Which returned more over the last year, IAU or IUSB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and IUSB −1.2%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or IUSB?

IUSB is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IAU vs IUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and IUSB a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −1.2%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $49.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF.

IAU on its own →IUSB on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

−1.2%

IUSB total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.06%

IUSB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IUSB costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.9 points; IAU is 1.2 times larger.

IAU vs IUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	IUSB
Return
Measure	IAU	IUSB
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	−1.2%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	IUSB
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	IUSB
What it tracks	Gold	Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	IUSB
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$60.3bn	$49.8bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	IUSB
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust IUSB iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Universal USD Bond

Total return, 1 year +2.7% −1.2%

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

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs GLD not measured

Expense ratio 0.25% 0.06%

Holdings not counted 18338

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and IUSB as of Oct 27, 2026 $60.1bn $49.8bn

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

Alert

About each fund

IAU

Its expense ratio is 0.25% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

IAU holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.7% with distributions reinvested, against +2.5% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IUSB

IUSB tracks an index of Universal USD Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or IUSB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and IUSB −1.2%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or IUSB?: IUSB is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

BOND vs IAU IAU vs IGSB IAU vs SGOV IAU vs TIP IUSB vs SLV GLD vs IUSB IUSB vs USO BWET vs IUSB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

IUSB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IUSB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IUSB ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, IAU against IUSB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-iusb

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