Exchange traded funds issuer ALPS said today the Sprott Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca: SGDM), the first factor-based gold miners ETF, has been added to the Schwab ETF OneSource commission-free exchange traded funds platform.
SGDM, the first ETF from Sprott, the Canadian asset manager that offers an array of precious metals, including the Sprott Physical Gold Trust (NYSE: PHYS) and the Sprott Physical Silver Trust (NYSE: PSLV), tracks the Sprott Zacks Gold Miners Index. [New Gold Miners ETF Comes to Town]
The rules-based index, which is rebalanced quarterly, “seeks to emphasize gold stocks with the highest quarterly revenue growth measured on a year-over-year basis and stronger relative balance sheets as measured by long-term debt to equity,” according to Sprott.
SGDM debuted nearly a year ago and has quickly amassed $153.5 million in assets under management. The fund’s success spurred the creation of a small-cap equivalent, the Sprott Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca: SGDJ). That ETF debuted in March.
Sprott’s gold miner ETF indices starts with 25 stocks with the highest gold beta, or sensitivity to gold’s price movements, ranks them by market capitalization, and adjusts the ranking based on companies’ one-year revenue growth and debt-to-equity ratios, so the funds shift out overleveraged miners. [Sprott Launches First Factor-Based Junior Miners ETF]
SGDM’s largest holdings include Franco-Nevada (NYSE: FNV), Randgold Resources (NasdaqGS: GOLD) and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM). Those stocks for nearly 35% of the ETF’s weight, according to ALPS data.