iShares Gold Trust

IAU is the iShares Gold Trust — it holds physical gold bullion in vaulted storage on behalf of shareholders. One share represents a fractional ounce of gold (currently ~1/100th of an ounce). TER is 0.25%. No distributions are paid because gold doesn't generate income. Suited to investors wanting allocated gold exposure without storing bullion personally.

Both hold physical gold bullion in vaulted storage; both are auditable; both track the spot gold price closely. IAU (iShares) charges 0.25% TER vs GLD (SPDR) at 0.40%. Over 30 years on a NZ$10,000 holding the cost difference is roughly NZ$450. GLD has higher liquidity and tighter bid-ask spreads — meaningful for traders. For NZ buy-and-hold investors, IAU typically wins on cost.

Yes. IAU is available via Hatch, Stake, Sharesies (US market), and Interactive Brokers. As a commodity ETF with no distributions, the only NZ tax consideration is FIF (above NZ$50,000 cost basis): use the FDR method (5% × opening market value × marginal rate). Note FDR taxes the deemed return regardless of actual price movement — flat-gold years still cost 5% × MV in tax.

IAU is gold; SIVR (Aberdeen Standard Physical Silver) is silver — historically lower correlation to equities than gold but higher volatility. AAAU (Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold) is another low-cost physical gold alternative at 0.18% TER. For a precious-metals allocation, IAU is the most-liquid gold option; consider SIVR alongside for silver diversification.