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Should Goldman Sachs MarketBeta Russell 1000 Growth Equity ETF (GGUS) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Goldman Sachs MarketBeta Russell 1000 Growth Equity ETF (GGUS - Free Report) was launched on 11/28/2023, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Funds. It has amassed assets over $295.17 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

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 0.12%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.65%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, 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 45.40% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 11.82% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 49.99% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

GGUS seeks to match the performance of the RUSSELL 1000 GROWTH 40 ACT DLY CAPPED ID before fees and expenses. The Russell 1000 Growth 40 Act Daily Capped Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization growth segment of U.S. equity issuers, with a capping methodology.

The ETF has gained about 4.09% so far this year and was up about 26.67% in the last one year (as of 02/17/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $43.41 and $56.97.

The ETF has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 15.59% for the trailing three-year period. With about 387 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs MarketBeta Russell 1000 Growth Equity ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, GGUS is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $163.36 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $338.58 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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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