IAU — iShares Gold Trust

IAU Price Performance — Growth of $10,000

Value of a $10,000 investment in IAU over time, compared with SPY. Both lines are rebased to $10,000 on the first shared date. Based on total returns — prices are adjusted for dividends and splits, so this assumes distributions were reinvested. Hover or tap the chart for exact values.

IAU Drawdown

The "underwater" chart: IAU's decline from its highest prior value at each point in time. It shows how deep past losses ran and how long the fund took to recover to break-even.

Overview

The iShares Gold Trust is a commodities fund managed by iShares with $62.2 billion in assets under management. It holds a C grade, reflecting a score of 56.7 out of 100, and ranks 13th among 22 peers in its category. The fund’s 0.25% expense ratio is notably lower than the category median of 0.595%, though it provides no dividend yield compared to the median 2.91%. Holdings data is not available for this trust. Its overall standing places it at #280 of 458 tracked ETFs across all categories.

The fund’s price sits at 10.8% of its 52-week range, indicating it is near the lower end of recent trading levels. Short-term returns show weakness, with declines of 1.67% over one day and 5.97% over one month. This contrasts with a positive 3.27% return over the past year, although that figure trails the category median of +15.34%. The rating was downgraded from B to C on 2026-09-08, and price history is available for only 3.0 years. Longer-term performance remains strong, with a 3-year return of +117.87%.

With an annualized volatility of 29.34%, the fund is classified as High risk. Its beta of 0.44 suggests it moves less than the broader market, yet the Sharpe ratio of -0.06 indicates poor risk-adjusted returns. The maximum drawdown of -26.36% highlights significant potential for loss during downturns. Liquidity is robust, supported by an average daily volume of 5,176,206 shares. These metrics collectively describe a volatile asset with modest correlation to market movements but negative efficiency.

AI-generated summary based on the data on this page.

Market Backdrop

10-Year Treasury Yield: 5.27% (as of 2026-10-06) — The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds — the standard "risk-free rate" benchmark used to contextualize this fund’s Sharpe ratio and returns.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): 15.01 (as of 2026-10-06) — A real-time gauge of expected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days — useful context for this fund’s own volatility label.

Federal Funds Rate: 3.75% (as of 2026-09-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.

IAU Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment

Liquidity: Average daily volume is 5.2M/day. Higher volume and a larger fund generally mean lower round-trip trading costs. AUM of $62.2B provides ample scale, supporting tight spreads and issuer commitment to keep the fund open.

Domicile & tax treatment: IAU is a US-domiciled, SEC-registered ('40 Act) exchange-traded fund. Dividends and capital gains distributions are reported to US investors on Form 1099-DIV, and the fund is not subject to the PFIC reporting or UCITS-specific rules that apply to Irish- or Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Non-US investors should note that US-domiciled ETFs are generally subject to 30% US withholding tax on dividends (unless reduced by treaty) and to US estate tax exposure on the position — Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs tracking the same index often avoid both, which is why non-US residents frequently prefer the UCITS equivalent where one exists. This is general information, not tax advice — consult a tax professional for your situation.

IAU Performance History

How IAU Compares to Other Commodities ETFs