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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and IAU +2.7%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or IAU?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 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 IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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AGG is a bond index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −1.4%.

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Net assets: $139.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust.

AGG on its own →IAU on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.1 points; AGG is 2.3 times larger.

AGG vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	IAU
Return
Measure	AGG	IAU
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	+2.7%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	IAU
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	IAU
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	IAU
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.25%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$139.4bn	$60.3bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	IAU
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF IAU iShares Gold Trust

Where it sits Bond ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

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

Total return, 1 year −1.4% +2.7%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (SCHZ) +2.5% (GLD)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ +0.2 pts vs GLD

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.25%

Holdings 13469 not counted

Net assets, AGG as of Oct 27, 2026 and IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 $139.4bn $60.1bn

AGG and IAU 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.

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, AGG or IAU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and IAU +2.7%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or IAU?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

AGG on its own →IAU 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 ↗

iShares page for IAU ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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