Holds physical gold, so each share tracks the price of gold less the trust's expenses, without the buyer having to transport, store or insure the metal.
IAU, the iShares Gold Trust, is a $62.2 billion ETF whose main story is hard asset flight. It holds 16.0% of the money in ETFs carrying that story, 2nd of 106. Over the past year it returned +7.3%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
The narrative it carries
This is its only narrative.
Hard asset flight →
Gold, silver and the miners: assets held because no government issues them.
The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.
| # | ETF | SHARE | ASSETS | 1 YEAR | COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GLD | 36.5% | $141.70bn | +7.1% | 0.40% |
| 2 | IAU | 16.0% | $62.22bn | +7.3% | 0.25% |
| 3 | GLDM | 7.9% | $30.71bn | +7.5% | 0.10% |
| 4 | SLV | 7.7% | $29.96bn | +28.7% | 0.50% |
| 5 | GDX | 6.8% | $26.25bn | +14.7% | 0.51% |
| 101 other ETFs | 25.1% |
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 106 ETFs on the narrative page →
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAU | −5.6% | +0.6% | −4.0% | +7.3% | +31.0% | +18.4% |
| Hard asset flightits narrative | −5.7% | +3.3% | +0.3% | +14.9% | +33.7% | +19.5% |
| The marketbroad US ETFs | +0.8% | +2.6% | +14.6% | +16.8% | +22.9% | +12.9% |
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on January 28, 2005: +10.7% a year.
$10,000 invested October 31, 2016
Year by year
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if IAU traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
IAU moves largely apart from the market. When the market has moved 1%, IAU has tended to move 0.17%.
IAU moves closely with hard asset flight. When hard asset flight has moved 1%, IAU has tended to move 0.86%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without IAU in it, so it is not compared with itself.
ETFs it moves most and least like
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in Hard asset flight
Each dot is one of 54 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is hard asset flight, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
IAU is the 6th cheapest of 35 ETFs in hard asset flight. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.51% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Narrative exposure
Common questions
What story is IAU selling?
IAU’s main story is hard asset flight, which covers gold, silver and the miners: assets held because no government issues them.
Which ETFs compete with IAU?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like IAU’s over the past 3 years are GLD (1.00), BAR (1.00) and SGOL (1.00).
How much of hard asset flight does IAU hold?
IAU holds 16.0% of the money in ETFs carrying that story, 2nd of 106.
How has IAU performed against its story?
Over the past year IAU returned +7.3%, the ETFs carrying hard asset flight +14.9% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.96 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in hard asset flight? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
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