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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IEFA +12.3%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or IEFA?

IEFA is cheaper, by 0.33 percentage points a year. That is about $33 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 IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and IEFA an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% against +2.5%.

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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $190.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF.

GLD on its own →IEFA on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+12.3%

IEFA total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.07%

IEFA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEFA costs 0.33 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.8 points; IEFA is 1.4 times larger.

GLD vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	IEFA
Return
Measure	GLD	IEFA
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+12.3%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	IEFA
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	IEFA
What it tracks	Gold	MSCI EAFE IMI Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	IEFA
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$190.1bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	IEFA
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		12.3%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks the MSCI EAFE

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +12.3%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +14.3% (ACWX)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU −2.0 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.07%

Holdings not counted 2629

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and IEFA as of Oct 28, 2026 $135.8bn $190.4bn

GLD and IEFA 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.

IEFA

IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 2,629 positions, with the top ten at 12.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or IEFA?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IEFA +12.3%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or IEFA?: IEFA is cheaper, by 0.33 percentage points a year. That is about $33 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs VEA GLD vs VXUS GLD vs SCHF GLD vs VEU IAU vs IEFA GLDM vs IEFA IEFA vs SLV IEFA vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEFA ↗

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

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

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