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

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and USMV returned +6.6%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or USMV?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and USMV charges 0.15%, so USMV 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 USMV: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and USMV an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +6.6%.

iShares Gold Trust and iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF.

IAU and USMV on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	Gold	MSCI USA Min Vol Factor
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	+6.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	−10.9 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.15%
Holdings	not filed	170

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.

USMV in plain words

USMV is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +6.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 170 positions, with the top ten at 15.7%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or USMV?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and USMV returned +6.6%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or USMV?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and USMV charges 0.15%, so USMV 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 USMV, 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 USMV, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IAU-USMV Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources