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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FLKR returned +79.7% and IAU +2.7%.

Which is cheaper, FLKR or IAU?

FLKR is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FLKR vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $1.9bn for Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF and $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust.

FLKR on its own →IAU on its own →

At a glance

+79.7%

FLKR total return, 1 year

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

0.09%

FLKR expense ratio

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

FLKR costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 77.0 points; IAU is far larger, $60.1bn against $1.9bn.

FLKR vs IAU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FLKR	IAU
Return
Measure	FLKR	IAU
Total return, 1 year	+79.7%	+2.7%
Drawdown
Measure	FLKR	IAU
Below its high	24.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FLKR	IAU
What it tracks	FTSE South Korea RIC Capped Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	FLKR	IAU
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.25%
Net assets	$1.9bn	$60.1bn
Holdings
Measure	FLKR	IAU
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	0%
Holdings dated	Jun 30, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	64.6%

Method

Side by side

FLKR Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF IAU iShares Gold Trust

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer Franklin iShares

What it is Tracks the FTSE South Korea Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +79.7% +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 0.09% 0.25%

Holdings 156 not counted

Net assets $1.9bn $60.1bn

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

Alert

About each fund

FLKR

FLKR tracks the FTSE South Korea. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +79.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 64.6%. It sat 24.1% below its high of Jun 22, 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, FLKR or IAU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FLKR returned +79.7% and IAU +2.7%.
Which is cheaper, FLKR or IAU?: FLKR is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

FLKR vs GLDM FLKR vs SLV FLKR vs GLD BWET vs FLKR EWY vs IAU IAU vs VT IAU vs ILF FXI vs IAU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FLKR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FLKR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Franklin website ↗

iShares page for IAU ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.