IAU – iShares Gold Trust

About IAU

IAU (iShares Gold Trust) is a physically backed gold ETF from iShares (BlackRock). It is not leveraged: it aims to follow its benchmark one-for-one. Its expense ratio is 0.25% a year, according to both the issuer and Yahoo Finance's fund profile.

What it tracks

IAU holds physical gold in vaults and is designed to reflect the LBMA Gold Price, less the trust's expenses; it is not a futures fund and does not own mining companies.

What to keep in mind

Because IAU and GLD both own gold bullion, their percentage moves are usually very close; their share prices differ only because each share represents a different amount of gold. For gold per gram in Gulf currencies, see our gold price page.

Bullion, futures and miners

Commodity ETFs reach their market in different ways. Bullion funds such as GLD, IAU and SLV hold the physical metal in vaults, so their value follows the metal price less expenses. Futures funds such as USO hold contracts that must be rolled before they expire, which can make returns drift from the spot price. Miners' funds such as GDX hold company shares, which add company and stock-market risk on top of the metal price.

On this page

The IAU price above comes from the US regular trading session via Yahoo Finance and may be delayed; it updates automatically while this page is open. The chart switches between 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 1 year, and the 1-week, 1-month and 1-year returns are price returns adjusted for share splits, not including distributions. The table below compares IAU with the other funds in the same category, and you can set a free price alert to be notified when IAU crosses a level you choose.

Other ETFs on this site built on the Gold bullion (LBMA Gold Price): GLD (1×, expense ratio 0.4%). See all ETF categories or today's ETF heat map.