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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MINT +4.2%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or MINT?

IAU 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 MINT: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

IAU is a commodity fund and MINT an actively managed short-term fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MINT returned +4.2% against +2.7%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IAU and MINT

Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $16.4bn on Jun 30, 2026 for PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Exchange-Traded Fund.

IAU on its own →MINT on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+4.2%

MINT total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.36%

MINT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IAU costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points.

IAU vs MINT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	MINT
Return
Measure	IAU	MINT
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+4.2%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	MINT
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	MINT
What it tracks	Gold	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	MINT
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.36%
Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and MINT as of Jun 30, 2026	$60.1bn	$16.4bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	MINT
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust MINT PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Exchange-Traded Fund

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares PIMCO

What it is Holds gold Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +4.2%

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% 0.36%

Holdings not counted 977

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and MINT as of Jun 30, 2026 $60.1bn $16.4bn

IAU and MINT 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.

MINT

MINT is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.36% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or MINT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MINT +4.2%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or MINT?: IAU 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 USFR BOXX vs IAU IAU vs PULS IAU vs VBIL MINT vs SLV MINT vs USO GLD vs MINT MINT vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

MINT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MINT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

PIMCO website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.