QETH vs MNRS vs GDX: Two Near-Twin Gold Miner ETFs, and a Fund With Nothing in Common With Either
Written by Christopher Hall, AdvDipFP | Authorised Representative, AFSL 526688 | Updated September 2026
The three ASX-listed ETFs leading FMP's weekly ETF momentum ranking to 11 September 2026 are the Betashares Ethereum ETF (QETH, +38.30% quarterly), the Betashares Global Gold Miners Currency Hedged ETF (MNRS, +23.93%) and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX, +21.67%). MNRS and GDX turn out to be near-twins: they share 17 of their respective top-20 holdings by name, the highest overlap confirmed on this board to date. QETH shares none of that overlap — it holds no companies whatsoever — so this week's trio is really two stories: one genuinely shared holding set, and one fund standing entirely apart from it.
What Is Each Fund Built to Do?
QETH (Betashares Ethereum ETF) aims to track the price of ether, before fees and expenses, in Australian dollars. It obtains that exposure by investing in the NYSE-listed Bitwise Ethereum ETF, a physically-backed structure holding ether in offline cold storage — not synthetic, not futures-based, and not a portfolio of companies. It listed on the ASX on 18 February 2025, charges 0.45% per annum, and Betashares states the fund "should be considered extremely high risk" and suitable only for informed investors seeking an allocation of 5% or less.
MNRS (Betashares Global Gold Miners Currency Hedged ETF) tracks the Nasdaq Global ex-Australia Gold Miners Hedged AUD Index — the largest global gold mining companies, excluding Australia, hedged into Australian dollars. It listed on the ASX on 27 July 2016, holds 47 index components, charges 0.47% management fee plus an estimated 0.10% p.a. in additional expenses (0.57% total), and reported net assets of A$275.96 million as at 10 September 2026.
GDX (VanEck Gold Miners ETF) tracks the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (AUD) — a market-cap-weighted index of gold mining companies worldwide, with no country excluded. It listed on the ASX on 26 June 2015, holds 104 securities, charges 0.53% per annum, and reported net assets of A$1.57 billion as at 10 September 2026 — more than five times MNRS's size.
QETH | MNRS | GDX | |
Provider | Betashares | Betashares | VanEck |
Tracks | Ether (single asset) | Nasdaq Global ex-Australia Gold Miners Hedged AUD Index | NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (AUD) |
Structure | Feeder into a physically-backed US ether fund | 47 holdings, currency-hedged, ex-Australia | 104 holdings, unhedged, all countries |
Management fee (p.a.) | 0.45% | 0.57% (0.47% + est. 0.10% expenses) | 0.53% |
Fund size | A$31.2M (27 Aug 2026) | A$275.96M (10 Sep 2026) | A$1.57B (10 Sep 2026) |
ASX inception | 18 Feb 2025 | 27 Jul 2016 | 26 Jun 2015 |
Distributions | None expected | Semi-annual | Annual |
Quarterly return to 11 Sep 2026 | +38.30% | +23.93% | +21.67% |
One-year return | −66.69% | +31.52% | +26.53% |
MNRS and GDX diverge on structure more than on stock selection. MNRS is hedged into Australian dollars and holds fewer than half as many names as GDX; GDX is unhedged and open to any country of listing. That single mandate difference — not a difference in what either manager chooses to buy — explains most of what separates the two funds' holdings, as the crossover below shows.
Do MNRS and GDX Hold the Same Companies?
Yes, almost entirely. Of MNRS's top 20 holdings, 17 also sit in GDX's top 20 — the highest confirmed overlap recorded in this vertical. QETH holds no companies at all, so no three-way overlap is possible this week; the meaningful comparison is the two-fund one below.
Company | MNRS weight | GDX weight |
Newmont Corp | 8.55% | 12.77% |
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | 7.97% | 9.35% |
Barrick Gold Corp (Barrick Mining Corp on GDX) | 7.58% | 6.88% |
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp | 8.35% | 6.50% |
AngloGold Ashanti Plc | 6.38% | 4.97% |
Franco-Nevada Corp | 4.19% | 4.74% |
Gold Fields Ltd | 4.24% | 4.07% |
Kinross Gold Corp | 3.54% | 3.42% |
Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd | 4.24% | 2.83% |
Royal Gold Inc | 2.65% | 2.14% |
Pan American Silver Corp | 3.13% | 2.12% |
Coeur Mining Inc | 3.05% | 2.08% |
Alamos Gold Inc | 2.34% | 1.49% |
Hecla Mining Co | 1.84% | 1.33% |
Endeavour Mining Plc | 1.72% | 1.32% |
Equinox Gold Corp | 2.23% | 1.29% |
IAMGOLD Corp | 1.72% | 1.15% |
Barrick Gold Corp trades under the renamed "Barrick Mining Corp" in VanEck's current holdings file — the same company, not two different positions.
