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

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The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF (GLOV - Free Report) made its debut on 03/15/2022, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

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

The fund is managed by Goldman Sachs Funds. GLOV has been able to amass assets over $954.16 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund 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

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for GLOV are 0.25%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

GLOV's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.83%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 15.85% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, GLOV return is roughly 12.39%, and it's up approximately 20.71% in the last one year (as of 08/16/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $38.70 and $48.59.

The ETF has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 13.36% for the trailing three-year period. With about 380 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 Broad Developed 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 $18.25 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $38.44 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 Broad Developed 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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