At a glance
GLD and IAU are both trusts that hold physical gold directly, so what sets them apart is cost, size and trading. IAU costs less: 0.25% a year against 0.4% for GLD, or $250 against $400 on every $100,000. GLD has $130.10B in assets and IAU $60.11B. Over the past year GLD returned −1.8% and IAU −1.6%; over five years, +16.7% and +16.9% a year. In the 2022 bear market GLD fell 21.0% at its worst and IAU 20.9%; both were back at their earlier highs 14 months after the low.
Key differences
| GLD | IAU | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | SPDR Gold Shares | iShares Gold Trust |
| Sponsor | World Gold Trust Services, LLC | iShares |
| Structure | Grantor trust | Grantor trust |
| Type | Gold | Gold |
| Launched | Nov 18, 2004 | Jan 21, 2005 |
| Expense ratio | 0.4% | 0.25% |
| Cost a year on $100,000 | $400 | $250 |
| Net assets | $130.10B | $60.11B |
| Price data from | Jul 18, 2005 | Jun 6, 2005 |
Structure and tax notes
- Both: Structured as a grantor trust registered under the Securities Act of 1933, not as a 1940 Act investment company, so it lacks some fund-specific investor protections.
- Both: Physically backed precious-metal trusts are taxed like the metal itself: in the US, long-term gains can be taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28% rather than the usual capital-gains rates.
Holdings and overlap
Both trusts hold physical gold directly rather than stocks or bonds, so there is no holdings list to compare: each share is a claim on the same asset, and the difference between them is what each charges, how large it is and how its shares trade.
Returns
$10,000 put into GLD on Jul 29, 2005 was worth $84,458 on Nov 2, 2026, and in IAU $87,063 (+10.6% and +10.7% a year). That is as far back as the price data for both goes.
| 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLD price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -1.8% | +25.2% | +16.7% | +11.3% |
| IAU price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -1.6% | +25.4% | +16.9% | +11.6% |
Calendar years
| Year | GLD | IAU | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | -8.8% * | -8.7% * | IAU +0.1 |
| 2025 | +63.7% | +64.0% | IAU +0.3 |
| 2024 | +26.7% | +26.9% | IAU +0.2 |
| 2023 | +12.7% | +12.8% | IAU +0.2 |
| 2022 | -0.8% | -0.6% | IAU +0.1 |
| 2021 | -4.2% | -3.9% | IAU +0.3 |
| 2020 | +24.8% | +25.8% | IAU +1.0 |
| 2019 | +17.9% | +18.0% | IAU +0.1 |
| 2018 | -1.9% | -1.8% | IAU +0.2 |
| 2017 | +12.8% | +12.9% | IAU +0.1 |
Downturns and recovery
| GLD | IAU | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | −29.4% at the worst; back at its high 10 months after the low | −29.2% at the worst; back at its high 10 months after the low |
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | −12.5% at the worst; back at its high within a month after the low | −12.5% at the worst; back at its high within a month after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | −21% at the worst; back at its high 14 months after the low | −20.9% at the worst; back at its high 14 months after the low |
| Worst fall in the price data | −45.6% (Aug 22, 2011 – Dec 17, 2015) | −45.1% (Aug 22, 2011 – Dec 2, 2015) |
Costs
IAU charges 0.25% a year and GLD 0.4%: on $100,000 that is $150 a year less with IAU ($750 on $500,000). The fee comes out of each fund's assets, so it is already in the returns above.