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AAAU vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

AAAU and IAU are both commodity funds, and over the year they finished level, −1.1% against −1.2%. Net assets: $2.7bn on Oct 13, 2026 for Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF Shares, and $60.9bn on Oct 14, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust.

AAAU costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; IAU is far larger, $62.1bn against $2.7bn.

AAAU vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
AAAUIAU
Expense ratio0.18%0.25%
Net assets, as of Oct 13, 2026$2.7bn$62.1bn
Total return, 1 year−1.1%−1.2%
What it tracksGoldGold
Holdings in commonnot published
Below its high24.0%, high on Jan 29, 202624.1%, high on Jan 29, 2026
−1.1%
AAAU total return, 1 year
−1.2%
IAU total return, 1 year
0.18%
AAAU expense ratio
0.25%
IAU expense ratio
Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-34AA81380F

AAAU and IAU are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. Size. AAAU has $2.7bn in net assets and IAU $62.1bn (net assets, as of Oct 13, 2026); IAU is 23.0 times larger.
  2. What each follows (similar). Both follow Gold.
  3. One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 14, 2026 AAAU returned −1.1% and IAU −1.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.1 points.

Data as of Oct 14, 2026. The differences are picked by a fixed rule, in a fixed order; the PDF prints it. Page 2 has the returns, overlap, risks and sources.

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On the same fields

AAAU
Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF Shares
IAU
iShares Gold Trust
Where it sits Commodity ETF Commodity ETF
Issuer Goldman Sachs iShares
What it is Holds gold Holds gold
Total return, 1 year −1.1% −1.2%
Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (GLD) −1.3% (GLD)
Gap to its benchmark +0.1 pts vs GLD 0.0 pts vs GLD
Expense ratio 0.18% 0.25%
Net assets, AAAU as of Oct 13, 2026 and IAU as of Oct 14, 2026 $2.7bn $60.9bn

AAAU and IAU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 14, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About AAAU

AAAU holds gold. Over the year to Oct 14, 2026 it returned −1.1% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.0% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 14, 2026.

Its expense ratio is 0.18% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

About IAU

IAU holds gold. Over the year to Oct 14, 2026 it returned −1.2% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.1% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 14, 2026.

Its expense ratio is 0.25% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AAAU or IAU?
In the year to Oct 14, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AAAU returned −1.1% and IAU −1.2%.
Which is cheaper, AAAU or IAU?
AAAU is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
Other comparisons
AAAU vs GLDAAAU vs FGDLAAAU vs GLDMAAAU vs IAUMIAU vs OUNZIAU vs USOIAU vs SIVRIAU vs SGOL
AAAU on its own →IAU on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
AAAU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Goldman Sachs website ↗iShares page for IAU ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AAAU against IAU, data as of Oct 14, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/aaau-vs-iau

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.