The three names in MNRS's top 20 that GDX's top 20 does not carry — Valterra Platinum (2.81%), Eldorado Gold (1.74%) and First Majestic Silver (1.55%) — sit just outside GDX's cut, not excluded by any rule. The three ASX-listed names in GDX's top 20 that MNRS cannot ever carry — Northern Star Resources (2.21%), Evolution Mining (2.06%) and Harmony Gold Mining (1.12%, South African, present in MNRS just outside its top 20 at 1.37%) — are excluded from MNRS's index by mandate: MNRS's benchmark explicitly excludes Australian miners. That is a rule of the index, not a judgement about those companies.
QETH's position in the Venn is empty by construction on every side. It holds a single asset, ether, obtained via a feeder fund — there is no equity portfolio to intersect with either miner fund, so its circle carries no shared names in any direction.
Why Did an Ether Fund and Two Gold Miner Funds Produce Similar Returns?
They did not share a mechanism — the co-occurrence is recorded here without asserting a common cause. QETH's 38.30% reflects ether's own price move in Australian dollar terms, entirely unconnected to gold or mining companies.
MNRS and GDX's returns, by contrast, share a clear and testable mechanism: operating leverage to a gold-specific bullion move. This week's own AXW export carries the ASX's physical gold bullion ETFs at quarterly returns of +3.6% to +5.6% (GLDN, GOLD, GXLD, NUGG, PMGOLD, QAU) — a real move in the metal, but modest next to MNRS's +23.93% and GDX's +21.67%. Both miner funds returned roughly four to six times the bullion move over the same 13-week window, consistent with the standard relationship in mining-company economics: costs are largely fixed, so a rising gold price flows through disproportionately to profit margins and, in turn, to share prices.
This was specifically a gold move, not a broad precious-metals rally. The equivalent silver product on this week's export, ETPMAG, fell 1.75% over the same quarter, and platinum (ETPMPT, +4.43%) and palladium (ETPMPD, +0.82%) both lagged gold. A reader looking at "precious metals" broadly would miss the story; it is gold, and gold miners, specifically.
A directional check on two of the shared holdings supports the same reading. Newmont Corp rose from US$97.04 to US$126.81 (+30.7%) and Agnico Eagle Mines rose from US$153.86 to US$200.36 (+30.2%) between 2 July and 11 September 2026 — both ahead of either fund's quarterly return, consistent with individual miners amplifying the metal's move. That window runs roughly three weeks shorter than the funds' full 13-week quarter, a known limit of the dated pricing history available for individual constituents (the source table caps at 50 rows), so both figures are directional rather than exact.
What This Comparison Does Not Establish
Ranking three funds together by quarterly return is not a claim that they are comparable investments, or that a reader should hold all three, or any one, together. QETH carries an issuer risk warning describing it as extremely high risk, appropriate only for a small portfolio allocation. MNRS and GDX carry no such crypto-specific warning but concentrate risk in a single commodity and a single industry — a falling gold price would be expected to affect both funds similarly, and more sharply than the metal itself, for the same operating-leverage reason that lifted them this quarter. Fees, hedging and country scope differ materially between MNRS and GDX despite their holdings overlap, and none of that is captured by a quarterly return figure alone. Traders considering any of these products in this situation may wish to speak with a qualified financial adviser about whether a particular product suits their circumstances.
Remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results, and all trading involves risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do QETH, MNRS and GDX hold any of the same companies?
MNRS and GDX share 17 of their respective top-20 holdings, led by Newmont, Agnico Eagle Mines, Barrick, Wheaton Precious Metals and AngloGold Ashanti — the highest confirmed overlap recorded on this board. QETH holds no companies at all, so it shares nothing with either fund and no three-way overlap is possible.
Why do MNRS and GDX hold almost the same companies?
