Quick Read – GDX’s 43% one-year return nearly doubles IAU’s 23%, as fixed mining costs let rising gold prices compound into disproportionate margins and free cash flow. – Over ten years IAU’s 193% return beats GDX, but the miner advantage is cyclical.
GDX is already down 12% in 2026 versus IAU’s 5%. – The iShares Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:IAU) is one of the cheapest and simplest ways to hold gold in a brokerage account
Investors own IAU for a direct claim on the metal, low tracking error relative to the spot price, and as a hedge against inflation, real rates, and dollar weakness. The trust has delivered exactly what it was designed to do during this cycle, riding the gold rally to a 22.97% one-year gain. The same rally has been considerably more generous to the equities that dig the metal out of the ground, and holders of IAU may be leaving meaningful upside on the table.
Why Investors Own IAU in the First Place IAU is a bullion vehicle, plain and functional. The fund reports that 100% of its portfolio is held in physical gold and carries a net expense ratio of 0.25%, one of the lowest in the category. Assets sit at $68.4 billion as of the May fact sheet, which keeps spreads tight and tracking clean.