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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VTEB −0.4%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VTEB?

VTEB 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 VTEB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and VTEB a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −0.4%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $49.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF.

IAU on its own →VTEB on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

−0.4%

VTEB total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.03%

VTEB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VTEB costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; IAU is 1.3 times larger.

IAU vs VTEB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	VTEB
Return
Measure	IAU	VTEB
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	−0.4%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	VTEB
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	VTEB
What it tracks	Gold	S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	VTEB
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$62.2bn	$49.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	VTEB
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust VTEB Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Tax-Exempt Bond

Total return, 1 year +2.7% −0.4%

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 11155

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and VTEB as of Sep 30, 2026 $60.1bn $49.6bn

IAU and VTEB 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.

VTEB

VTEB tracks an index of Tax-Exempt Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −0.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VTEB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VTEB −0.4%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VTEB?: VTEB 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 MUB HYMB vs IAU IAU vs IUSB IAU vs VCSH BWET vs VTEB GLD vs VTEB GLDM vs VTEB SLV vs VTEB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

VTEB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VTEB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VTEB ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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