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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +13.4% and IAU +2.7%.

Which is cheaper, ACWI or IAU?

IAU 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.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ACWI vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

ACWI is an equity index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ACWI returned +13.4% against +2.7%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about ACWI and IAU

Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $33.0bn for iShares MSCI ACWI ETF and $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust.

ACWI on its own →IAU on its own →

At a glance

+13.4%

ACWI total return, 1 year

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

0.32%

ACWI expense ratio

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IAU costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.7 points; IAU is 1.8 times larger.

ACWI vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ACWI	IAU
Return
Measure	ACWI	IAU
Total return, 1 year	+13.4%	+2.7%
Drawdown
Measure	ACWI	IAU
Below its high		24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ACWI	IAU
What it tracks	MSCI ACWI	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	ACWI	IAU
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.25%
Net assets	$33.0bn	$60.1bn
Holdings
Measure	ACWI	IAU
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	61%
Holdings dated	Oct 27, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	24.9%

Method

Side by side

ACWI iShares MSCI ACWI ETF IAU iShares Gold Trust

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI ACWI Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +13.4% +2.7%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +2.5% (GLD)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +0.2 pts vs GLD

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.25%

Holdings 2197 not counted

Net assets $33.0bn $60.1bn

ACWI and IAU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

ACWI

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 61% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,197 positions, with the top ten at 24.9%.

IAU

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

IAU holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.7% with distributions reinvested, against +2.5% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ACWI or IAU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +13.4% and IAU +2.7%.
Which is cheaper, ACWI or IAU?: IAU 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

ACWI vs GLDM ACWI vs SLV ACWI vs GLD ACWI vs USO IAU vs VT IAU vs URTH IAU vs IDEV IAU vs VGK

Where to next

ACWI on its own →IAU on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →ACWI dividend history →ACWI holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

ACWI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ACWI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ACWI ↗

iShares page for IAU ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, ACWI against IAU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-iau

Open data →

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