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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and LQD returned −2.7%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or LQD?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and LQD charges 0.14%, so LQD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

IAU vs LQD: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and LQD a bond index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against −2.7%.

iShares Gold Trust and iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF.

IAU and LQD on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	Gold	US investment grade bonds
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	−2.7%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	−20.2 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.14%
Holdings	not filed	3149

IAU in plain words

IAU is a commodity fund tracking the Gold. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year. It sat 19.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

LQD in plain words

LQD is a bond fund tracking the US investment grade bonds. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −2.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year. It sat 6.4% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or LQD?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and LQD returned −2.7%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or LQD?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and LQD charges 0.14%, so LQD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

IAU against LQD, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, IAU against LQD, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-lqd Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources