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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VUG returned +12.9%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VUG?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and VUG charges 0.03%, so VUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

IAU vs VUG: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and VUG an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +12.9%.

iShares Gold Trust and Vanguard Growth Index Fund.

IAU and VUG on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	VUG Vanguard Growth Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	Gold	US growth
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	+12.9%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	−4.6 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.03%
Holdings	not filed	147

IAU in plain words

IAU is a commodity fund tracking the Gold. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year. It sat 19.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

VUG in plain words

VUG is an index equity fund tracking the US growth. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 147 positions, with the top ten at 60.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VUG?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VUG returned +12.9%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VUG?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and VUG charges 0.03%, so VUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

IAU against VUG, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, IAU against VUG, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-vug Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources