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

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

IAU vs IXUS: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and IXUS an equity index fund, and over the year IXUS returned more, +22.2% against +19.2%.

iShares Gold Trust and iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.

IAU and IXUS on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IAU
iShares Gold Trust
IXUS
iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF
Where it sitsCore index fundCore index fund
IssueriSharesiShares
What it isGoldCore MSCI Total International Stock
Total return, 1 year+19.2%+22.2%
S&P 500 over the same days+17.5%+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500+1.7 pts+4.7 pts
Expense ratio0.25%0.07%
Holdingsnot filed4185

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.

IXUS in plain words

IXUS is an index equity fund tracking the Core MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +22.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 4185 positions, with the top ten at 12.6%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or IXUS?
In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and IXUS returned +22.2%, so IXUS returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or IXUS?
IAU charges 0.25% a year and IXUS charges 0.07%, so IXUS 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.

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

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources