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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and GOVT −1.5%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or GOVT?

GOVT is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

GLD vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

GLD is a commodity fund and GOVT a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLD returned +2.5% against −1.5%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about GLD and GOVT

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF.

GLD on its own →GOVT on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

−1.5%

GOVT total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.05%

GOVT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.0 points; GLD is 3.2 times larger.

GLD vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	GOVT
Return
Measure	GLD	GOVT
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	−1.5%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	GOVT
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	GOVT
What it tracks	Gold	ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	GOVT
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.05%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$42.8bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	GOVT
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Risk and return

Mar 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 764 weekly returns

GLD GOVT

Return

Total return edge GLD +120.4% +18.4%

Annualized edge GLD +5.5% +1.2%

Price return edge GLD +120.4% −10.6%

Risk

Volatility edge GOVT 15.5% 4.5%

Max drawdown edge GOVT −41.3% −18.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge GLD 0.31 −0.11

Sortino edge GLD 0.45 −0.15

Calmar edge GLD 0.13 0.06

Reading

GLD returned more: +120.4% to +18.4%. GOVT swung less: 4.5% to 15.5%. GOVT fell less at its worst: −18.7% to −41.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GLD vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	GOVT	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+120.4%	+18.4%	GLD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+5.5%	+1.2%	GLD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+120.4%	−10.6%	GLD	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	15.5%	4.5%	GOVT	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	10.7%	3.3%	GOVT	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−41.3%	−18.7%	GOVT	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.31	−0.11	GLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.45	−0.15	GLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.13	0.06	GLD	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 764 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year +2.5% −1.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU not measured

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.05%

Holdings not counted 229

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $42.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-5A1F97F739

GLD and GOVT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. GLD follows Gold and GOVT follows ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLD returned +2.5% and GOVT −1.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.0 points.
Cost. GLD charges 0.40% of assets a year and GOVT 0.05%, a gap of 0.35 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

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.

GOVT

GOVT tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or GOVT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and GOVT −1.5%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or GOVT?: GOVT is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs IEF GLD vs VGIT GLD vs VGSH GLD vs JAAA GOVT vs IAU GLDM vs GOVT GOVT vs SLV GOVT vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GOVT ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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