Exposure to screened miners and responsibly sourced gold
Leveraged exposure to gold through miners
Gold mining and royalty companies can provide amplified exposure to rising gold prices. As margins expand, miners may strengthen balance sheets, reduce debt, and increase dividends – offering both growth potential and income stability.
Resilient store of value
Gold has historically acted as a safe haven during inflation, currency weakness, and geopolitical uncertainty. It can enhance portfolio resilience and diversification as an asset class uncorrelated to traditional equities and bonds.
Responsible exposure
Classified as SFDR Article 8, the ETF excludes companies linked to controversial weapons, coal, or high fossil fuel exposure, and includes a 5% allocation to The Royal Mint Responsibly Sourced Physical Gold ETC (RMAU).
Hedge against uncertainty
During periods of economic uncertainty, gold is often favoured. Its variable price can offset currency devaluations.
A leveraged play
Gold mining can be used as a leveraged play on gold, potentially benefitting from a supply and demand imbalance.
Historically undervalued
Many believe gold miners have been historically undervalued, which could create upside potential.
Gold Miners Screened UCITS ETF (ESGO) provides access to the world’s largest gold miners and royalty companies, alongside a 5% allocation to responsibly sourced physical gold.
The gold miners ETF combines the growth potential of gold producers with the defensive characteristics of physical gold, through exposure to The Royal Mint Responsibly Sourced Physical Gold ETC (RMAU), with the aim of offering balanced exposure to the broader gold investment universe.
The ETF tracks the VettaFi Gold Miners Screened Index and is classified as SFDR Article 8.
*This fund changed strategy on 24/11/2025
Key Risks
Thematic ETFs are exposed to a limited number of sectors and thus the investment will be concentrated and may experience high volatility. Investors’ capital is fully at risk and may not get back the amount originally invested. Exchange rates can have a positive or negative effect on returns. For a complete overview of all the risks, please refer to the “Risk Factors” in the Prospectus.
Source: HANetf, data as of 30.09.2026. Please note that all performance figures are showing net data. Performance before inception is based on back-tested data. Back-testing is the process of evaluating an investment strategy by applying it to historical data to simulate what the performance of such a strategy would have been. Back-tested data does not represent actual performance and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual or future performance. Past performance for the index is in USD. Past performance is not an indicator for future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product. Investors should read the prospectus of the Issuer (“Prospectus”) before investing and should refer to the section of the Prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” for further details of risks associated with an investment in this product. If fund is less than 12 months old, YTD field will be calculated since inception. When you invest in ETFs your capital is at risk.
*The fund changed its index on 24th November 2025 from Solactive AuAg ESG Gold Mining Index to VettaFi. The index performance is a composite of the old index prior to this date and the new index after.
No. of holdings: 31
The index provides hybrid exposure to both gold miners and physical gold. It tracks the performance of the 30 largest gold mining and royalty companies, selected based on float-adjusted market capitalisation, with individual issuer weights capped at 10%. A 5% allocation is reserved for The Royal Mint Responsibly Sourced Physical Gold ETC (RMAU), ensuring a direct link to physical gold holdings.
The methodology applies strict negative screening to exclude companies with exposure to controversial or lethal weapons, thermal coal, or more than 5% of revenue from fossil fuels. Classified as an SFDR Article 8 fund, the ETF offers transparent, responsibly constructed exposure to the global gold sector.
Gold miners exposure means investing in companies involved in finding, developing, producing or financing gold and, in some cases, silver mining operations. Unlike physical gold, which reflects the spot price of the metal, mining companies are operating businesses with revenues, costs, margins, balance sheets and management decisions. Their share prices may be influenced by gold prices, but also by production volumes, reserve quality, labour costs, energy prices, permitting, taxes and company-specific execution. Investors researching this exposure should understand that gold miners can behave differently from physical gold and may experience higher equity-market volatility.
Gold miners exposure is linked to companies that produce or finance gold, while physical gold exposure is linked more directly to the metal itself. This means mining equities may offer operational leverage to gold prices: when gold prices rise, miners’ profits can increase faster if production costs are relatively stable. However, the opposite can also happen if gold prices fall or costs rise. Physical gold does not have management, debt, labour or operational risks, whereas miners do. Investors may therefore view gold miners as an equity-based gold-related exposure, rather than a direct substitute for physical gold.
