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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 VOOG: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and VOOG an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +17.8%.

iShares Gold Trust and Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund.

IAU and VOOG on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IAU
iShares Gold Trust
VOOG
Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund
Where it sitsCore index fundCore index fund
IssueriSharesVanguard
What it isGoldS&P 500 Growth
Total return, 1 year+19.2%+17.8%
S&P 500 over the same days+17.5%+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500+1.7 pts+0.3 pts
Expense ratio0.25%0.05%
Holdingsnot filed146

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.

VOOG in plain words

VOOG is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500 Growth. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 146 positions, with the top ten at 60.2%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VOOG?
In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VOOG returned +17.8%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VOOG?
IAU charges 0.25% a year and VOOG charges 0.05%, so VOOG 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 VOOG, 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 VOOG, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IAU-VOOG Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources