Should Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (GSSC) Be on Your Investing Radar?
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (GSSC), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/28/2017.
The fund is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Funds. It has amassed assets over $397.22 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Blend
With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
Costs
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.20%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.74%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 17.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Gamestop Corp (GME) accounts for about 0.72% of total assets, followed by Mar 21 Cme Eminirus2k (RTYH1) and Builders Firstsource Inc (BLDR).
The top 10 holdings account for about 4.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
GSSC seeks to match the performance of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity Index before fees and expenses. The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity Index is designed to deliver exposure to equity securities of small capitalization U.S. issuers.
The ETF has gained about 17.73% so far this year and is up about 84.63% in the last one year (as of 05/17/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $36.41 and $65.96.
The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 27.80% for the trailing three-year period. With about 1392 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, GSSC is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $65.06 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $69.91 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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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GS-ACTBTA US SC (GSSC): ETF Research Reports
GameStop Corp. (GME) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
ISHARS-R 2000 (IWM): ETF Research Reports
ISHARS-SP SC600 (IJR): ETF Research Reports
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