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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and LQD −3.4%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or LQD?

LQD is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 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 LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and LQD a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −3.4%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $30.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF.

IAU on its own →LQD on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

−3.4%

LQD total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.14%

LQD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

LQD costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.1 points; IAU is 2.0 times larger.

IAU vs LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	LQD
Return
Measure	IAU	LQD
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	−3.4%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	LQD
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026	6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	LQD
What it tracks	Gold	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	LQD
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.14%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$60.3bn	$30.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	LQD
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of US investment grade bonds

Total return, 1 year +2.7% −3.4%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) −1.2% (IUSB)

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs GLD −2.2 pts vs IUSB

Expense ratio 0.25% 0.14%

Holdings not counted 3191

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and LQD as of Oct 27, 2026 $60.1bn $30.6bn

IAU and LQD 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.

LQD

LQD tracks an index of US investment grade bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year. It sat 6.3% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or LQD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and LQD −3.4%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or LQD?: LQD is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs IGIB IAU vs VCIT IAU vs JAAA IAU vs SHY LQD vs SLV LQD vs USO GLD vs LQD LQD vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

LQD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LQD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for LQD ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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