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Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

IAU vs SPYM: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and SPYM an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +17.6%.

iShares Gold Trust and State Street(R) SPDR(R) Portfolio S&P 500(R) ETF.

IAU and SPYM on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IAU
iShares Gold Trust
SPYM
State Street(R) SPDR(R) Portfolio S&P 500(R) ETF
Where it sitsCore index fundCore index fund
IssueriSharesState Street
What it isGoldS&P 500
Total return, 1 year+19.2%+17.6%
S&P 500 over the same days+17.5%+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500+1.7 pts+0.1 pts
Expense ratio0.25%1.30%
Holdingsnot filed507

IAU in plain words

IAU is a commodity fund tracking the Gold. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year. It sat 19.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

SPYM in plain words

SPYM is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 1.30% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 507 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or SPYM?
In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and SPYM returned +17.6%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or SPYM?
IAU charges 0.25% a year and SPYM charges 1.30%, so IAU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

IAU against SPYM, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, IAU against SPYM, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-spym Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources