ETF Versus

IAU vs RSP

iShares Gold Trust vs Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-09

IAU

iShares Gold Trust (IAU) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to gold securities. It charges a moderate expense ratio of 0.25%. Launched in 2005, the fund has a 21-year track record.

AUM: $73.9B ER: 0.25% Yield: N/A Since: Jan 21, 2005
RSP

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a moderate expense ratio of 0.20%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.58%. Launched in 2003, the fund has a 23-year track record.

AUM: $85.5B ER: 0.20% Yield: 1.58% Since: Apr 24, 2003

Quick Verdict

RSP has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.20% vs 0.25%), saving about $98 per $10,000 over 10 years. Over the past year, IAU has significantly outperformed with a 51.5% return vs 17.1%.

Key Metrics

Metric IAU RSP
Expense Ratio 0.25% 0.20%
Dividend Yield N/A 1.6%
Fund Family N/A N/A
Category Gold US Large Cap Blend

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

85 129 173 217 261 305 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2024-12 2026-04
IAU +166.3%
RSP +33.3%

Performance Comparison

Period IAU RSP Difference
1 Month -9.60% -1.89% -7.71%
3 Months +4.21% -2.08% +6.29%
6 Months +14.25% +3.51% +10.74%
YTD +8.46% +0.33% +8.13%
1 Year +51.52% +17.15% +34.37%
3 Years +134.21% +34.41% +99.80%
5 Years +168.06% +33.09% +134.97%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period IAU Fees RSP Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $495 $396 $98
$10,000 20 years $2,111 $1,696 $415
$10,000 30 years $6,758 $5,443 $1,316
$50,000 10 years $2,473 $1,982 $490
$50,000 30 years $33,792 $27,214 $6,578
$100,000 30 years $67,584 $54,428 $13,156

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric IAU RSP
Annualized Volatility 17.7% 16.2%
Max Drawdown -20.9% -22.5%
Sharpe Ratio 0.95 0.16

Dividend Comparison

Metric IAU RSP
Annual Dividend (per share) $0.00 $3.12
Dividend Yield 0.00% 1.61%
Distribution Frequency None Quarterly

Top Holdings

RSP Top Holdings

NameWeight
APA CorporationAPA0.26%
Ciena CorporationCIEN0.26%
Dow Inc.DOW0.24%
Seagate Technology Holdings plcSTX0.24%
Dell Technologies Inc.DELL0.24%
LyondellBasell Industries N.V.LYB0.24%
VeriSign, Inc.VRSN0.23%
Lumentum Holdings Inc.LITE0.23%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise CompanyHPE0.23%
Occidental Petroleum CorporationOXY0.23%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose RSP if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose IAU if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

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