Investment Products and Services Launches

Goldman Sachs Launches New ETF

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that seeks to track an equal weight index consisting of approximately 500 of the largest U.S. equities. It is the 11th ETF launched by GSAM.

GSEW seeks to track the Solactive US Large Cap Equal Weight Index (GTR) and will be passively managed by GSAM’s Quantitative Investment Strategies team. The Index employs systematic monthly rebalancing to efficiently track the movement of the largest U.S. companies.

“GSEW seeks to help investors looking for a low cost way to avoid market cap biases, by allocating evenly to the largest U.S. companies, independent of their relative size,” says Michael Crinieri, GSAM’s global head of ETF Strategy.

GSAM most recently launched the Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF in September and June 2017, respectively.

Betterment Rolls Out Smart Beta Portfolio

Online investment adviser Betterment has released an income portfolio strategy from BlackRock and a smart beta portfolio strategy from Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).

Betterment selected BlackRock’s income portfolio which is designed for clients averse to stock market risk, but who want to target higher levels of income than cash savings accounts deliver. The portfolio invests 100% of assets in U.S. bonds and international bonds issued in U.S. dollars. The portfolio strategy prioritizes capital preservation and generating cash income.

“Our customers continue to seek out strategies that can turn their investments into a steady income,” says Alex Benke, CFP, VP of Financial Advice and Investing at Betterment. “We’re excited to be partnering with BlackRock to provide this new portfolio, and believe that a significant portion of our growing customer base may gain peace of mind by targeting a steady stream of income, while minimizing the risk of losing principal.”

In addition to traditional passive funds, GSAM’s smart beta strategy is led by GSAM’s proprietary performance-seeking ActiveBeta equity ETFs. They seek to deliver stronger risk-adjusted returns relative to traditional market-weighted index products. The ActiveBeta strategy is based on four drivers of performance including good value, strong momentum, high quality and low volatility.

This GSAM portfolio strategy tends to be more heavily allocated to emerging markets, as well as small-cap stocks in both the U.S. and developed countries. The strategy also incorporates REITs and proportionally invests more in high-yield bonds with longer durations, compared to Betterment’s core portfolio strategy.

“Individuals managing their investments through Betterment can now easily tap into GSAM’s investing and risk-management expertise at a low cost,” Benke says. “We’re thrilled to partner with Goldman Sachs Asset Management by offering this new smart beta portfolio to those in our large customer base looking for a thoughtful and deliberate approach to helping achieve better risk-adjusted returns.”