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Goldman Sachs Asset Management Launches ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity Exchange-Traded Fund

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“GSAM”) today announced the launch of its second exchange-traded fund ("ETF"), the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF (Ticker: GEM). The Fund is the first in the firm's series of ActiveBeta® ETFs to invest outside the United States and will track GSAM's proprietary Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity Index.

"We see growth opportunities across various sectors in emerging markets, and the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF is designed to capture returns from these pockets of growth," said Michael Crinieri, GSAM's Global Head of ETF Strategies. "As investors continue to look for new ways to increase their exposure to international equities, we are pleased to bring to market a product that provides them that access and diversification in their portfolios at a reasonable cost."

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF launched today, with $20 million in assets. The fund is priced competitively at a cost of 45 basis points to investors. The cost of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF is 34 percent lower than the most liquid Emerging Market Equity ETF by volume, and more than 22 percent lower than the Morningstar Diversified Emerging Markets category Strategic Beta average.

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF is similar to the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC), which started trading on September 21, 2015, in that it seeks to track a Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® index. The index is constructed using a performance-seeking methodology from Goldman Sachs that delivers the potential to outperform the market.

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity Index weights stocks in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index — which as of July 31, 2015, consisted of 836 securities from issuers in 23 emerging market countries — on four well-established attributes of performance:

1.

Value — The index identifies stocks from companies that may be undervalued by the rest of the market. This can help investors to gain exposure to high potential stocks that others may have overlooked.

2.

Momentum — The index identifies stocks with prices that have been growing. This allows investors to participate in market trends.

3.

Quality — The index identifies stocks from companies that demonstrate sustainable profitability over time. This allows investors to gain exposure to companies with strong fundamentals and potential for consistent returns.

4.

Low volatility — The index identifies stocks from companies that are likely to avoid extreme swings up and down in price. This aims to smooth out the ride, so investors can stay invested for the long term.

The percentage of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity Index exposed to any asset class, country or geographic region will vary over time, and the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF may not be invested in each asset class, country or geographic region at all times.

“We believe the launch and continued evolution of our ActiveBeta® ETF suite is indicative of what we believe is part of the next generation of investing,” said Gary Chropuvka, Head of ActiveBeta® Equity Strategies within the Quantitative Investment Strategies team. “GEM is a result of our commitment to serving all investors – leveraging our quantitative investment expertise, applying it to our deep knowledge of global markets and delivering the strategy in a sophisticated yet simple structure.”

The firm plans to launch additional ActiveBeta® ETFs in the coming months.

GSAM is the asset management arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), which supervises $1.02 trillion in assets as of June 30, 20151. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1988 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.

1 Assets Under Supervision (AUS) includes assets under management and other client assets for which Goldman Sachs does not have full discretion.

ActiveBeta® ETFs use a preset investing strategy like traditional ETFs to keep costs competitive. “Smart beta” refers to quantitative index-based strategies. Source: Morningstar, as of June 30, 2015.

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF is priced at 45 basis points (bps) (after expense limitation). GEM is 34% lower cost than the most liquid Emerging Market Equity ETF by volume, and more than 22% lower in cost relative to the Morningstar Diversified Emerging Markets category Strategic Beta average, as of September 29, 2015. This is based on Morningstar’s definition of Strategic Beta as well as Morningstar’s definition of the Multi-factor Strategic Beta Attribute as of September 25, 2015. This data only includes ETFs.

Ordinary brokerage commissions apply. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

Please note that the fund managers of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® ETFs are Steve Jeneste and Raj Garigipati. Please refer to the Prospectus for further information.

ActiveBeta® is a registered trademark of GSAM and has been licensed for use by Goldman Sachs ETF Trust. The ActiveBeta® Portfolio Construction and Maintenance Methodology is the patent-protected property of GSAM (U.S. Patent Numbers 8,285,620 and 8,473,398).

Fund Risk Considerations

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF (“The Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity Index (the “Index”), which delivers exposure to equity securities of emerging market issuers. The Fund’s equity investments are subject to market risk, which means that the value of the securities in which it invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors and/or general economic conditions. Foreign and emerging markets investments may be more volatile and less liquid than investments in U.S. securities and are subject to the risks of currency fluctuations and adverse economic or political developments. Because the Fund may concentrate its investments in an industry or group of industries to the extent that the Index is concentrated, the Fund may be subject to greater risk of loss as a result of adverse economic, business or other developments affecting that industry or group of industries. The securities of mid- and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. The Fund effects creation and redemption transactions partially for cash, which means an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a conventional exchange-traded fund. The Fund is not actively managed, and therefore the Fund will not generally dispose of a security unless the security is removed from the Index. The Index calculation methodology may rely on information based on assumptions and estimates and neither the Fund nor its investment adviser can guarantee the accuracy of the methodology’s assessment of included issuers. Performance may vary substantially from the performance of the Index as a result of transaction costs, expenses and other factors.

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® U.S. Large Cap Equity Index (the “Index”), which delivers exposure to equity securities of large-capitalization U.S. issuers. The Fund’s equity investments are subject to market risk, which means that the value of the securities in which it invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors and/or general economic conditions. Because the Fund may concentrate its investments in an industry or group of industries to the extent that the Index is concentrated, the Fund may be subject to greater risk of loss as a result of adverse economic, business or other developments affecting that industry or group of industries. The Fund is not actively managed, and therefore the Fund will not generally dispose of a security unless the security is removed from the Index. The Index calculation methodology may rely on information based on assumptions and estimates and neither the Fund nor its investment adviser can guarantee the accuracy of the methodology’s assessment of included issuers. Performance may vary substantially from the performance of the Index as a result of transaction costs, expenses and other factors.

Shares of each fund are not individually redeemable and are issued and redeemed by the Fund at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in large, specified blocks of shares called creation units. Shares otherwise can be bought and sold only through exchange trading at market price (not NAV). Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

Each fund is newly organized and does not have an operating history.

Investors can lose money by investing in the Funds. For additional risk considerations, please see the above disclosures.

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity index (“the Index”) is designed to deliver exposure to equity securities of emerging market issuers. The Index is constructed using the patented ActiveBeta® Portfolio Construction Methodology, which was developed to provide exposure to the “factors” (or characteristics) that are commonly tied to a stock’s outperformance relative to market returns. These factors include value (i.e., how attractively a stock is priced relative to its “fundamentals,” such as book value and free cash flow), momentum (i.e., whether a company’s share price is trending up or down), quality (i.e., profitability) and low volatility (i.e., a relatively low degree of fluctuation in a company’s share price over time). Given the Fund’s investment objective of attempting to track its Index, the Fund does not follow traditional methods of active investment management, which may involve buying and selling securities based upon analysis of economic and market factors.

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® U.S. Large Cap Equity Index (“the Index”) is designed to deliver exposure to equity securities of large capitalization U.S. issuers. The Index is constructed using the patented ActiveBeta® Portfolio Construction Methodology, which was developed to provide exposure to the “factors” (or characteristics) that are commonly tied to a stock’s outperformance relative to market returns. These factors include value (i.e., how attractively a stock is priced relative to its “fundamentals,” such as book value and free cash flow), momentum (i.e., whether a company’s share price is trending up or down), quality (i.e., profitability) and low volatility (i.e., a relatively low degree of fluctuation in a company’s share price over time). Given the Fund’s investment objective of attempting to track its Index, the Fund does not follow traditional methods of active investment management, which may involve buying and selling securities based upon analysis of economic and market factors.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was used by Goldman Sachs as the reference universe for selection of the companies included in the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF. MSCI Inc. does not in any way sponsor, support, promote or endorse the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF. In no event shall any MSCI Party have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, punitive, consequential (including without limitation lost profits) or any other damages in connection with the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity ETF.

Please note that one may not invest directly into an index.

ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of the Goldman Sachs ETFs.

ALPS Distributors, Inc. is unaffiliated with Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Please consider a fund's objectives, risks, and charges and expenses, and read the summary prospectus, if available, and the Prospectus carefully before investing. A summary prospectus, if available, or a Prospectus for the Fund containing more information may be obtained from your authorized dealer or from Goldman, Sachs & Co. by calling(1-800-621-2550).

Compliance code: 169809.MF.TMPL/9/2015

Date of first use: September 29, 2015

ALPS Control: GST 126 ED 9/29/2016

© 2015 Goldman Sachs. All rights reserved.

NOT FDIC INSURED. MAY LOSE VALUE. NO BANK GUARANTEE. NOT INSURED BY ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

Contacts:

Media:
GSAM
Andrew Williams, 212-902-5400
Hillary Yaffe, 212-279-3115

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