Goldman Sachs Enters Thematic ETF Fray With 5 New Funds

Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the asset management and exchange traded funds arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS, expanded its ETF lineup in significant fashion Thursday with the addition five thematic funds.

The new ETFs track indexes developed by Motif Investing, a provider of unique, data-driven indexing strategies.

What Happened

The Goldman ETFs span themes, such as big data, industrial revolution, fintech, evolving consumer trends and more.

“To construct each index, Motif employs a rules-based methodology to analyze both traditional and alternative data in order to calculate a company’s 'thematic beta' and quantify its exposure to a specific transformational change,” according to Goldman Sachs. “Proprietary technology is used to select and weight securities in the index, based on their relevance and investability.”

Why It's Important

The new GSAM ETFs are the Goldman Sachs Motif Data-Driven World ETF GDAT, Goldman Sachs Motif Finance Reimagined ETF GFIN, Goldman Sachs Motif Human Evolution ETF GDNA, Goldman Sachs Motif Manufacturing Revolution ETF GMAN and the Goldman Sachs Motif New Age Consumer ETF GBUY.

GDAT is a new spin on traditional technology ETFs. The new fund provides exposure to fast-growing tech themes like big data, cybersecurity, data infrastructure and the internet of things.

GFIN, the finance ETF, has a fintech tilt with blockchain exposure and leverage to other seismic trend shifts in the financial services industry.

GDNA, the human evolution ETF, features a mix of medical devices and pharmaceuticals firms, among others.

The Goldman Sachs Motif Manufacturing Revolution ETF provides a refreshed view of the industrial sector, tilting toward faster-growing segments of that normally stodgy space with an emphasis on autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, robotics and more.

The Goldman Sachs Motif New Age Consumer ETF allocates about 90 percent of its weight to consumer discretionary and communication services stocks, giving the new ETF exposure to rapidly growing trends, such as e-commerce, online gaming, social media and more.

All of the new ETFs from GSAM charge 0.5 percent per year, or $50 on a $10,000 investment.

What's Next

“We believe a 'tech-tonic' shift is occurring — technology is no longer a single industry; technology is permeating all industries,” according to GSAM. “We have identified five key themes that we believe are the potential drivers of secular change and capture future earnings growth.”

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