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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VWO returned +15.6%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VWO?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and VWO charges 0.06%, so VWO 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 VWO: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and VWO an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +15.6%.

iShares Gold Trust and Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund.

IAU and VWO on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	VWO Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	Gold	Emerging markets
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	+15.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	−1.9 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.06%
Holdings	not filed	6355

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.

VWO in plain words

VWO is an index equity fund tracking the Emerging markets. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +15.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 6355 positions, with the top ten at 26.8%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VWO?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and VWO returned +15.6%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VWO?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and VWO charges 0.06%, so VWO 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 VWO, 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 VWO, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-vwo Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources