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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and HYG +1.3%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or HYG?

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

GLD vs HYG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and HYG a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLD returned +2.5% against +1.3%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $17.5bn for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF.

GLD on its own →HYG on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+1.3%

HYG total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.49%

HYG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; GLD is 7.8 times larger.

GLD vs HYG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	HYG
Return
Measure	GLD	HYG
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+1.3%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	HYG
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	HYG
What it tracks	Gold	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	HYG
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.49%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$17.5bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	HYG
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of US high yield bonds

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +1.3%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) −1.2% (IUSB)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU +2.5 pts vs IUSB

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.49%

Holdings not counted 1332

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $17.5bn

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

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.

HYG

HYG tracks an index of US high yield bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or HYG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and HYG +1.3%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or HYG?: 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

GLD vs USHY GLD vs JNK GLD vs LQD GLD vs IEI HYG vs IAU GLDM vs HYG HYG vs SLV HYG vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

HYG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HYG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for HYG ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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