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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VPU −3.3%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VPU?

VPU is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 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 VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and VPU an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −3.3%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $7.7bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Utilities ETF.

IAU on its own →VPU on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

−3.3%

VPU total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.09%

VPU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VPU costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.0 points; IAU is 8.1 times larger.

IAU vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	VPU
Return
Measure	IAU	VPU
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	−3.3%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	VPU
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026	8.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	VPU
What it tracks	Gold	MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	VPU
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$62.2bn	$7.7bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	VPU
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		90%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		52.3%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust VPU Vanguard Utilities ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +2.7% −3.3%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) −3.3% (FUTY)

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs GLD 0.0 pts vs FUTY

Expense ratio 0.25% 0.09%

Holdings not counted 70

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and VPU as of Sep 30, 2026 $60.1bn $7.7bn

IAU and VPU 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.

VPU

VPU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.3% with distributions reinvested, against −3.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 70 positions, with the top ten at 52.3%. It sat 8.9% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VPU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VPU −3.3%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VPU?: VPU is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IAU vs XLU IAU vs VOX IAU vs VDE IAU vs KRE SLV vs VPU USO vs VPU SIVR vs VPU BWET vs VPU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

VPU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VPU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VPU ↗

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

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

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