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

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VO returned +12.0%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VO?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and VO charges 0.03%, so VO 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 VO: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and VO an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +12.0%.

iShares Gold Trust and Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund.

IAU and VO on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	VO Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	Gold	Mid-Cap
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	+12.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	−5.5 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.03%
Holdings	not filed	282

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.

VO in plain words

VO is an index equity fund tracking the Mid-Cap. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 91% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 282 positions, with the top ten at 9.6%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VO?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VO returned +12.0%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VO?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and VO charges 0.03%, so VO 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 VO, 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 VO, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IAU-VO Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources