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

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Launched on 06/28/2017, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (GSSC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Funds. It has amassed assets over $436.64 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.

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 0.20%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.31%.

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 Financials sector--about 19.90% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Sep 22 Cme Eminirus2k (RTYU2) accounts for about 2.19% of total assets, followed by Usd U.s. Dollar and Sm Energy Co (SM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.52% 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 added about 0% so far this year and is down about -16.81% in the last one year (as of 01/03/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $50.18 and $67.49.

The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 30.37% for the trailing three-year period. With about 1278 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 reasonable 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 - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $52.28 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $64.88 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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