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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and PULS +4.0%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or PULS?

PULS 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 PULS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and PULS an actively managed short-term fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PULS returned +4.0% against +2.7%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $19.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF.

IAU on its own →PULS on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+4.0%

PULS total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.15%

PULS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

PULS costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.3 points; IAU is 3.0 times larger.

IAU vs PULS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	PULS
Return
Measure	IAU	PULS
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+4.0%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	PULS
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	PULS
What it tracks	Gold	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	PULS
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$60.3bn	$19.8bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	PULS
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust PULS PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares PGIM

What it is Holds gold Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +4.0%

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% 0.15%

Holdings not counted 553

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and PULS as of Oct 27, 2026 $60.1bn $19.8bn

IAU and PULS 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.

PULS

PULS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or PULS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and PULS +4.0%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or PULS?: PULS 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 SHV IAU vs MINT IAU vs USFR BOXX vs IAU PULS vs SLV PULS vs USO GLD vs PULS PULS vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

PULS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PULS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

PGIM website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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