Is Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Making its debut on 09/12/2017, smart beta exchange traded fund Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.Fund Sponsor & IndexBecause the fund has amassed over $1.81 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. GSEW is managed by Goldman Sachs Funds. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Solactive US Large Cap Equal Weight Index.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.Cost & Other ExpensesInvestors 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.With one of the least expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.09%.The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.40%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsEven 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.For GSEW, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 20.7% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Financials round out the top three.Looking at individual holdings, Sba Communications Corporation (SBAC) accounts for about 0.24% of total assets, followed by Invesco S&p 500 Equal (RSP) and Humana Inc. (HUM).Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 2.23% of GSEW's total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has added about 11.49% and was up about 20.66% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/16/2026), respectively. GSEW has traded between $79.44 and $94.63 during this last 52-week period. The ETF has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 14.14% for the trailing three-year period. With about 502 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .AlternativesGoldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $823.85 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $992.96 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.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 - Large Cap BlendBottom LineTo 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.Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF InsightsZacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week.Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!Get it now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks