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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 SPYD: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and SPYD an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +12.9%.

iShares Gold Trust and State Street(R) SPDR(R) Portfolio S&P 500(R) High Dividend ETF.

IAU and SPYD on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IAU
iShares Gold Trust
SPYD
State Street(R) SPDR(R) Portfolio S&P 500(R) High Dividend ETF
Where it sitsCore index fundCore index fund
IssueriSharesState Street
What it isGoldSPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend
Total return, 1 year+19.2%+12.9%
S&P 500 over the same days+17.5%+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500+1.7 pts−4.6 pts
Expense ratio0.25%0.07%
Holdingsnot filed78

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.

SPYD in plain words

SPYD is an index equity fund tracking the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 78 positions, with the top ten at 15.1%. It sat 4.3% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or SPYD?
In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and SPYD returned +12.9%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or SPYD?
IAU charges 0.25% a year and SPYD charges 0.07%, so SPYD 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 SPYD, 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 SPYD, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IAU-SPYD Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources