ETF Versus

IAU vs VGT

iShares Gold Trust vs Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares

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
VGT

Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (VGT) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - technology securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.41%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $107.2B ER: 0.09% Yield: 0.41% Since: Jan 26, 2004

Quick Verdict

VGT is significantly cheaper at 0.09% vs 0.25% expense ratio, saving you approximately $315 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, IAU has significantly outperformed with a 51.5% return vs 34.6%.

Key Metrics

Metric IAU VGT
Expense Ratio 0.25% 0.09%
Dividend Yield N/A 0.4%
Fund Family N/A N/A
Category Gold US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

80 125 170 215 260 305 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2024-12 2026-04
IAU +166.3%
VGT +88.1%

Performance Comparison

Period IAU VGT Difference
1 Month -9.60% -1.85% -7.75%
3 Months +4.21% -5.71% +9.92%
6 Months +14.25% -4.90% +19.15%
YTD +8.46% -4.96% +13.42%
1 Year +51.52% +34.60% +16.92%
3 Years +134.21% +89.24% +44.97%
5 Years +168.06% +88.72% +79.34%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period IAU Fees VGT Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $495 $179 $315
$10,000 20 years $2,111 $771 $1,340
$10,000 30 years $6,758 $2,486 $4,273
$50,000 10 years $2,473 $896 $1,577
$50,000 30 years $33,792 $12,428 $21,364
$100,000 30 years $67,584 $24,855 $42,729

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric IAU VGT
Annualized Volatility 17.7% 25.1%
Max Drawdown -20.9% -35.5%
Sharpe Ratio 0.95 0.45

Dividend Comparison

Metric IAU VGT
Annual Dividend (per share) $0.00 $3.06
Dividend Yield 0.00% 0.43%
Distribution Frequency None Quarterly

Top Holdings

VGT Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA18.07%
Apple Inc.AAPL15.84%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT10.39%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO4.34%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU2.37%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD1.65%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO1.63%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR1.57%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT1.54%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX1.53%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose VGT 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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