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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VB +14.4%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VB?

VB is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 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 VB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and VB an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VB returned +14.4% against +2.7%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $76.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF.

IAU on its own →VB on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+14.4%

VB total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.03%

VB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VB costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.7 points; VB is 1.2 times larger.

IAU vs VB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	VB
Return
Measure	IAU	VB
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+14.4%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	VB
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026	5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	VB
What it tracks	Gold	Morningstar US Small Cap Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	VB
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$62.2bn	$76.9bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	VB
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		22%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		5.9%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust VB Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Small-Cap

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +14.4%

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% 0.03%

Holdings not counted 1303

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and VB as of Sep 30, 2026 $60.1bn $76.9bn

IAU and VB 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.

VB tracks an index of Small-Cap. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,303 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VB +14.4%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VB?: VB is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs IWM IAU vs IJR IAU vs VTWO IAU vs IJT SLV vs VB USO vs VB SIVR vs VB BWET vs VB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

VB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VB ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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