Which returned more over the last year, EWY or IAU?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWY returned +147.9% and IAU returned +19.2%, so EWY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, EWY or IAU?

EWY charges 0.59% a year and IAU charges 0.25%, so IAU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

EWY vs IAU: how they differ

EWY is an equity index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year EWY returned more, +147.9% against +19.2%.

iShares MSCI South Korea ETF and iShares Gold Trust.

EWY and IAU on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	EWY iShares MSCI South Korea ETF	IAU iShares Gold Trust
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	MSCI South Korea	Gold
Total return, 1 year	+147.9%	+19.2%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+130.4 pts	+1.7 pts
Expense ratio	0.59%	0.25%
Holdings	82	not filed

EWY in plain words

EWY is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI South Korea. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +147.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.59% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 82 positions, with the top ten at 70.0%. It sat 13.9% below its high of Jun 18, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

IAU in plain words

IAU is a commodity fund tracking the Gold. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year. It sat 19.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWY or IAU?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWY returned +147.9% and IAU returned +19.2%, so EWY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, EWY or IAU?: EWY charges 0.59% a year and IAU charges 0.25%, so IAU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

EWY against IAU, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, EWY against IAU, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/EWY-IAU Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources