Which returned more over the last year, AGG or GLD?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and GLD +2.5%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or GLD?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

AGG is a bond index fund and GLD a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLD returned +2.5% against −1.4%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about AGG and GLD

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $139.4bn for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares.

AGG on its own →GLD on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.9 points.

AGG vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	GLD
Return
Measure	AGG	GLD
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	+2.5%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	GLD
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	GLD
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	GLD
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.40%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$139.4bn	$135.8bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	GLD
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF GLD SPDR Gold Shares

Where it sits Bond ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Holds gold

Total return, 1 year −1.4% +2.5%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (SCHZ) +2.7% (IAU)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ −0.2 pts vs IAU

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.40%

Holdings 13469 not counted

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $139.4bn $135.8bn

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

Alert

About each fund

AGG

AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.4% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

GLD

Its expense ratio is 0.40% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

GLD holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.5% with distributions reinvested, against +2.7% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.7% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or GLD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and GLD +2.5%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or GLD?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

AGG vs IAU AGG vs GLDM AGG vs SLV AGG vs SIVR BND vs GLD GLD vs SGOV BNDX vs GLD GLD vs VCIT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

State Street website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AGG against GLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-gld

Open data →

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