Both track broadly similar global gold-mining universes weighted by market capitalisation, so the largest gold miners in the world dominate both funds' top holdings regardless of which index each formally follows. The main structural difference is that MNRS's index specifically excludes Australian miners and hedges currency exposure, while GDX's index includes any country and is unhedged — which is why ASX-listed names like Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining sit in GDX's top 20 but can never appear in MNRS's.
Why did the gold miner funds return roughly four to six times the gold price move?
Because mining-company costs are largely fixed, so a change in the gold price flows through disproportionately to profit margins and, in turn, to the mining company's share price — a standard operating-leverage relationship in the sector. This week's ASX gold bullion ETFs returned +3.6% to +5.6% for the quarter while MNRS and GDX returned +23.93% and +21.67% respectively.
Was this a broad precious-metals rally or specific to gold?
Specific to gold. The equivalent ASX silver exchange-traded product fell 1.75% over the same quarter, and platinum and palladium both lagged gold's return. Silver, platinum and palladium moving differently from gold over the same window rules out a broad precious-metals explanation for this week's board.
What is the difference between MNRS and GDX as investments?
MNRS is currency-hedged into Australian dollars, excludes Australian miners by mandate, holds 47 names and charges 0.57% p.a. total; GDX is unhedged, open to any country, holds 104 names and charges 0.53% p.a. GDX is more than five times MNRS's size (A$1.57B against A$275.96M) and more concentrated in its largest holding (Newmont at 12.77% against 8.55% in MNRS). Neither structure is inherently better — the hedging and country-scope choices suit different views on currency risk and Australian-market exposure.
How is the leading ASX ETF trio determined each week?
Finer Market Points ranks all ASX-listed exchange traded products carrying a usable quarterly total return figure from a weekly export sourced from the Australian Warrant Exchange (AXW), an ASX market, and the top three by that measure become the subject of this comparison each week the trio changes. Full fund facts come from each provider's own fund page, factsheet or full holdings disclosure, never from third-party aggregators. The individual-fund ranking is maintained on FMP's weekly ASX momentum leaders page.
Sources
# | Source | Detail | Accessed |
1 | Australian Warrant Exchange (AXW), an ASX market | ASX-listed ETF price and quarterly, monthly, weekly and one-year total return data, settled close 11 Sep 2026 | 11 Sep 2026 |
2 | Betashares — MNRS fund page and factsheet (31 Aug 2026) | MNRS index, management fee, net assets, holdings count and inception | 11 Sep 2026 |
3 | Betashares — MNRS full holdings file | MNRS top-20 holdings and weights, as at 10 Sep 2026 | 11 Sep 2026 |
4 | VanEck — GDX fund page and factsheet (August 2026) | GDX index, management fee, net assets, holdings count and inception | 11 Sep 2026 |
5 | VanEck — GDX full holdings file | GDX top-20 holdings and weights, as at 11 Sep 2026 | 11 Sep 2026 |
6 | Betashares — QETH fund page | QETH structure, underlying fund, management fee and the issuer's own risk statement | 11 Sep 2026 |
7 | stockanalysis.com — Newmont Corp and Agnico Eagle Mines dated price history | Directional constituent price check, 2 Jul–11 Sep 2026 | 11 Sep 2026 |
8 | Finer Market Points | Momentum research framework and ETF watchlist methodology | 11 Sep 2026 |
All fund facts on this page come from each provider's own fund page, factsheet or full holdings file; no third-party aggregator was used for fund facts this edition.
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The information, opinions and other materials appearing on this website are of a general nature only and shall not be construed as advice. Finer Market Points Pty Ltd, CAR 1304002, AFSL 526688, ABN 87 645 284 680. This general information is educational only and not financial advice, recommendation, forecast or solicitation. This is not taxation advice. Rose Bay Equities accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information, opinions or other materials provided on or accessible through this website. This website has not been prepared with reference to your individual financial or personal circumstances. You should not rely on any advice on this website without first seeking appropriate professional, financial and legal advice. Further, where Rose Bay Equities makes third party material available or accessible through this website you acknowledge that Rose Bay Equities is a distributor and not a publisher of that content and that its editorial control is limited to the selection of those materials to make available. We accept no liability for any loss or damages arising from use. Authors and presenters may hold positions in discussed companies and investment products.
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