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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VYMI +22.3%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or VYMI?

VYMI is cheaper, by 0.18 percentage points a year. That is about $18 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 VYMI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and VYMI an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VYMI returned +22.3% against +2.7%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $21.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF.

IAU on its own →VYMI on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

+22.3%

VYMI total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.07%

VYMI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VYMI costs 0.18 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.6 points; IAU is 2.9 times larger.

IAU vs VYMI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	VYMI
Return
Measure	IAU	VYMI
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	+22.3%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	VYMI
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.6%, high on Sep 3, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	VYMI
What it tracks	Gold	FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	VYMI
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$62.2bn	$21.4bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	VYMI
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		13.8%

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust VYMI Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of International High Dividend Yield

Total return, 1 year +2.7% +22.3%

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% 0.07%

Holdings not counted 1509

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and VYMI as of Sep 30, 2026 $60.1bn $21.4bn

IAU and VYMI 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.

VYMI

VYMI tracks an index of International High Dividend Yield. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +22.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,509 positions, with the top ten at 13.8%. It sat 4.6% below its high of Sep 3, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or VYMI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and VYMI +22.3%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or VYMI?: VYMI is cheaper, by 0.18 percentage points a year. That is about $18 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

AVDV vs IAU EWJ vs IAU EWY vs IAU IAU vs VGK BWET vs VYMI SLV vs VYMI GLD vs VYMI SIVR vs VYMI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

VYMI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VYMI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VYMI ↗

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

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

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