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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VEU +14.4%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or VEU?

VEU is cheaper, by 0.36 percentage points a year. That is about $36 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 VEU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and VEU an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VEU returned +14.4% against +2.5%.

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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $68.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE All World Ex US ETF.

GLD on its own →VEU on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+14.4%

VEU total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.04%

VEU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VEU costs 0.36 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.9 points; GLD is 2.1 times larger.

GLD vs VEU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	VEU
Return
Measure	GLD	VEU
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+14.4%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	VEU
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	5.0%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	VEU
What it tracks	Gold	FTSE All-World ex US Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	VEU
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.04%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$141.7bn	$68.1bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	VEU
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		15.2%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares VEU Vanguard FTSE All World Ex US ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks the FTSE All-World ex-US

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +14.4%

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% 0.04%

Holdings not counted 3816

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and VEU as of Sep 30, 2026 $135.8bn $68.1bn

GLD and VEU 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.

VEU

VEU tracks the FTSE All-World ex-US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,816 positions, with the top ten at 15.2%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or VEU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VEU +14.4%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or VEU?: VEU is cheaper, by 0.36 percentage points a year. That is about $36 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs VEA GLD vs SCHF EFA vs GLD GLD vs IXUS IAU vs VEU GLDM vs VEU SLV vs VEU SIVR vs VEU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

VEU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VEU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VEU ↗

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

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

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