With market concentration remaining near all-time highs, achieving true portfolio diversification means that today’s investors need to look beyond the major indices. That entails funds that provide exposure to international value stocks, small caps, and emerging markets.
For investors seeking broader diversification, a small allocation to alternative assets (alts) can be an option, whether in private equity, private credit, or digital and physical commodities. But the markets for the latter—and specifically for Bitcoin (BTC) and gold—can require an esoteric level of understanding that is often off-putting to retail investors who rely on equity markets.
Fortunately, the proliferation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in recent years has lowered the bar required to access alts. And right now, those two assets may warrant attention as gold and BTC prices are well on their way to recovering from bear markets.
Gold’s Rebound Suggests the Worst of the Sell-Off May Be Over
Following its well-publicized run-up to an all-time high (ATH) price in January, gold has been in retreat ever since. From January 2024 to the precious metal’s ATH earlier this year, the price of gold increased by more than 156%. But from its January high to its year-to-date (YTD) low in mid-July, gold lost more than 25%
Some of that was caused by profit-taking, but other factors came into play. President Donald Trump’s appointment of new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who is seen as a monetary policy hawk, spooked the market as inflation remained above the central bank’s target. More recently, surging bond yields have incentivized income-focused investors to rotate out of safe havens like gold. In Q2, gold had its worst quarterly performance since 2013.
However, gold’s structural tailwinds remained in place despite the multi-month sell-off. The ongoing war between the United States and Iran has led to an increase in equity volatility and energy market uncertainty.
Consumer prices—and subsequently, consumer confidence—are hurting major retailers like Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) to Home Depot (NYSE: HD). Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar remains near its lowest levels since the world emerged from the COVID pandemic and is down 13% from its five-year high.
As a result, gold prices have risen more than 17% from their YTD low in mid-July and are now around 13% lower than their ATH. For investors looking to add the precious metal to their portfolios, there is no shortage of ETFs tracking the spot price of gold. But one fund provides more nuanced exposure alongside an income component.
GDX Offers Gold-Miner Exposure Plus a Modest Yield
With more than $32 billion in assets under management (AUM), the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA: GDX) is the third-largest gold ETF on the market today.
As its name implies, it doesn’t track gold prices. Rather, it follows the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index.
In doing so, the fund can take advantage of jumps in gold prices, which can support miners’ revenue and margins, although production levels, operating costs, hedging, and company execution also affect results.
That has already shown up in the ETF’s recent performance. Over the past month, while gold prices have gained more than 16%, GDX has gained around 40%.
Shareholders have been able to capture the gold market’s upside without having to pick and choose between senior gold miners. The fund’s portfolio includes prominent positions in Newmont (NYSE: NEM), the world’s largest gold producer, as well as AngloGold Ashanti Stock (NYSE: AU), Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE: WPM), and Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC).
Physical gold doesn’t generate income. But the GDX pays a dividend that yields a modest 0.6%, or 63 cents per share annually at current prices, meaning that while gold continues its rally, investors are rewarded for holding shares.
Bitcoin’s Rally Could Mark the End of the Fourth Crypto Winter
Since hitting its ATH of $126,198.07 on Oct. 6, 2025, Bitcoin’s market cap has shrunk to around $1.59 tillion. BTC prices plummeted from that record high to their lowest levels since 2024. The market entered its fourth crypto winter, and by July 1, Bitcoin was trading at a YTD low of around $59,000.
But like gold, much of the tailwinds that drove BTC to its ATH persisted, including weakness in fiat currencies, elevated inflation, and geopolitical unrest. Over the past month, Bitcoin has rallied more than 23%, reaching its highest prices since mid-May. It remains down around 36% from its record high, which means investors looking for exposure via the equities market can take advantage of spot Bitcoin ETFs that track its price movement.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT) is one such fund. With a net expense ratio of 0.25%, the ETF has more than $59 billion in AUM and has been popular among institutional investors.
Over the past 12 months, IBIT has seen inflows of $4.32 billion, more than double outflows of $1.9 billion. Current short interest remains low at just 2.88% of the float, suggesting that suggesting bearish positioning in IBIT remains relatively limited.
The article "Gold and Bitcoin Are Rebounding—2 ETFs Give Investors a Different Kind of Exposure" first appeared on MarketBeat.