The performance of gold mining companies is mainly driven by gold prices, production costs, reserve quality, operational execution and investor sentiment toward the broader mining sector. A higher gold price can support revenue and margins, but miners may not benefit fully if energy, labour, financing or equipment costs also rise. Company-specific factors also matter, including mine life, grade quality, jurisdictional risk, capital discipline and whether projects are delivered on time and on budget. Currency movements can also affect profitability, since many miners report revenues in US dollars while incurring costs in local currencies, creating a foreign exchange exposure.
ESG screening can matter because mining is exposed to environmental, social and governance risks that may affect long-term business resilience. Gold mining can involve land use, water consumption, tailings management, emissions, worker safety, community relations and governance standards. Poor management of these issues can lead to fines, project delays, reputational damage or loss of operating licences. A screened approach does not remove all sustainability risks, but it may help identify companies with stronger relative practices or exclude companies involved in activities that conflict with certain investor preferences. Investors should still review the screening methodology carefully.
Key risks include commodity price volatility, equity market risk, operational disruption, cost inflation, political risk and ESG-related controversy. Gold miners can be more volatile than physical gold because their share prices reflect both metal prices and company fundamentals. Mines may face delays, accidents, permitting disputes, higher input costs or changes in taxation and regulation. Companies operating in higher-risk jurisdictions may also be exposed to currency controls, political instability or licence renegotiations. Investors should also consider concentration risk, as the gold mining sector is relatively specialised compared with broad equity markets.
Gold royalty and streaming companies provide financing to miners in exchange for a share of future revenues or the right to buy metal at a set price. Unlike traditional miners, royalty and streaming companies act as financiers rather than operators — they do not run mines, employ mining workforces or bear the day-to-day operational burden. This can reduce exposure to day-to-day operating costs, labour issues and capital expenditure overruns, although they are still exposed to gold prices, counterparty risk and the success of the underlying mines. Investors often see royalty and streaming companies as a distinct part of the gold mining ecosystem because their business models can have different margin and risk characteristics.
Methodology matters because it determines which companies are included, how they are weighted and what risks investors are exposed to. A market-cap weighted approach may be more concentrated in the largest miners, while an equal-weighted or capped approach may give more exposure to mid-sized companies. Screening rules can also affect sector composition by excluding companies with weaker ESG profiles or involvement in specific controversial activities. Investors should look at whether the methodology considers liquidity, revenue exposure, sustainability screens, rebalancing frequency and concentration limits. These details can materially affect performance, risk and diversification.
Relevant stocks in the screened gold mining space may include major producers, royalty companies and large listed miners with significant exposure to gold. Examples include Newmont, Barrick Mining, Agnico Eagle Mines, Wheaton Precious Metals, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Kinross Gold, Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining. These companies may be affected by the gold price, production costs, reserve replacement, mine life, balance-sheet strength and jurisdictional exposure. For screened approaches, investors may also want to understand whether companies are excluded for factors such as controversial weapons, coal, fossil-fuel exposure or other methodology criteria. Gold miners can behave differently from physical gold because operating leverage can amplify both upside and downside.
Disclaimer: These FAQs have been generated with the assistance of AI and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided for general information only and do not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an invitation to buy or sell any investment.
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Gold Miners Screened ETF Report | June 2026
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Gold Miners Screened ETF | May 2026
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Gold Miners ETF Report | April 2026
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Gold Miners Screened ETF | February 2026
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ESGO Gold Miners Screened ETF Report | January 2026
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ESG Gold ETF Report | January 2025
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ESG Gold ETF Report | December 2024
ESG Gold ETF Report | November 2024
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ESG Gold ETF Report | October 2024
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ESG Gold ETF Report | September 2024
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ESG-Screened Gold Miners ETF Report | August 2024
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ESG-Screened Gold Miners ETF Report | July 2024
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ESG-Screened Gold Miners ETF Report | June 2024
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ESG-Screened Gold Miners ETF Report | May 2024
ESG-Screened Gold Miners ETF Report | April 2024
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ESG Gold Mining ETF Report | Mar 2024
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About Partner
AuAg Funds is a boutique brand that creates investor-friendly financial concepts with a strong focus on precious metals and green-tech elements. AuAg Funds has two daily-traded UCITS funds, AuAg Silver Bullet and AuAg Precious Green.
Now AuAg Funds takes the next step – designing an index and adding the first Exchange Traded Fund to the family.
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