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Launched on 03/15/2022, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF (GLOV) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Global Large-Cap Blend Equity ETF category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Goldman Sachs Funds, and has been able to amass over $1.19 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Global Large-Cap Blend Equity ETF. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the GOLDMAN SACHS ACTBT WORLD LW VL PL EQ ID.
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
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.25% for GLOV, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
GLOV's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.71%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 3.27% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.57% of GLOV's total assets under management.