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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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EWY vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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EWY is an equity index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWY returned +79.7% against +2.7%.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $24.4bn for iShares MSCI South Korea ETF and $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust.

EWY on its own →IAU on its own →
At a glance
+79.7%
EWY total return, 1 year
+2.7%
IAU total return, 1 year
0.59%
EWY expense ratio
0.25%
IAU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IAU costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 77.0 points; IAU is 2.5 times larger.

EWY vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureEWYIAU
Return
Total return, 1 year+79.7%+2.7%
Drawdown
Below its high24.3%, high on Jun 18, 202624.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksMSCI Korea 25/50 Daily 25 Capped IndexGold
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.59%0.25%
Net assets$24.4bn$60.1bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight0%
Holdings datedOct 27, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund60.9%

Method

Side by side

EWY iShares MSCI South Korea ETF IAU iShares Gold Trust
Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF
Issuer iShares iShares
What it is Tracks the MSCI South Korea Holds gold
Total return, 1 year +79.7% +2.7%
Its benchmark over the same days +16.3% (EEM) +2.5% (GLD)
Gap to its benchmark +63.4 pts vs EEM +0.2 pts vs GLD
Expense ratio 0.59% 0.25%
Holdings 78 not counted
Net assets $24.4bn $60.1bn

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

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About each fund
EWY

EWY tracks the MSCI South Korea. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +79.7% with distributions reinvested, against +16.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.59% 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 78 positions, with the top ten at 60.9%. It sat 24.3% below its high of Jun 18, 2026 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, EWY or IAU?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWY returned +79.7% and IAU +2.7%.
Which is cheaper, EWY or IAU?
IAU is cheaper, by 0.34 percentage points a year. That is about $34 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
Other comparisons
EWY vs GLDMEWY vs GLDEWY vs SLVEWY vs SIVRFLKR vs IAUIAU vs VYMIIAU vs VGKIAU vs IDEV
Where to next
EWY on its own →IAU on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →EWY dividend history →EWY holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
EWY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
EWY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for EWY ↗
iShares page for IAU ↗

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

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

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