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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IWF +0.9%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or IWF?

IWF is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 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 IWF: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

GLD is a commodity fund and IWF an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLD returned +2.5% against +0.9%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about GLD and IWF

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $124.7bn for iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF.

GLD on its own →IWF on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+0.9%

IWF total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.18%

IWF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWF costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points; GLD is 1.1 times larger.

GLD vs IWF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	IWF
Return
Measure	GLD	IWF
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+0.9%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	IWF
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.8%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	IWF
What it tracks	Gold	Russell 1000 Growth Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	IWF
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.18%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$124.7bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	IWF
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		94%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		57.5%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares IWF iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks the Russell 1000 growth

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +0.9%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +1.1% (VONG)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU −0.2 pts vs VONG

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.18%

Holdings not counted 374

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $124.7bn

GLD and IWF 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.

IWF

IWF tracks the Russell 1000 growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.9% with distributions reinvested, against +1.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 374 positions, with the top ten at 57.5%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or IWF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IWF +0.9%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or IWF?: IWF is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs VUG GLD vs QQQ GLD vs QQQM GLD vs SCHG IAU vs IWF GLDM vs IWF IWF vs SLV IWF vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

IWF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWF ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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