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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IEF −3.2%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or IEF?

IEF is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 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 IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and IEF a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLD returned +2.5% against −3.2%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $43.5bn for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

GLD on its own →IEF on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

−3.2%

IEF total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.15%

IEF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEF costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.7 points; GLD is 3.1 times larger.

GLD vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	IEF
Return
Measure	GLD	IEF
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	−3.2%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	IEF
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	IEF
What it tracks	Gold	ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	IEF
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$43.5bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	IEF
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Risk and return

Nov 26, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,143 weekly returns

GLD IEF

Return

Total return edge GLD +709.5% +93.9%

Annualized edge GLD +10.0% +3.1%

Price return edge GLD +709.5% +7.0%

Risk

Volatility edge IEF 17.3% 6.4%

Max drawdown edge IEF −44.7% −23.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge GLD 0.53 0.22

Sortino edge GLD 0.77 0.31

Calmar edge GLD 0.22 0.13

Reading

GLD returned more: +709.5% to +93.9%. IEF swung less: 6.4% to 17.3%. IEF fell less at its worst: −23.3% to −44.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GLD vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	IEF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+709.5%	+93.9%	GLD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.0%	+3.1%	GLD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+709.5%	+7.0%	GLD	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	17.3%	6.4%	IEF	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.9%	4.5%	IEF	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−44.7%	−23.3%	IEF	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.53	0.22	GLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.77	0.31	GLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.22	0.13	GLD	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,143 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares IEF iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year +2.5% −3.2%

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% 0.15%

Holdings not counted 17

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $43.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-92D3649AEC

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

What each follows. GLD follows Gold and IEF follows ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLD returned +2.5% and IEF −3.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.7 points.
Cost. GLD charges 0.40% of assets a year and IEF 0.15%, a gap of 0.25 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

IEF

IEF tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 13.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or IEF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IEF −3.2%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or IEF?: IEF is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

IEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEF ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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