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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 SPHD: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and SPHD an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +8.6%.

iShares Gold Trust and Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF.

IAU and SPHD on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IAU
iShares Gold Trust
SPHD
Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF
Where it sitsCore index fundCore index fund
IssueriSharesInvesco
What it isGoldS&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility
Total return, 1 year+19.2%+8.6%
S&P 500 over the same days+17.5%+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500+1.7 pts−8.9 pts
Expense ratio0.25%0.30%
Holdingsnot filed49

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.

SPHD in plain words

SPHD is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +8.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.30% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 49 positions, with the top ten at 29.3%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or SPHD?
In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and SPHD returned +8.6%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or SPHD?
IAU charges 0.25% a year and SPHD charges 0.30%, 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.

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

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources