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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MBB −0.8%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or MBB?

MBB is cheaper, by 0.21 percentage points a year. That is about $21 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 MBB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and MBB a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −0.8%.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust and $35.5bn for iShares MBS ETF.

IAU on its own →MBB on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

−0.8%

MBB total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.04%

MBB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

MBB costs 0.21 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.5 points; IAU is 1.7 times larger.

IAU vs MBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	MBB
Return
Measure	IAU	MBB
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	−0.8%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	MBB
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	MBB
What it tracks	Gold	Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	MBB
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.04%
Net assets	$60.1bn	$35.5bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	MBB
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust MBB iShares MBS ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of mortgage-backed securities

Total return, 1 year +2.7% −0.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) −1.1% (SPMB)

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs GLD +0.3 pts vs SPMB

Expense ratio 0.25% 0.04%

Holdings not counted 10813

Net assets $60.1bn $35.5bn

IAU and MBB 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.

MBB

MBB tracks an index of mortgage-backed securities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −0.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.1% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or MBB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MBB −0.8%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or MBB?: MBB is cheaper, by 0.21 percentage points a year. That is about $21 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs IEF IAU vs TLT BIL vs IAU IAU vs IUSB MBB vs SLV MBB vs USO BWET vs MBB GLD vs MBB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

MBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for MBB ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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