GOLY ETF's leveraged gold income strategy falters in 2026, losing value despite gold gains.

The Strategy Shares Gold Enhanced Yield ETF (GOLY) aimed to provide gold exposure with monthly income by leveraging bonds and gold swaps. However, in 2026, rising financing costs and leverage caused GOLY to lose over 20% year-to-date, while gold itself gained modestly. Monthly distributions have also declined, partly returning investor capital. Compared to simpler gold ETFs like GLD, which holds physical gold without leverage, GOLY's complex structure has underperformed and incurred higher costs. Investors seeking gold plus income might prefer combining a gold ETF with short-term Treasury ETFs for clearer returns and less risk. The 2026 performance highlights the cost and risk of manufacturing yield on a non-yielding asset like gold.