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Should Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW - Free Report) was launched on 09/12/2017, 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 $669.76 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are 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 1.60%.

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 Information Technology sector--about 17% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Halliburton Co (HAL - Free Report) accounts for about 0.27% of total assets, followed by Activision Blizzard Inc and Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 2.53% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

GSEW seeks to match the performance of the Solactive US Large Cap Equal Weight Index before fees and expenses. The Solactive US Large Cap Equal Weight Index is an equal-weight version of the Solactive US Large Cap Index including equity securities of approximately 500 of the largest U.S. companies.

The ETF has lost about -18.18% so far this year and is down about -9.15% in the last one year (as of 05/23/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.74 and $72.67.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 24.51% for the trailing three-year period. With about 498 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs Equal Weight 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, GSEW is a reasonable 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.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $281.85 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $348.84 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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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