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Should Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC) was launched on 09/17/2015, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Funds. It has amassed assets over $11.66 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.47%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 28.50% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 5.64% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN).

The top 10 holdings account for about 22.42% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

GSLC seeks to match the performance of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index before fees and expenses. The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index is designed to deliver exposure to equity securities of large-capitalization U.S. issuers.

The ETF has lost about -17.28% so far this year and is down about -12.57% in the last one year (as of 09/01/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $72.75 and $95.62.

The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 23.76% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 441 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large 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, GSLC is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.