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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VONG +1.1%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VONG?

VONG is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 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 VONG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and VONG an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against +1.1%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $47.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF.

IAU on its own →VONG on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+1.1%

VONG total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.06%

VONG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VONG costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points; IAU is 1.3 times larger.

IAU vs VONG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	VONG
Return
Measure	IAU	VONG
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+1.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	VONG
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.8%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	VONG
What it tracks	Gold	Russell 1000 Growth Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	VONG
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$62.2bn	$47.1bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	VONG
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		96%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		57.6%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust VONG Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks the Russell 1000 Growth

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +1.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) +0.9% (IWF)

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs GLD +0.2 pts vs IWF

Expense ratio 0.25% 0.06%

Holdings not counted 373

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and VONG as of Sep 30, 2026 $60.1bn $47.1bn

IAU and VONG 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.

VONG

VONG tracks the Russell 1000 Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against +0.9% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 373 positions, with the top ten at 57.6%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VONG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VONG +1.1%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VONG?: VONG is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs SPYG IAU vs VOOG IAU vs IWF IAU vs ONEQ SLV vs VONG USO vs VONG BWET vs VONG GLD vs VONG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

VONG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VONG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VONG ↗

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

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

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