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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MAGS +5.8%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or MAGS?

IAU 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

IAU vs MAGS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and MAGS an actively managed equity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MAGS returned +5.8% against +2.7%.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust and $5.5bn for Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF.

IAU on its own →MAGS on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+5.8%

MAGS total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.30%

MAGS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IAU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; IAU is 10.9 times larger.

IAU vs MAGS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	MAGS
Return
Measure	IAU	MAGS
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+5.8%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	MAGS
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.1%, high on Oct 13, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	MAGS
What it tracks	Gold	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	MAGS
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.30%
Net assets	$60.1bn	$5.5bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	MAGS
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		22%
Holdings dated		Jun 30, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		29.3%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust MAGS Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Roundhill

What it is Holds gold Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +5.8%

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% 0.30%

Holdings not counted 8

Net assets $60.1bn $5.5bn

IAU and MAGS 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.

MAGS

MAGS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +5.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.30% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 8 positions, with the top ten at 29.3%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Oct 13, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or MAGS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MAGS +5.8%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or MAGS?: IAU 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

IAU vs ONEQ IAU vs XOVR IAU vs VOOG IAU vs MGK MAGS vs SLV MAGS vs USO GLD vs MAGS MAGS vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

MAGS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MAGS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Roundhill page for MAGS ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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