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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IWC +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or IWC?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 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 IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and IWC an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWC returned +16.5% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $1.2bn for iShares Micro-Cap ETF.

GLD on its own →IWC on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.0 points; GLD is far larger, $135.8bn against $1.2bn.

GLD vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	IWC
Return
Measure	GLD	IWC
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	IWC
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	IWC
What it tracks	Gold	Russell Microcap Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	IWC
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$1.2bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	IWC
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		92%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		5.9%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks the Russell Microcap

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +16.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +13.3% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU +3.2 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.60%

Holdings not counted 1365

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $1.2bn

GLD and IWC 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.

IWC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWC tracks the Russell Microcap. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,365 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 9.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or IWC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IWC +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or IWC?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs IJT GLD vs VTWO GLD vs IWM GLD vs VB IAU vs IWC GLDM vs IWC IWC vs SIVR IWC vs USO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

IWC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWC ↗

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

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

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