Hold IAU, not GLD, unless you trade options
Each trust holds its own gold bullion, and the fund charging 0.25% a year has kept more of the metal's return than the one charging 0.40%.
Key takeaways
Hold BlackRock's iShares Gold Trust, IAU, rather than State Street's SPDR Gold Shares, GLD, if you are buying gold to keep. Each trust holds its own gold bullion. IAU charges 0.25% a year and GLD charges 0.40%, and that gap of 0.15 percentage points is about what has separated their returns.
The choice reverses if you trade options on the shares. A personal account can buy or sell either fund.
Same gold, different fee
Both hold physical gold, and both are built to track the metal after expenses rather than shares of mining companies. Neither pays a distribution. GLD opened on Nov. 18, 2004, and IAU on Jan. 21, 2005.
On $100,000, the extra fee is $150 a year. The larger fund does not hold a different metal, and its size does not lower the fee.
For an individual U.S. owner, a long-term gain in either fund is generally taxed as a collectible, at a rate of up to 28%, not as a stock. State Street's January 2026 FAQ says so for GLD, and BlackRock's 2025 annual report says so for IAU.
Selling shares you already own can trigger that tax on the gain. The $150 a year is a reason to put the next purchase in IAU, not to sell GLD automatically.
The cheaper fund has returned a little more
Net asset value is the value of the gold in the trust, per share. In the year through Sept. 30, 2026, BlackRock reported a net asset value return of 8.90% for IAU and State Street reported 8.74% for GLD, a gap of 0.16 percentage points.
Over three years through that date, BlackRock reported a net asset value return of 30.38% a year for IAU and State Street reported 30.16% a year for GLD, a gap of 0.22 percentage points. Over 10 years, BlackRock reported 11.91% a year for IAU and State Street reported 11.74% a year for GLD, a gap of 0.17 percentage points.
When the extra fee is worth paying
On June 17, 2026, ETF.com wrote that GLD "has by far the deepest, most liquid gold options market of any ETF." It said GLD options have "tight bid-ask spreads" and "large open interest across dozens of strike prices and expirations," and called IAU's market "meaningfully thinner."
If you trade options on the shares, GLD is the fund with that market. If you are buying gold to keep, IAU has kept more of the metal's return.
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