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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VYM +18.0%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or VYM?

VYM 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 VYM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and VYM an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VYM returned +18.0% against +2.5%.

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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $78.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF.

GLD on its own →VYM on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+18.0%

VYM total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.04%

VYM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VYM costs 0.36 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.5 points; GLD is 1.8 times larger.

GLD vs VYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	VYM
Return
Measure	GLD	VYM
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+18.0%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	VYM
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	VYM
What it tracks	Gold	FTSE High Dividend Yield Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	VYM
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.04%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$141.7bn	$78.9bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	VYM
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		90%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		26.2%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares VYM Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of US high dividend

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +18.0%

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 595

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and VYM as of Sep 30, 2026 $135.8bn $78.9bn

GLD and VYM 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.

VYM

VYM tracks an index of US high dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 595 positions, with the top ten at 26.2%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or VYM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VYM +18.0%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or VYM?: VYM 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 VTV GLD vs HDV GLD vs PVAL GLD vs VLUE IAU vs VYM GLDM vs VYM SLV vs VYM SIVR vs VYM

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

VYM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VYM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VYM ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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