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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and NOBL +15.5%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or NOBL?

IAU is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 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 NOBL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and NOBL an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, NOBL returned +15.5% against +2.7%.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $60.1bn for iShares Gold Trust and $11.6bn for ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF.

IAU on its own →NOBL on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+15.5%

NOBL total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.35%

NOBL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IAU costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 12.8 points; IAU is 5.2 times larger.

IAU vs NOBL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	NOBL
Return
Measure	IAU	NOBL
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+15.5%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	NOBL
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	NOBL
What it tracks	Gold	S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	NOBL
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.35%
Net assets	$60.1bn	$11.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	NOBL
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		98%
Holdings dated		Oct 27, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		17.0%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust NOBL ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares ProShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +15.5%

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% 0.35%

Holdings not counted 69

Net assets $60.1bn $11.6bn

IAU and NOBL 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.

NOBL

NOBL tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 69 positions, with the top ten at 17.0%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or NOBL?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and NOBL +15.5%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or NOBL?: IAU is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs RSP COWZ vs IAU IAU vs SDY IAU vs VOE NOBL vs SLV GLD vs NOBL NOBL vs SIVR NOBL vs USO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

NOBL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NOBL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

ProShares page for NOBL ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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