Skip to content
etf.net

IAUM vs OUNZ

iShares Gold Trust Micro

IAUMANYSE Arca

VanEck Merk Gold ETF

OUNZBNYSE Arca

Overlap

Expense ratio

IAUM −0.16pt a year

IAUM0.09%OUNZ0.25%

Avg volume · 30D

IAUM 4.5×the volume

IAUM2.7MOUNZ595K

5Y return · a year

IAUM +0.2pt

IAUM+16.8%OUNZ+16.6%

IAUM vs OUNZ Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+117.2%IAUM+115.3%OUNZ

Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. IAUM +117.2%. OUNZ +115.3%. Use the arrow keys to read each point.0%50%150%200%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026
Expense ratio
IAUM 0.09%, better
OUNZ 0.25%
Fund size
IAUM $7.87B
OUNZ $2.51B
1Y total return
IAUM −3.0%, better
OUNZ −3.1%
Holdings
IAUM 1
OUNZ 1
Avg volume (30D)
IAUM 2.7M sh, better
OUNZ 595K sh
NAV per share
IAUM $38.99
OUNZ $37.29
52W range

ETF.net Grade

IAUM: Cost 91, Risk 49, Mission 100, Tradability 46, Holdings not scored, Durability 60. OUNZ: Cost 26, Risk 49, Mission 100, Tradability 61, Holdings not scored, Durability 60.
Pillar letters and Scores for IAUM, OUNZ, with each pillar’s weight
PillarIAUMOUNZ
Cost30% weightA91HigherD26
Mission25% weightA100A100
Risk15% weightC49C49
Tradability15% weightC46B61Higher
Holdings10% weightNot scoredNot scored
Durability5% weightB60B60

Rank among Physical Gold funds

How we build Categories ›
Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Same Category. IAUM and OUNZ are both graded against the same 10 Physical Gold funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Physical Gold⁠

Category · 10 funds
See all 10 ›

IAUM ranks 2nd and OUNZ 7th of 10 funds in the Physical Gold Category.

  1. Rank 1AGLDMSPDR Gold MiniShares TrustScore 82
  2. Rank 2AIAUMiShares Gold Trust MicroScore 77
  3. Rank 3BSGOLabrdn Physical Gold Shares ETFScore 69
  4. Rank 6BBARGraniteShares Gold TrustScore 63
  5. Rank 7BOUNZVanEck Merk Gold ETFScore 58
  6. Rank 8BGLDSPDR Gold SharesScore 57

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

IAUMAiShares Gold Trust Micro

OUNZBVanEck Merk Gold ETF

In short

IAUM Bullion in a vault, at 0.09% a year, roughly half the typical fee among physical gold funds. This is iShares' small-fee take on owning metal, priced off the LBMA Gold Price benchmark.

OUNZ Most gold funds hand you a claim on metal you will never touch. OUNZ, running since 2014, writes a different option into its prospectus: shareholders can exchange shares for physical gold bullion. Same metal exposure, with a door to the real thing.

Stated mandate

IAUM The Trust seeks to reflect the performance of gold, before its expenses and liabilities, by holding physical gold.

OUNZ The fund provides exposure to gold through exchange-traded shares and allows investors the option to receive physical gold bullion in exchange for shares.

Why people hold it

  • IAUM Fee is 0.09% a year against a 0.17% median for physical gold peers, a hair under GLDM (0.10%) and well under SGOL (0.17%) and AAAU (0.18%).
  • Plain plumbing: a grantor trust that holds physical gold and seeks to reflect gold's performance, before expenses and liabilities, against the LBMA Gold Price.ishares.com
  • A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, and it tracks its gold benchmark about as closely as anything in the physical gold group.
  • OUNZ The distinguishing feature is in the prospectus: investors have the option to receive physical gold bullion in exchange for their shares.vaneck.com
  • One job, done cleanly. The reference asset is physical gold, and the shares have tracked that mandate closely.
  • Trading since 2014, now a multi-billion-dollar and actively traded fund, so it is not a thin-market curiosity.

Worth knowing

  • IAUM No income here. The trust has made no distributions, so return is gold's price move minus the fee, nothing else.
  • Gold swings hard on sentiment and rates, and there is no yield to cushion a drawdown.
  • Launched in 2021, it is younger than the bullion trusts that anchor this category and not the deepest-traded name among them.
  • OUNZ The delivery option is not free: 0.25% a year sits above the physical-gold group's 0.17% median, and above GLDM at 0.10% and IAUM at 0.09%.
  • Bullion generates no cash flow, and the fund pays no distributions. Everything rides on the metal's price.
  • It is a trust wrapper rather than a conventional registered fund, so the legal structure differs from a standard ETF.vaneck.com

Full IAUM profile⁠

Full OUNZ profile⁠

IAUM vs OUNZ Holdings

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

IAUM vs OUNZ Cost

Overpaying OUNZ vs IAUM

$3,261

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • IAUM 0.09%

    $1,898

  • OUNZ 0.25%

    $5,159

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • IAUM 0.09%
  • OUNZ 0.25%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$2K$4K$6K051015202530OUNZ $5,159IAUM $1,898

Year by year

YearIAUMOUNZOverpaying
10$165$455$290
20$646$1,769$1,123
30$1,898$5,159$3,261

Expense ratio

  • 0.09%IAUM, cheaper
  • 0.25%OUNZ
  • Middle half of Physical Gold funds
  • Median 0.17%

IAUM cheapest of 10 funds

OUNZ 8th cheapest of 10 funds

IAUM vs OUNZ Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026
Payout (12M)
IAUM None
OUNZ None

Distribution history

IAUMAll IAUM payments⁠

No distribution history available.

OUNZAll OUNZ payments⁠

No distribution history available.

IAUM vs OUNZ Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

  • IAUM
  • OUNZ
Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. Worst fall: OUNZ −28.1% · Oct 2026. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−30%−20%−10%0%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years
IAUM 19.4%OUNZ 19.4%Same figure. Both funds show the same value, so neither comes out ahead.
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years
IAUM 1.03, betterOUNZ 1.02
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years
IAUM −28.1%OUNZ −28.1%Same figure. Both funds show the same value, so neither comes out ahead.
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years
IAUM 0.41OUNZ 0.34

IAUM and OUNZ in the news

All news⁠

Popular comparisons

  • IAUMAvsGLDMA

    iShares Gold Trust Micro · SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust

    Expense ratio
    0.09% · 0.10%
    Category
    Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

  • OUNZBvsGLDMA

    VanEck Merk Gold ETF · SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust

    Expense ratio
    0.25% · 0.10%
    Category
    Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

  • IAUMAvsSGOLB

    iShares Gold Trust Micro · abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF

    Expense ratio
    0.09% · 0.17%
    Category
    Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

  • OUNZBvsSGOLB

    VanEck Merk Gold ETF · abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF

    Expense ratio
    0.25% · 0.17%
    Category
    Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

  • IAUMAvsFGDLB

    iShares Gold Trust Micro · Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF

    Expense ratio
    0.09% · 0.15%
    Category
    Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

  • OUNZBvsFGDLB

    VanEck Merk Gold ETF · Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF

    Expense ratio
    0.25% · 0.15%
    Category
    Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.