- Purchase → valuation
- →
- Initial amount
- 100,000,000 KRW
- GLD purchase close
- $127.57 / GLD
- KRW 100 million after ten years
- 385,579,211 KRW
- Cumulative return
- 285.58%
- CAGR
- 14.45%
The price series is GLD’s closing price in USD per share. Personal taxes, trading fees and FX spreads are excluded. Valuation date: September 22, 2026.
What would different investment amounts be worth?
No additional contributions or withdrawals. The existing engine buys fractional US shares truncated to eight decimals and retains the remaining USD cash. Values display rounded to whole KRW. Tables scroll horizontally on small screens.
| Investment | Final value | Cumulative return | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000,000 KRW | 3,855,792 KRW | 285.58% | 14.45% |
| 10,000,000 KRW | 38,557,921 KRW | 285.58% | 14.45% |
| 50,000,000 KRW | 192,789,606 KRW | 285.58% | 14.45% |
| 100,000,000 KRW | 385,579,211 KRW | 285.58% | 14.45% |
Ten years of gold ETF prices and investment values
The charts separate GLD’s USD share price from the KRW value of the investment. Last paired monthly observations show the combined effect of gold prices and exchange rates.
Read annual price and investment values as a table
| Date | GLD · USD | KRW value |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-09-22 | 127.57 | 100,000,000 KRW |
| 2016-12-29 | 110.29 | 94,635,271 KRW |
| 2017-12-28 | 122.85 | 93,437,166 KRW |
| 2018-12-28 | 121.06 | 95,963,467 KRW |
| 2019-12-30 | 142.63 | 117,186,286 KRW |
| 2020-12-30 | 177.70 | 137,149,754 KRW |
| 2021-12-30 | 169.80 | 143,418,214 KRW |
| 2022-12-29 | 168.85 | 151,697,256 KRW |
| 2023-12-28 | 191.47 | 175,216,268 KRW |
| 2024-12-30 | 240.63 | 251,711,994 KRW |
| 2025-12-30 | 398.89 | 407,964,754 KRW |
| 2026-09-22 | 400.07 | 385,579,211 KRW |
The 2022 correction and later gains were different phases. Weakness during rising rates and a stronger dollar preceded later price gains that contributed heavily to the ending value. A high endpoint does not mean similar gains accrued every year. The 2026 observations also show an early rise, a substantial mid-year reversal and a partial rebound. The period ends in September, not December.
The stored daily series contains gaps, including 9/8/26 to 9/16/26. A full exchange-calendar audit is incomplete. Missing prices and FX are not interpolated; no full-history maximum drawdown is claimed.
Why holding on for ten years was difficult
The final value draws attention to the reward for holding gold. The intervening years also contained frustrating periods without price gains and moments when gold fell during a crisis. Continuing to hold required thinking about its role in an account alongside its price outlook.
Waiting brings no dividends or interest
The chart’s 2016–2018 observations show declines and rebounds rather than continuous gains after purchase. Gold itself pays no dividends or interest, and GLD, used in this article, follows gold prices. A holder waiting for price recovery receives no cash income from holding it.
Deposit interest or share dividends can prompt a question: would the money be better invested elsewhere? Gold also lacks company revenue and earnings to track the progress of business growth. A reason to hold through quiet prices provides a basis for continuing to wait.
Gold can fall during the crisis it was bought for
The World Gold Council’s March 19, 2020 analysis described gold selling alongside equities and suggested cash needs and leveraged liquidation as contributing factors. An investor attracted by the safe-haven description could wonder whether gold was failing at the moment it was needed.
Gold’s longer-term role and its movement over a few days of urgent cash demand can differ. High liquidity also makes it easier to sell in an emergency. I believe a reason to own gold should specify the role expected of it and the stage of a crisis in which that role matters.
Strong equity returns can make a gold allocation feel costly
SPY and QQQ ended with higher KRW values than GLD in this article’s comparison excluding dividends. Stronger returns elsewhere could make switching appealing. Someone buying gold for high returns and someone using it to complement an equity-heavy account could reach different holding decisions from that same comparison.
Write down the purpose of owning gold, then choose an allocation and a basis for adjusting it. Compare GLD and equity ETFs across entry dates, and examine a plan to hold them together. That helps you consider how long you could wait through quiet prices or weaker returns than other assets. A clear purpose brings the time before the final advance into an investment plan.
Why did investors choose gold ten years ago?
The following investment case uses material published before the September 2016 purchase.
- Low rates reduced the opportunity cost. The September 21, 2016 FOMC statement held the target range at 0.25–0.50%. Giving up a low interest yield made non-yielding gold more plausible, although the Fed also said the case for a hike had strengthened.
- Unconventional policy encouraged purchasing-power concerns. The World Gold Council’s Q2 2016 report discussed negative rates in Japan and Europe and expectations of slower US tightening. Interpreting gold as protection against monetary uncertainty was possible; claiming high inflation had already arrived was not. The Fed still described inflation below target.
- Brexit created uncertainty. That contemporary report discussed political and economic risks. Investors could seek an asset less dependent on corporate earnings or a government payment promise, focusing on demand for gold during political and economic uncertainty.
