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

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 17, 2015.

The fund is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Funds. It has amassed assets over $14.53 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

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

Investors 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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.01%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector -- about 33% of the portfolio. Financials and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) accounts for about 7.48% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 34.68% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

GSLC seeks to match the performance of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index before fees and expenses. The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index is designed to deliver exposure to equity securities of large-capitalization U.S. issuers.

The ETF has lost about 0.91% so far this year and is up about 10.4% in the last one year (as of 02/16/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $97.68 and $134.75.

The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 14.5% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 434 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap 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, GSLC is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $749.28 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $847.69 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO charges 0.03%.

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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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