BAR invests directly in physical gold stored in a London vault and custodied by ICBC Standard Bank. The structure of a grantor trust protects investors since trustees cannot lend the gold bars. Since BAR holds physical gold bars, investors can expect the fund to track the price of spot gold closely. Moreover, the fund provides exposure that is essentially identical to established competitors like GLD and IAU. Like all physical gold funds, any long-term gains will result in noteworthy tax liabilities, since BAR is considered a collectible.Investors should consider aspects such as fund issuer, trust custodian, vault location, and all-in trading costs when comparing similar funds.