Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EWZ vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
EWZ is an equity index fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWZ returned +13.7% against +2.7%.
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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $10.3bn for iShares MSCI Brazil ETF and $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust.
Pair scorecard
IAU costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.0 points; IAU is 5.8 times larger.
| Measure | EWZ | IAU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.7% | +2.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 25.4%, high on May 20, 2008 | 24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index | Gold |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.59% | 0.25% |
| Net assets | $10.3bn | $60.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 0% | |
| Holdings dated | Oct 27, 2026 | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 57.5% | |
Risk and return
Feb 4, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,133 weekly returnsIAU returned more: +805.4% to +344.3%. IAU swung less: 17.4% to 33.7%. IAU fell less at its worst: −44.4% to −76.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EWZ | IAU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +344.3% | +805.4% | IAU | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +7.1% | +10.6% | IAU | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +89.3% | +805.4% | IAU | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 33.7% | 17.4% | IAU | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 23.2% | 11.9% | IAU | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −76.1% | −44.4% | IAU | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.32 | 0.56 | IAU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.46 | 0.82 | IAU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.09 | 0.24 | IAU | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,133 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
EWZ and IAU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EWZ and IAU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EWZ follows MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index and IAU follows Gold.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EWZ returned +13.7% and IAU +2.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.0 points.
- Cost. EWZ charges 0.59% of assets a year and IAU 0.25%, a gap of 0.34 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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EWZ
EWZ tracks the MSCI Brazil. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested. 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 59 positions, with the top ten at 57.5%. It sat 25.4% below its high of May 20, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.
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, EWZ or IAU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWZ returned +13.7% and IAU +2.7%.
- Which is cheaper, EWZ 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.
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ETFIQ, EWZ against IAU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewz-vs-iau
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EWZ against IAU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewz-vs-iau
[EWZ against IAU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewz-vs-iau)
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