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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MGK +7.8%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or MGK?

MGK is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 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 MGK: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and MGK an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MGK returned +7.8% against +2.7%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $34.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF.

IAU on its own →MGK on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+7.8%

MGK total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.05%

MGK expense ratio

Pair scorecard

MGK costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.1 points; IAU is 1.8 times larger.

IAU vs MGK: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	MGK
Return
Measure	IAU	MGK
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+7.8%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	MGK
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	MGK
What it tracks	Gold	Morningstar US Mega Cap Growth Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	MGK
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.05%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$62.2bn	$34.9bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	MGK
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		99%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		64.5%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust MGK Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Mega Cap Growth

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +7.8%

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% 0.05%

Holdings not counted 54

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and MGK as of Sep 30, 2026 $60.1bn $34.9bn

IAU and MGK 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.

MGK

MGK tracks an index of Mega Cap Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 54 positions, with the top ten at 64.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or MGK?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MGK +7.8%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or MGK?: MGK is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs VONG IAU vs SPYG IAU vs QQQM IAU vs IWF MGK vs SLV MGK vs USO BWET vs MGK GLD vs MGK

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

MGK filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MGK prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for MGK ↗

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

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

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