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

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VDE returned +50.6%, so VDE returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VDE?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and VDE charges 0.09%, so VDE 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 VDE: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and VDE an equity index fund, and over the year VDE returned more, +50.6% against +19.2%.

iShares Gold Trust and Vanguard Energy Index Fund.

IAU and VDE on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	VDE Vanguard Energy Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	Gold	Energy
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	+50.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	+33.1 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.09%
Holdings	not filed	105

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.

VDE in plain words

VDE is an index equity fund tracking the Energy. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +50.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 82% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 105 positions, with the top ten at 64.0%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VDE?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VDE returned +50.6%, so VDE returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VDE?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and VDE charges 0.09%, so VDE 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 VDE, 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 VDE, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IAU-VDE Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources