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Is Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF (GLOV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF (GLOV - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 03/15/2022.

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 offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

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.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

GLOV is managed by Goldman Sachs Funds, and this fund has amassed over $725.20 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. GLOV seeks to match the performance of the GOLDMAN SACHS ACTBT WORLD LW VL PL EQ ID before fees and expenses.

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity Index delivers exposure to large and mid-capitalization equity securities of developed market issuers, including the United States.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.25% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.02%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3.30% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Oreilly Automotive Inc (ORLY - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 3.3% of GLOV's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 9.25% and was up about 11.22% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/04/2023), respectively. GLOV has traded between $34.82 and $42.10 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 15.50% for the trailing three-year period. With about 396 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI - Free Report) tracks MSCI All Country World Index and the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap Index. IShares MSCI ACWI ETF has $17.96 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $28.86 billion. ACWI has an expense ratio of 0.32% and VT charges 0.07%.

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

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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