullion and other precious metals, i.e., silver and platinum (“Other Precious Metals”). However, no more than 20% of the fund's total assets may be invested directly in gold bullion and other precious metals. The fund is non-diversified.
About Sprott Gold Equity Investor (SGDLX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.35 years: Maria Smirnova (2020), Shree Kargutkar (2020), Justin Tolman (2024), John Hathaway (1998). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) index with a weighting of 100% and Philadelphia SE Gold & Silver Sec TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Sprott Gold Equity Investor has 56 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 47.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Sprott Gold Equity Investor is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity fund group. Sprott Gold Equity Investor has 81.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 14.5%. There is 81.9% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.1% (0.1% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.3% convertible bond). Sprott Gold Equity Investor has 1.5% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $433 million average for the Equity Precious Metals 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.
SGDLX 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 Sprott Gold Equity Investor expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Equity Precious Metals category. Sprott Gold Equity Investor has an expense ratio of 1.46%, which is 14% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. Sprott Gold Equity Investor has a portfolio turnover rate of 37%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 55% for the Equity Precious Metals category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, Sprott Gold Equity Investor returned -13.5%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Equity Precious Metals category had an average return of -15.0%. 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 funds in that category.
Sprott Gold Equity Investor has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 5.58% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually 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.
Sprott Gold Equity Investor Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned -8.6%, 0.9 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 55.0% over the past year (grade of B), 40.4% over the past three years (grade of B) and 18.6% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 10.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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SGDLX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| SGDLX Return (NAV) | -13.5% | -13.4% | 55.0% | 40.4% | 18.6% | 10.5% |
| SGDLX Grade | A | A | B | B | C | D |
| +/- Category | 1.5% | 2.2% | 6.1% | 1.6% | 0.7% | -0.6% |
| Equity Precious Metals Avg | -15.0% | -15.6% | 48.9% | 38.8% | 17.8% | 11.2% |
| SGDLX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
SGDLX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| SGDLX Return (NAV) | -8.6% | 147.7% | 20.6% | 1.9% | -13.2% | -11.8% | 31.8% | 35.2% | -16.4% | 8.9% | 40.4% |
| SGDLX Grade | B | D | A | F | C | F | C | F | D | C | F |
| +/- Category | 0.9% | -6.0% | 6.4% | -2.7% | 0.3% | -2.4% | -0.2% | -6.8% | -2.0% | -0.2% | -11.0% |
| Equity Precious Metals Avg | -9.5% | 153.6% | 14.1% | 4.6% | -13.5% | -9.4% | 32.0% | 42.1% | -14.4% | 9.1% | 51.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 34.1% |
| Total Risk Index: | 2.80 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.97 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (29% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.89 |
| R-Squared: | 11% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Mid-Cap Growth |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1495 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $1,026 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | No Load |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 37% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 28.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 10.3 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Hathaway John (1998), Smirnova Maria (2020), Kargutkar Shree (2020), Tolman Justin (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 12/31/25)
| # of Holdings: | 56 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 47.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 81.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 14.5% |
| Foreign Stock: | 81.9% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.3% |
| Other: | 1.7% |
| Cash: | 1.5% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Sprott |
| Phone Number: | 844-940-4653 |
| Website: | www.sprottetfs.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | June 29, 1998 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 250 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 2.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.46% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.28% |
| Share Class: | Sprott Gold Equity Investor |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |
