Compare/Updated Oct 26, 2026, refreshed every trading day
IAU vs IAUM
iShares Gold Trust against iShares Gold Trust Micro: 4 years of returns, risk and today’s technical read, from Kavout’s own data.
IAUM did better over the period: $1,000 invested on October 28, 2022 grew to $2,426 versus $2,407 for IAU, a difference of $19. IAUM also led over three years (+104.6% versus +103.5%) and across the shorter reported periods, while maintaining nearly identical risk: 28.2% versus 28.3% volatility and a matching worst drawdown of -26.3% from January 29 to July 16, 2026. The main reason is cost: IAUM’s 0.09% expense ratio is substantially below IAU’s 0.25%, allowing it to retain slightly more of gold’s return. Their daily moves were almost perfectly correlated at 0.999, so the practical distinction is primarily lower fees and smaller fund scale: IAUM has $6B in assets versus IAU’s $60B. Both fell 0.7% today.
- Price is below its 200-day average ($85); 50-day at $81.
- RSI 34, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 17, so the trend is weak.
- Price is below its 200-day average ($45); 50-day at $43.
- RSI 34, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 17, so the trend is weak.
Head to head
Which has returned more, IAU or IAUM?
IAU beat IAUM in 18 of the last 48 months; IAUM won the other 30. The typical monthly gap was 0.04 points.
Total return by period
Which is riskier?
Both: Jan 29, 2026 to Jul 16, 2026
- 0.999
- correlation of daily moves, 4 years
- 1.00
- IAU move per 1% in IAUM
- 1.000
- correlation, last 12 months
Month by month
Of the last 48 months. The typical gap was 0.04 points.
When did they diverge?
| Month | IAU | IAUM | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | +12.4% | +12.7% | -0.37 pts |
| February 2026 | +8.6% | +8.3% | +0.35 pts |
| December 2022 | +3.0% | +3.1% | -0.17 pts |
| June 2025 | +0.3% | +0.5% | -0.14 pts |
Where the numbers come from. 1000 daily adjusted closes per fund from the Kavout market-data API, dividends included. Signals and indicators are Kavout’s own, refreshed nightly. Every figure is calculated from those adjusted closes.
Holdings and fees
What do you actually own with IAU and IAUM?
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