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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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BND vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BND is a bond index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −1.3%.

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Net assets: $161.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, and $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust.

BND on its own →IAU on its own →
At a glance
−1.3%
BND total return, 1 year
+2.7%
IAU total return, 1 year
0.03%
BND expense ratio
0.25%
IAU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BND costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.0 points; BND is 2.6 times larger.

BND vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBNDIAU
Return
Total return, 1 year−1.3%+2.7%
Drawdown
Below its high3.5%, high on Aug 6, 202024.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksBloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted IndexGold
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.03%0.25%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$161.4bn$62.2bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published

Method

Side by side

BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF IAU iShares Gold Trust
Where it sits Bond ETF Commodity ETF
Issuer Vanguard iShares
What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Holds gold
Total return, 1 year −1.3% +2.7%
Its benchmark over the same days −1.4% (AGG) +2.5% (GLD)
Gap to its benchmark +0.1 pts vs AGG +0.2 pts vs GLD
Expense ratio 0.03% 0.25%
Holdings 16301 not counted
Net assets, BND as of Sep 30, 2026 and IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 $161.4bn $60.1bn

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

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About each fund
BND

BND tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index, measured by the closely related Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.5% below its high of Aug 6, 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, BND or IAU?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.3% and IAU +2.7%.
Which is cheaper, BND or IAU?
BND 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
BND vs GLDMBND vs SLVBND vs GLDBND vs USOAGG vs IAUIAU vs IUSBIAU vs TLTBSV vs IAU
Where to next
BND on its own →IAU on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BND dividend history →BND holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
BND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
BND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Vanguard page for BND ↗
iShares page for IAU ↗

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

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

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