Should Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSEW) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/12/2017.

The fund is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Funds. It has amassed assets over $1.22 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows 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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

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 1.49%.

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 Industrials sector--about 17% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Dollar General Corp (DG) accounts for about 0.25% of total assets, followed by Conocophillips (COP) and Intel Corp (INTC).

The top 10 holdings account for about 2.35% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

GSEW seeks to match the performance of the Solactive US Large Cap Equal Weight Index before fees and expenses. 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.

The ETF has added about 2.69% so far this year and was up about 12.30% in the last one year (as of 05/14/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $67.22 and $82.83.

The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 17.87% for the trailing three-year period. With about 495 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large 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, GSEW is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $600.67 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $644.73 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% 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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