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Is Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF (GLOV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF (GLOV - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 03/15/2022.

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.

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.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Funds. It has amassed assets over $745.71 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. GLOV seeks to match the performance of the GOLDMAN SACHS ACTBT WORLD LW VL PL EQ ID before fees and expenses.

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

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.98%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3.35% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Oreilly Automotive Inc (ORLY - Free Report) .

GLOV's top 10 holdings account for about 13.96% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 12.09% and is up about 9.41% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/06/2023), respectively. GLOV has traded between $37.90 and $42.59 during this last 52-week period.

GLOV has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 14.77% for the trailing three-year period. With about 399 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Low Vol Plus Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI - Free Report) tracks MSCI All Country World Index and the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap Index. IShares MSCI ACWI ETF has $18.18 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $29.88 billion. ACWI has an expense ratio of 0.32% and VT charges 0.07%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed World ETFs.

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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