AAAU vs OUNZ: Differences, Returns & Fees

AAAU and OUNZ 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 $2.7bn on Oct 14, 2026 for VanEck Merk Gold ETF.

AAAU costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points.

AAAU vs OUNZ: Differences, Returns & Fees
AAAUOUNZ
Expense ratio0.18%0.25%
Net assets, as of Oct 13, 2026$2.7bn$2.7bn
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%
OUNZ total return, 1 year
0.18%
AAAU expense ratio
0.25%
OUNZ expense ratio
Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-E12E3B3F38

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

  1. What each follows (similar). Both follow Gold.
  2. One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 14, 2026 AAAU returned −1.1% and OUNZ −1.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.1 points.
  3. Cost (similar). AAAU charges 0.18% of assets a year and OUNZ 0.25%, a gap of 0.07 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
OUNZ
VanEck Merk Gold ETF
Where it sits Commodity ETF Commodity ETF
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 OUNZ as of Oct 14, 2026 $2.7bn $2.7bn

AAAU and OUNZ 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 OUNZ

OUNZ 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 Jul 31, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AAAU or OUNZ?
In the year to Oct 14, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AAAU returned −1.1% and OUNZ −1.2%.
Which is cheaper, AAAU or OUNZ?
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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data

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