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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and GLD +2.5%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or GLD?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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EWJ is an equity index fund and GLD a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% against +2.5%.

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Net assets: $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF, and $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares.

EWJ on its own →GLD on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.6 points; GLD is 5.7 times larger.

EWJ vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	GLD
Return
Measure	EWJ	GLD
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	+2.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	GLD
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	GLD
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	GLD
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.40%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$135.8bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	GLD
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%

Method

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF GLD SPDR Gold Shares

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +18.1% +2.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) +2.7% (IAU)

Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX −0.2 pts vs IAU

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.40%

Holdings 169 not counted

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $135.8bn

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

Alert

About each fund

EWJ

EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 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, EWJ or GLD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and GLD +2.5%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or GLD?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs IAU EWJ vs GLDM EWJ vs SLV EWJ vs SIVR EWT vs GLD EWZ vs GLD EZU vs GLD GLD vs VPL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

State Street website ↗

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

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

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