- Diversification offered a separate rationale. Gold demand and monetary conditions differ from the earnings and dividends behind equities. This is a portfolio interpretation of the contemporary case for liquid gold, not a measured correlation or an estimate of the optimal allocation.
The risks were visible too: no interest or dividend, recurring fund expenses, and potential pressure from higher real yields or a stronger dollar. A KRW investor also faced currency risk. Low rates made gold worth considering; they did not establish a cheap entry price.
Did the original investment case hold up?
Inflation alone was insufficient. The August 2022 commentary described weakness amid rising rates and a stronger dollar. Tightening can raise real yields and the opportunity cost of gold even during inflation. The year-end assessment discussed resilience despite large rate increases. Monthly weakness and annual resilience measure different things.
The KRW value reflects both gold prices and currency movements. When considering an allocation to gold, examine inflation-adjusted returns and what changes when it is held alongside shares.
Same-period S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 comparison
All rows use KRW 100 million, identical dates and FX, excluding all dividends, personal taxes and trading costs, matching the hub. SPY tracks the S&P 500; QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100, not the Nasdaq Composite. Excluding dividends understates equity total returns.
| ETF | Final value | Cumulative return | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLD | 385,579,211 KRW | 285.58% | 14.45% |
| S&P 500 ETF (SPY) | 437,823,735 KRW | 337.82% | 15.91% |
| QQQ | 771,682,837 KRW | 671.68% | 22.67% |
Endpoint performance alone cannot measure diversification or risk-adjusted outcomes. The individual equity articles below include reinvested dividends, so their figures differ from this price-only comparison.
S&P 500 with dividend reinvestment · Nasdaq-100 with dividend reinvestment
Comparison basis
The KRW results cover September 22, 2016 to September 22, 2026 without further contributions: dividends excluded. Personal taxes, trading and FX costs, and inflation are excluded. Prices and same-record-date USD/KRW observations are combined.
Calculation details and source records
USD gold prices, KRW returns and calculation basis
According to GLD’s issuer, GLD is a US-listed ETF designed to reflect gold price movements. This article uses GLD’s share price to follow gold prices. Its return also reflects trust expenses and any premium or discount of its market price to NAV.
GLD closes: USD 127.57 → 400.07 per share. FX: 1103.3 → 1356.5 KRW/USD. The KRW growth factor is approximately the USD price factor multiplied by the FX factor, not the sum of their returns.
Data checked: September 28, 2026. The ending close reuses the existing hub’s Nasdaq cross-check; the full daily price series has not been independently checked against another provider. Central-bank FX reconciliation is incomplete. Matching observation dates does not make these simultaneous or executable quotes.
No dividends, reinvestment, additions, withdrawals, personal taxes, trading fees, FX spreads or inflation are included. Fund expenses already affect prices and are not deducted again. Fractional shares do not replicate the order facilities of a particular broker in 2016.
Formulas and rounding
Initial USD = principal ÷ starting FX. Shares = initial USD ÷ starting price, truncated to eight decimals. Remaining USD stays in cash. Ending KRW value = (shares × ending price + cash) × ending FX. Return = (value ÷ principal − 1) × 100. CAGR = ((value ÷ principal)^(365.2425 / elapsed days) − 1) × 100.
The shared engine uses 24 significant digits, monetary values to two decimals and return percentages to six. Display rounds to whole KRW and two percentage decimals using HALF_UP. It does not round annually or pay the CAGR each year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the basis for this gold return?
This calculation uses SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), a US-listed ETF designed to reflect gold price movements. GLD’s share price generally follows the movement of gold prices, while trust expenses and differences between its market price and NAV can affect its return. The result converts the USD price per GLD share into KRW using the USD/KRW exchange rate.
Does gold pay compound interest or dividends?
Gold does not generate interest or dividends. CAGR annualizes the change in value; it is not an annual payment. This GLD model includes price changes and FX, without a reinvestment stream.
Why can the KRW return differ from the USD return?
The KRW result reflects both the GLD price ratio and the ending-to-starting KRW-per-dollar ratio. A stronger dollar helps a KRW investor in this unhedged model; a stronger won can offset gains. No executable FX spread is modeled.
How can I compare gold with stocks in a backtest?
Compare GLD with SPY or QQQ over matching dates. Examine periods of strong and weak equity performance and study gold prices and currency movements when deciding its role among your assets.
Compare other assets: KRW 100 million invested ten years ago
What role would gold have in your investments?
I believe our money should grow with us through investing. Studying shares that participate in business earnings and gold whose price responds to demand and monetary conditions makes the choice of where to invest more concrete. Define the role and allocation you could maintain for gold, then compare it with shares in a backtest to examine your reason for holding.
Compare before choosing your investment
Compare GLD with SPY or QQQ on matching dates. Examine periods of strong and weak equity performance to understand gold’s price movements and the role you want it to serve.
Open investment backtestThis article presents the author’s investment opinion and historical observations. Returns and losses depend on the asset and investment period.