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Is Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 09/12/2017, the Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Goldman Sachs Funds, GSEW has amassed assets over $876.33 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. GSEW seeks to match the performance of the Solactive US Large Cap Equal Weight Index before fees and expenses.

The Solactive US Large Cap Equal Weight Index is an equal-weight version of the Solactive US Large Cap Index including equity securities of approximately 500 of the largest U.S. companies.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for GSEW are 0.09%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.42%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For GSEW, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 19.70% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Qualcomm Inc (QCOM - Free Report) accounts for about 0.23% of the fund's total assets, followed by Etsy Inc (ETSY - Free Report) and Exact Sciences Corp (EXAS - Free Report) .

GSEW's top 10 holdings account for about 2.2% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, GSEW has lost about -5.55%, and is up roughly 12.93% in the last one year (as of 02/09/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $58.90 and $72.67.

The ETF has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 23.38% for the trailing three-year period. With about 500 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $323.20 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $410.67 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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