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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and IWB +13.1%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or IWB?

IWB is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 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 IWB: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

IAU is a commodity fund and IWB an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWB returned +13.1% against +2.7%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IAU and IWB

Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust and $49.1bn for iShares Russell 1000 ETF.

IAU on its own →IWB on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+13.1%

IWB total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.15%

IWB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWB costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.4 points; IAU is 1.2 times larger.

IAU vs IWB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	IWB
Return
Measure	IAU	IWB
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+13.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	IWB
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	IWB
What it tracks	Gold	Russell 1000 Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	IWB
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.15%
Net assets	$60.1bn	$49.1bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	IWB
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		92%
Holdings dated		Oct 27, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		35.3%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust IWB iShares Russell 1000 ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks the Russell 1000

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +13.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) +13.2% (VONE)

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs GLD −0.1 pts vs VONE

Expense ratio 0.25% 0.15%

Holdings not counted 1025

Net assets $60.1bn $49.1bn

IAU and IWB 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.

IWB

IWB tracks the Russell 1000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.2% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,025 positions, with the top ten at 35.3%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or IWB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and IWB +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or IWB?: IWB is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs RDVY IAU vs USMV IAU vs IVV IAU vs QUAL IWB vs USO BWET vs IWB IWB vs SLV GLD vs IWB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

IWB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWB ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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