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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BSV returned +1.0% and IAU +2.7%.

Which is cheaper, BSV or IAU?

BSV 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

BSV vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BSV is a bond index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against +1.0%.

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Net assets: $45.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF, and $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust.

BSV on its own →IAU on its own →

At a glance

+1.0%

BSV total return, 1 year

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

0.03%

BSV expense ratio

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BSV costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points; IAU is 1.4 times larger.

BSV vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BSV	IAU
Return
Measure	BSV	IAU
Total return, 1 year	+1.0%	+2.7%
Drawdown
Measure	BSV	IAU
Below its high		24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	BSV	IAU
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	BSV	IAU
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.25%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$45.4bn	$62.2bn
Holdings
Measure	BSV	IAU
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF IAU iShares Gold Trust

Where it sits Bond ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer Vanguard iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Short-Term Bond Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +1.0% +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 0.03% 0.25%

Holdings 3157 not counted

Net assets, BSV as of Sep 30, 2026 and IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 $45.4bn $60.1bn

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

Alert

About each fund

BSV

BSV tracks an index of Short-Term Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

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, BSV or IAU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BSV returned +1.0% and IAU +2.7%.
Which is cheaper, BSV or IAU?: BSV 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

BSV vs GLDM BSV vs SLV BSV vs GLD BSV vs BWET IAU vs IGSB IAU vs SPSB IAU vs VCSH IAU vs MBB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BSV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BSV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for BSV ↗

iShares page for IAU ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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