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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and XLB returned +12.0%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IAU or XLB?

IAU charges 0.25% a year and XLB charges 0.08%, so XLB 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 XLB: how they differ

IAU is a commodity fund and XLB an equity index fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +12.0%.

iShares Gold Trust and State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.

IAU and XLB on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IAU iShares Gold Trust	XLB State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	State Street
What it is	Gold	Materials
Total return, 1 year	+19.2%	+12.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.7 pts	−5.5 pts
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.08%
Holdings	not filed	27

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.

XLB in plain words

XLB is an index equity fund tracking the Materials. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 27 positions, with the top ten at 59.4%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Aug 26, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or XLB?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +19.2% and XLB returned +12.0%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IAU or XLB?: IAU charges 0.25% a year and XLB charges 0.08%, so XLB 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 XLB, 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 XLB, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-xlb Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources