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

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and SHY returned +1.7%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or SHY?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and SHY charges 0.15%, so SHY 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

IAU vs SHY: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and SHY a bond index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +1.7%.

iShares Gold Trust and iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

IAU and SHY on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	Gold	1-3 Year Treasury Bond
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	+1.7%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	−15.8 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.15%
Holdings	not filed	89

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.

SHY in plain words

SHY is a bond fund tracking the 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or SHY?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and SHY returned +1.7%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or SHY?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and SHY charges 0.15%, so SHY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

Where to next

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

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources