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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VIG +13.9%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VIG?

VIG is cheaper, by 0.21 percentage points a year. That is about $21 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 VIG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and VIG an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VIG returned +13.9% against +2.7%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $109.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Div Appreciation ETF.

IAU on its own →VIG on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+13.9%

VIG total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.04%

VIG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VIG costs 0.21 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.2 points; VIG is 1.8 times larger.

IAU vs VIG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	VIG
Return
Measure	IAU	VIG
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+13.9%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	VIG
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	VIG
What it tracks	Gold	S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	VIG
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.04%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$62.2bn	$109.1bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	VIG
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		93%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		34.5%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust VIG Vanguard Div Appreciation ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Dividend growth

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +13.9%

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% 0.04%

Holdings not counted 335

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and VIG as of Sep 30, 2026 $60.1bn $109.1bn

IAU and VIG 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.

VIG

VIG tracks an index of Dividend growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 335 positions, with the top ten at 34.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VIG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VIG +13.9%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VIG?: VIG is cheaper, by 0.21 percentage points a year. That is about $21 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs SPY IAU vs ITOT IAU vs SCHX IAU vs SPYM SLV vs VIG USO vs VIG BWET vs VIG GLD vs VIG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

VIG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VIG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VIG ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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