GraniteShares Gold Trust

GraniteShares Gold Trust

GraniteShares was founded in 2017 by Will Rhind, previously a director at BlackRock and iShares where he helped launch the iShares Gold Trust (IAU). The firm's flagship product, the GraniteShares Gold Trust (ticker BAR), began trading on NYSE Arca in August 2017. Rhind structured the fund as a grantor trust, which means investors hold a direct interest in the underlying physical gold. The fund's strategy is straightforward: hold allocated gold bullion in LBMA-accredited vaults in London, charge the lowest expense ratio in the category, and track the LBMA Gold Price PM. The trust invests exclusively in physical gold — no derivatives, futures, or leveraged positions. As of mid-2025, BAR had accumulated roughly $65M in assets under management (per the firm's official website filings). The trust distributes no income; returns derive solely from gold price appreciation. GraniteShares operates as a small, independent ETF issuer from its New York office. The firm has not disclosed total AUM across vehicles, but BAR remains its only active US-listed product. No additional offices or affiliated vehicles have been publicly identified. In August 2024, the trust increased its physical gold holdings by roughly 15% during a period of elevated gold prices, a tactical allocation shift visible in daily trust filings (per SEC filings, August 2024). GraniteShares' structural differentiator is its single-product focus and fee leadership. Unlike BlackRock or State Street, GraniteShares has no diversified ETF lineup — BAR is its only fund. This allows the firm to offer the lowest cost gold ETF available, a position that faces pressure from scale advantages of larger issuers. The trust relies entirely on the LBMA gold ecosystem and London vaulting infrastructure, with no proprietary trading or hedging desk.