# IAU ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What IAU holds, its 0.25% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

iShares Gold Trust (IAU) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund holds gold bars stored in vaults. It charges 0.25% a year. From January 2005 to October 2026 it returned about 10.8% a year, and its worst drop was −45.1%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.25% a year (about $25 on $10,000).
- Started trading on January 21, 2005.
- Worst drop since 2005: −45.1%.
- 2 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## What does IAU hold?

This fund holds gold bars stored in vaults. Its price aims to follow the price of gold, minus the yearly fee. It does not pay interest or dividends, so any gain or loss comes from changes in the gold price.

It tracks the LBMA Gold Price.

| Fact | IAU |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | iShares Gold Trust |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.25% a year |
| Started trading | January 21, 2005 |
| Tracks | LBMA Gold Price |
| Type | Gold, ETF |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [iShares (BlackRock) fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239561/ishares-gold-trust) |

## What is the IAU expense ratio?

IAU charges 0.25% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.25% fee comes to about $25 a year.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## How has IAU done since 2005?

From January 2005 to October 2026, IAU returned about 10.8% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $91,755 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Measure | IAU |
| --- | --- |
| Total return | 817.5% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 10.8% |
| Worst drop from a high | −45.1% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 18.3% |
| Last 12 months | −3.5% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 29.2% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 18.4% |
| Last 10 years, per year | 12.5% |

Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## IAU returns by year

| Year | IAU return |
| --- | --- |
| 2026 (part of the year) | −3.5% |
| 2025 | 63.9% |
| 2024 | 26.9% |
| 2023 | 12.8% |
| 2022 | −0.6% |
| 2021 | −4.0% |
| 2020 | 25.0% |
| 2019 | 18.0% |
| 2018 | −1.8% |
| 2017 | 12.9% |
| 2016 | 8.3% |
| 2015 | −10.6% |
| 2014 | −2.1% |
| 2013 | −28.3% |
| 2012 | 6.9% |
| 2011 | 9.6% |
| 2010 | 29.5% |
| 2009 | 23.9% |
| 2008 | 5.1% |
| 2007 | 30.4% |
| 2006 | 22.3% |
| 2005 (part of the year) | 21.2% |

## What was IAU's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IAU's worst fall was −45.1%, from August 22, 2011 to December 2, 2015. It got back to that high on July 27, 2020.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold IAU?

2 classic strategies hold IAU at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Mama Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/mama-bear-portfolio.md), by Brian Livingston, 2018
- [Papa Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/papa-bear-portfolio.md), by Brian Livingston, 2018

## How does IAU compare with similar ETFs?

Side-by-side pages measure both funds over the same dates:

- [GLD vs IAU](https://tactfolio.com/etf-comparisons/gld-vs-iau.md): two funds that hold real gold, with different fees.

Funds that can stand in for IAU:

- [GLDM](https://tactfolio.com/etf/gldm.md): SPDR Gold MiniShares, 0.1% a year
- [SGOL](https://tactfolio.com/etf/sgol.md): abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF, 0.17% a year
- [BAR](https://tactfolio.com/etf/bar.md): GraniteShares Gold Trust, 0.1749% a year
- [AAAU](https://tactfolio.com/etf/aaau.md): Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF, 0.18% a year

See [all 8 IAU alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/iau.md), compared on the same dates as IAU.

## Test IAU in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add IAU, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for IAU. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns.

Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Commodities](https://tactfolio.com/learn/commodities-explained): Commodities are raw goods like oil, gold and wheat.
- [Risk parity](https://tactfolio.com/learn/risk-parity): Risk parity balances risk instead of dollars. See a simple stock and bond example, why funds use leverage, and what went wrong in 2022.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of IAU?

IAU charges 0.25% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $25 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did IAU start trading?

IAU started trading on January 21, 2005. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

### What does IAU track?

IAU tracks the LBMA Gold Price. This fund holds gold bars stored in vaults.

### How much has IAU returned per year?

From January 2005 to October 2026, IAU returned about 10.8% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −45.1%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Which strategies use IAU?

2 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold IAU, including Mama Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios), Papa Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios).

## Sources

- [iShares (BlackRock): iShares Gold Trust fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239561/ishares-gold-trust)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.