Which returned more over the last year, GLDM or IEF?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLDM returned +2.8% and IEF −3.2%.

Which is cheaper, GLDM or IEF?

GLDM is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

GLDM vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLDM is a commodity fund and IEF a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLDM returned +2.8% against −3.2%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $30.6bn for SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust and $43.5bn for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

GLDM on its own →IEF on its own →

At a glance

+2.8%

GLDM total return, 1 year

−3.2%

IEF total return, 1 year

0.10%

GLDM expense ratio

0.15%

IEF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLDM costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.0 points; IEF is 1.4 times larger.

GLDM vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLDM	IEF
Return
Measure	GLDM	IEF
Total return, 1 year	+2.8%	−3.2%
Drawdown
Measure	GLDM	IEF
Below its high	24.5%, high on Jan 29, 2026	13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	GLDM	IEF
What it tracks	Gold	ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLDM	IEF
Expense ratio	0.10%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$30.6bn	$43.5bn
Holdings
Measure	GLDM	IEF
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Risk and return

Jul 6, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 433 weekly returns

GLDM IEF

Return

Total return edge GLDM +215.1% +8.8%

Annualized edge GLDM +14.8% +1.0%

Price return edge GLDM +215.1% −11.3%

Risk

Volatility edge IEF 16.0% 6.7%

Max drawdown edge IEF (slight) −24.0% −23.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge GLDM 0.77 −0.23

Sortino edge GLDM 1.17 −0.33

Calmar edge GLDM 0.62 0.04

Reading

GLDM returned more: +215.1% to +8.8%. IEF swung less: 6.7% to 16.0%. IEF fell slightly less at its worst: −23.3% to −24.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GLDM vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLDM	IEF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+215.1%	+8.8%	GLDM	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+14.8%	+1.0%	GLDM	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+215.1%	−11.3%	GLDM	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	16.0%	6.7%	IEF	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	10.5%	4.8%	IEF	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−24.0%	−23.3%	IEF (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.77	−0.23	GLDM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.17	−0.33	GLDM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.62	0.04	GLDM	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 433 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

GLDM SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust IEF iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year +2.8% −3.2%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +0.3 pts vs GLD not measured

Expense ratio 0.10% 0.15%

Holdings not counted 17

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $30.6bn $43.5bn

GLDM and IEF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-D27A92BF2E

GLDM and IEF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. GLDM follows Gold and IEF follows ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GLDM returned +2.8% and IEF −3.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 6.0 points.
Cost (similar). GLDM charges 0.10% of assets a year and IEF 0.15%, a gap of 0.05 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

GLDM

Its expense ratio is 0.10% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

GLDM holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.8% with distributions reinvested, against +2.5% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.5% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IEF

IEF tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 13.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLDM or IEF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLDM returned +2.8% and IEF −3.2%.
Which is cheaper, GLDM or IEF?: GLDM is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLDM vs GOVT GLDM vs VGIT GLDM vs MBB GLDM vs VGSH IAU vs IEF IEF vs USO IEF vs SLV IEF vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

IEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEF ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, GLDM against IEF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gldm-vs-ief

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