Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$3,152
+$2,152 profit3.15x16.0% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $3,453
Includes the fund’s 0.4% yearly fee, roughly $54.44 over this time.
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$2,830
US federal long-term rates: 15% for most people, 0% on lower incomes, 20% + 3.8% on high incomes. No state tax included; none inside a Roth IRA.
Growth Over Time
Performance Metrics
Total Invested
$1,000.00
Current Value
$3,152.48
Total Profit
$2,152.48
Multiplier
3.15x
CAGR
16.0%
Max Drawdown
-23.8%
Inflation-Adjusted
$2,472.66
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2019 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Gold ETF (GLD) | $3,152.48 | 3.15x |
| S&P 500 | $3,453.01 | 3.45x |
| Gold | $3,277.07 | 3.28x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,165.76 | 1.17x |
Dividends
Gold ETF (GLD) paid no dividends over this period, so the whole return came from its share price.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Gold ETF (GLD) charges a yearly fee of 0.4%. It’s already taken out of the fund’s price, so the results above include it; at today’s rate it came to roughly $54.44 on this investment. Source
Back in 2019
- In 2019, a gallon of gas averaged $2.60, a movie ticket averaged $9.16 and the new iPhone 11 Pro started at $999. eia.govapple.comhollywoodreporter.com
- During 2019 itself, Gold ETF (GLD) rose 19%, #73 of the 100 investments we track. The best was Chainlink (+511%); the worst was Stellar (−60%). Full 2019 results →
$1,000 in Gold ETF (GLD), year by year
Of the 100 investments we track that were available at the start of 2019, Gold ETF (GLD) ranks #50 by growth to today — just behind Citigroup and ahead of Cisco. See the full 2019 ranking →
Gold ETF (GLD) started 2019 26% below its start-of-2013 high, after falling 3.1% in 2018. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Its best January was 2026, at $3,283. Today it's 4% below that, so selling then would have beaten holding. It rose in 6 of the 7 full years since. It was ahead of the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2026 but has fallen behind it since. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Feb 2026 ($3,986) to Jun 2026 ($3,036), a drop of 24%. At its lowest month-end, in Apr 2019, it was worth $998.72.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2019 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2020 | $1,186 | +19% | $1,315 |
| Start of 2021 | $1,503 | +27% | $1,557 |
| Start of 2022 | $1,387 | −7.7% | $2,004 |
| Start of 2023 | $1,410 | +1.6% | $1,641 |
| Start of 2024 | $1,572 | +11% | $2,072 |
| Start of 2025 | $2,023 | +29% | $2,591 |
| Start of 2026 | $3,283 | +62% | $3,054 |
| Today | $3,152 | −4.0% | $3,453 |
Values at the start of each year (first trading day for stocks). The S&P 500 column includes reinvested dividends, like the stock values.
Historical Context
At the start of 2019, Gold ETF (GLD) was priced at $121.33 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 8.24 shares. GLD holds physical gold bullion.
Measured from one January to the next, Gold ETF (GLD)'s best year since then was 2025 (+62%) and its worst was 2021 (−7.7%).
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Gold ETF (GLD) at the start of 2019 would be worth approximately $3,152.48 today — a 3.15x return ($2,152.48 profit) over 7.7 years.
Methodology & Sources
Price data: Historical prices are the closing price on the first trading day of each year, adjusted for splits and dividends (so returns assume dividends were reinvested), from Yahoo Finance and MacroTrends. Current prices come from Yahoo Finance and refresh hourly; if that source is unavailable, the last saved price is used.
Calculation: Assumes a single purchase at the start of 2019 (or the first trading day, for companies that listed that year), held until today. No transaction fees, taxes, or slippage are included.
Benchmarks: The S&P 500 comparison uses the S&P 500 Total Return index (dividends reinvested, like an index fund) at the start of2019 and today. Gold uses the price per troy ounce. Savings account assumes a 2% APY compounded annually.
Inflation adjustment: Uses U.S. CPI-U annual averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2026 CPI value is estimated.
Educational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.
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$1,000 in Gold ETF (GLD), by year
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