Quantified Gold Fund Rebrand Signals Push for Investor Transparency

By Sandra Patterson

ROCKVILLE, MD – February 06, 2026 – In a move that reflects a growing industry-wide push for greater investor clarity, Quantified Funds has announced a significant name change for one of its flagship products. The Gold Bullion Strategy Fund (QGLDX) has officially been rebranded as the Quantified Gold Futures Tracking Fund as of February 3, 2026.

While the fund's ticker, investment objective, strategy, and management team remain untouched, the renaming is a deliberate effort to more accurately describe its inner workings. The firm stated the new name is intended to better articulate the fund's quantitative, rules-based methodology for gaining exposure to gold, specifically through the futures market, in its effort to track the daily price of gold bullion. This strategic shift in nomenclature comes at a time when gold has re-emerged as a focal point for investors navigating a landscape of volatile market conditions and shifting economic policies.

A New Name for a New Era of Clarity

The decision to rename the fund speaks volumes about the evolving relationship between asset managers and their clients. In an increasingly crowded marketplace, a fund's name is its first handshake with a potential investor, and ambiguity can be a significant barrier. The original name, “Gold Bullion Strategy Fund,” could have implied direct ownership of physical gold bars, a common but distinct approach to gold investing. The new title, “Quantified Gold Futures Tracking Fund,” leaves little room for misinterpretation, explicitly detailing both the method (quantitative) and the instrument (gold futures).

This sentiment was echoed by Jerry Wagner, President and Founder of Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd., the firm sub-advising the fund. "As interest in gold increases, we believe this change provides greater clarity for advisors and investors evaluating gold exposure within diversified portfolios," Wagner stated in the official announcement. His comment underscores a critical point: as more mainstream investors look to alternative assets like gold for diversification, the need for transparent, easy-to-understand product descriptions has never been more vital.

The fund’s exceptional performance in 2025, a year where gold proved its resilience, likely amplified the urgency for this change. With investors flocking to high-performing assets, ensuring they fully understand the strategy behind the returns is paramount for responsible asset management. The move suggests a belief that an educated investor is a more stable, long-term partner.

Beyond the Glitter: Performance and Process

Beyond the name, the engine driving the fund is its “quantitative, rules-based” process. This approach stands in contrast to traditional, discretionary fund management where a portfolio manager's judgment is the primary driver of investment decisions. Instead, this fund relies on a systematic, pre-defined set of rules and algorithms to make its investment choices, aiming to remove human emotion and bias from the equation. The strategy is designed to systematically adapt to changing market conditions by tracking gold futures contracts rather than holding physical bullion.

This methodology paid handsome dividends in 2025. According to performance data ending December 31, 2025, the fund’s investor class shares (QGLDX) delivered a stunning 59.85% return for the year. This performance significantly outpaced broad market indices like the S&P 500 Total Return Index, which returned 17.88% over the same period. More tellingly, the fund’s return closely mirrored its direct benchmark, the S&P GSCI Gold Index, which posted a 62.48% gain. This tight correlation demonstrates the strategy's effectiveness in achieving its stated goal: tracking gold performance.

While past performance is no guarantee of future results—a necessary and frequent disclaimer in the industry—the historical data provides a compelling case study. The fund's 3-year and 5-year annualized returns of 29.88% and 14.39%, respectively, showcase its ability to generate strong returns in a favorable environment for gold. Investors considering the fund are not just buying into the concept of gold exposure, but into a specific, disciplined, and technology-driven method of obtaining it.

The Architects Behind the Curtain

The structure behind the Quantified Gold Futures Tracking Fund offers a fascinating glimpse into the modern asset management ecosystem. The fund is not the product of a single, monolithic entity but rather a collaboration between several specialized firms, each playing a distinct role in a model known as a sub-advised structure.

At the top is Advisors Preferred LLC, which serves as the investment advisor. The firm acts as an architect and facilitator, providing a “turn-key solution” for launching and managing innovative funds. They handle the complex web of compliance, marketing, and operational logistics, allowing specialized investment managers to focus solely on their strategies.

That specialist, in this case, is Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd., founded by Jerry Wagner. As the sub-advisor, Flexible Plan is the hands-on manager, implementing the fund's quantitative strategy on a day-to-day basis. Established in 1981, Flexible Plan is a veteran in the active management space and a founding member of the National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM), bringing decades of experience in dynamic risk management to the table.

Finally, Ceros Financial Services, Inc., an affiliate of Advisors Preferred, acts as the distributor, ensuring the fund is available to financial advisors and their clients through various platforms. This multi-layered structure allows for a high degree of specialization, enabling the creation of niche and sophisticated products like the Quantified Gold Futures Tracking Fund. This model, often operating behind the scenes, is a key driver of product innovation, providing investors with a broader and more diverse toolkit for building their portfolios.