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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and IAU +2.7%.

Which is cheaper, DGRO or IAU?

DGRO is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

DGRO vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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DGRO is an equity index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DGRO returned +18.8% against +2.7%.

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Net assets: $44.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF, and $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust.

DGRO on its own →IAU on its own →

At a glance

+18.8%

DGRO total return, 1 year

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

0.08%

DGRO expense ratio

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

DGRO costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.1 points; IAU is 1.4 times larger.

DGRO vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DGRO	IAU
Return
Measure	DGRO	IAU
Total return, 1 year	+18.8%	+2.7%
Drawdown
Measure	DGRO	IAU
Below its high		24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	DGRO	IAU
What it tracks	Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	DGRO	IAU
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.25%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$44.6bn	$60.3bn
Holdings
Measure	DGRO	IAU
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	92%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	27.2%

Method

Side by side

DGRO iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF IAU iShares Gold Trust

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Dividend Growth Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +18.8% +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 0.08% 0.25%

Holdings 393 not counted

Net assets, DGRO as of Oct 27, 2026 and IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 $44.6bn $60.1bn

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

Alert

About each fund

DGRO

DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.

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, DGRO or IAU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and IAU +2.7%.
Which is cheaper, DGRO or IAU?: DGRO is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

DGRO vs GLDM DGRO vs GLD DGRO vs SLV DGRO vs SIVR IAU vs VTV FDVV vs IAU IAU vs VLUE IAU vs SPYD

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

DGRO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

DGRO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for DGRO ↗

iShares page for IAU ↗

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

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

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