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Is Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (GSSC) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (GSSC - Free Report) made its debut on 06/28/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market.

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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

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.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $464.55 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. GSSC is managed by Goldman Sachs Funds. This particular fund 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.

Cost & Other Expenses

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 GSSC are 0.20%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.08%.

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.

For GSSC, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 17.90% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Dec 21 Cme Eminirus2k (RTYZ1) accounts for about 0.64% of the fund's total assets, followed by Crocs Inc (CROX - Free Report) and Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -7.84% so far this year and was up about 2.25% in the last one year (as of 03/01/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $58.73 and $70.38.

GSSC has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 28.33% for the trailing three-year period. With about 1389 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) tracks Russell 2000 Index and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. IShares Russell 2000 ETF has $60.96 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $70.98 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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

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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