Goldman's First ETF Is Off To A Stellar Start

More than 200 new exchange traded products have come to market in the U.S., but when using asset-gathering proficiency as the prime determinant of these rookie ETFs' success, less than 20 percent can currently be deemed “successful.”

That number certainly has the potential to increase, but at the moment, there is no denying that two of the this year's most successful new ETFs hail from the hallowed halls of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS.

As was noted a month ago, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta Emerging Markets Equity ETF GEM, the newer of Goldman's two ETFs, ame to market with a solid commitment from institutional investors, debuting with $20 million in assets under management only to see that total rise above $178 million by Oct. 6. GEM now has $185 million in assets under management.

GEM's U.S.-focused counterpart and the older of Goldman's ETF pair, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta US Large Cap Equity ETF GSLC, is experiencing rapid asset growth of its own. GSLC, which debuted in mid-September, came to market with an impressive $50 million in assets. So right off the bat, the fund was one of this year's most successful new ETFs.

Having a big commitment such as $50 million from an institutional investor or two before coming to market helps, but GSLC need just three weeks of trading to top $64 million in assets. Add to that, GSLC has needed just a month to top $100 million in assets. To be precise, as of Nov. 4, GSLC had $106.4 million in assets under management, according to Goldman Sachs data. 

As Benzinga reported last month, part of GSLC's advantage is its low fees. Actually, GSLC's annual fee of 0.09 percent is downright scant when measured against other strategic beta offerings. The average expense ratio for ETFs in the Morningstar US ETF Large Blend Strategic Beta category is 0.38 percent per year and the average annual fee for funds in the Morningstar US ETF Large Blend Index group is 0.36 percent, according to Goldman.

GSLC tracks the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index, which “seeks to capture common sources of active equity returns, including value (i.e., the security's price compared to market value), momentum (i.e., performance history), quality (i.e., profitability relative to total assets) and volatility (i.e., consistency of returns),” according to Goldman.

Apple Inc. AAPL is the only member of GSLC's lineup to command a weight north of 1.9 percent. The iPhone maker accounts for 3.2 percent of the ETF's weight. Other top 10 holdings include Johnson & Johnson JNJ and Wells Fargo Co. WFC.