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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +19.1% and IWM returned +21.2%, so IWM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, GLD or IWM?

GLD charges 0.40% a year and IWM charges 0.19%, so IWM is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

GLD vs IWM: how they differ

GLD is a commodity fund and IWM an equity index fund, and over the year IWM returned more, +21.2% against +19.1%.

SPDR Gold Shares and iShares Russell 2000 ETF.

GLD and IWM on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	GLD SPDR Gold Shares	IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	State Street	iShares
What it is	Gold	Russell 2000
Total return, 1 year	+19.1%	+21.2%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.6 pts	+3.7 pts
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.19%
Holdings	not filed	1749

GLD in plain words

GLD is a commodity fund tracking the Gold. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.40% a year. It sat 19.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

IWM in plain words

IWM is an index equity fund tracking the Russell 2000. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +21.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1749 positions, with the top ten at 3.2%. It sat 5.3% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or IWM?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +19.1% and IWM returned +21.2%, so IWM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, GLD or IWM?: GLD charges 0.40% a year and IWM charges 0.19%, so IWM is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

GLD against IWM, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, GLD against IWM, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-iwm Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources