What Is IAU? iShares Gold Trust

IAU is the iShares Gold Trust, a BlackRock fund that holds allocated physical gold bullion so its share price tracks the spot price of gold. It launched in January 2005 as one of the first US-listed gold ETFs and charges a 0.25% annual expense ratio. It is structured as a grantor trust, not a registered investment company, which means it simply holds metal on behalf of shareholders rather than a portfolio of stocks or bonds.

Each IAU share is a fractional claim on gold bars stored in insured, audited vaults. There is no index of companies, no dividend, and no active management. The value of the fund rises and falls with gold, minus the small fee. That simplicity is the point: IAU is a low-cost wrapper for owning gold without storing bars yourself.

Approximate weights as of mid-2026; refresh quarterly from BlackRock iShares's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

IAU holds one thing: physical gold. There are no equity positions, no futures, and no swaps. A custodian stores allocated gold bars, and the trust publishes its bar list so holders can verify the metal exists. A tiny cash balance covers expenses, but effectively the fund is close to 100% gold.

This matters because gold behaves differently from stocks. It produces no earnings or income, so its return is purely the change in the metal's price. In 2025 and into 2026 gold posted a historic run, climbing past record highs on geopolitical tension, central-bank buying, and a weaker dollar, which lifted IAU alongside it. The flip side is that gold can stall or fall for long stretches when those forces reverse.

The obvious peer is SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), the largest gold ETF at roughly $140 billion, which charges 0.40%. IAU holds the same physical gold for 0.25%, so it costs less to own over time and trades at a lower per-share price, which helps smaller or fractional buyers. GLD's edge is scale and a deeper options market, which matters mainly to active traders and hedgers.

The cheaper tier is the micro-share funds: BlackRock's own IAUM at 0.09% and State Street's GLDM at 0.10%. Both hold physical gold like IAU but at a fraction of the fee, which is why long-term cost-focused holders often prefer them. IAU sits between GLD and the micros: cheaper than the flagship, pricier than the minis, with the deepest liquidity of the low-cost iShares options.

IAU's performance is simply the gold price minus 0.25% a year, so it has no independent story beyond the metal. Gold surged around 65% in 2025 and continued to set records into 2026 amid trade tensions, central-bank demand, and dollar weakness, which pushed IAU to all-time highs alongside bullion.

Outlook depends entirely on gold. Analysts across major banks published a wide range of 2026 targets, some calling for further gains and others warning that a sharp run can reverse quickly. Gold pays no income, so it can lag stocks and bonds for years when risk appetite is high. IAU will track whatever gold does, up or down, minus its fee.

Investors typically use IAU as a diversifier or potential hedge rather than a core holding, since gold often moves differently from stocks and can hold value when currencies or markets are under stress. It produces no income and can be volatile, so position size and time horizon matter. Its collectibles tax treatment in taxable accounts is worth noting.

Whether IAU belongs in your portfolio depends on your goals, risk tolerance, and how much gold exposure you already have. Walnut is not an investment adviser, and this is not a recommendation to buy or sell IAU. It is one low-cost way to hold physical gold, described here so you can decide for yourself.

IAU trades like any stock during market hours. You can buy it on brokerages such as Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, and Public, and many of them let you buy fractional shares, which pairs well with IAU's relatively low share price. There is no lockup or minimum beyond one share (or a fractional slice where offered).

If you use Walnut, you connect your existing brokerage account and Walnut tracks IAU inside your baskets and target weights, showing how your gold exposure fits the rest of your holdings. Walnut never takes custody of your assets; trades and holdings stay at your broker, and you approve every order.

IAU is a physically backed gold ETF that tracks bullion at 0.25%, cheaper than GLD's 0.40% but more expensive than IAUM (0.09%) and GLDM (0.10%). It plays a satellite or diversifier role, not a core equity position. It pays no yield and its return is simply the gold price minus fees.

Whether IAU is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is IAU a buy?

IAU yields 0% as of mid-2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see IAU dividend: yield and schedule.