The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (GSSC) was launched on June 28, 2017, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer 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 $589.97 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
Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.
Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.2%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.33%.
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 Financials sector -- about 22.4% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Sep 25 Cme Eminirus2k (RTYU25) accounts for about 0.55% of total assets, followed by Commvault Systems Inc (CVLT) and Sezzle Inc (SEZL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 3.57% 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 roughly 0.82% so far this year and is up roughly 9.24% in the last one year (as of 08/07/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $55.86 and $76.22.
The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 21.23% for the trailing three-year period. With about 1365 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 sufficient 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 Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) track a similar index. While Vanguard Small-Cap ETF has $64.32 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $80.62 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.05% and IJR charges 0.06%.
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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Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (GSSC): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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