What Is GSLC? Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF
Last updated September 2026
Short answer
GSLC is Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF, an ETF that tracks the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index at a 0.09% expense ratio. GSLC applies Goldman Sachs's ActiveBeta method to US large caps, blending screens for value, momentum, quality and low volatility instead of weighting purely by market value. The counterintuitive result is that its largest position, NVIDIA at 7.5%, is heavier than in the cap-weighted funds it was designed to differ from. Technology is 38% of the portfolio and the top ten is 33.4%. It charges 0.09%, runs $15.4 billion, yields 0.95% and launched in 2015. Anyone buying it expecting meaningful diversification away from the mega-cap complex should look at those weights first.
GSLC is issued by Goldman Sachs and tracks the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index. It charges a 0.09% expense ratio, holds approximately $15.4B in assets under management, yields about 0.95%, and launched in 2015.
The factor tilt is milder than the label implies
Multifactor funds are usually sold on the idea that market capitalisation is a poor way to decide position sizes. GSLC's own numbers complicate that story. NVIDIA sits at 7.5% here, against 6.7% and 6.9% in two straightforwardly cap-weighted US funds. Apple is 6.6%, again above where a plain index puts it. When momentum and quality screens both point at the same company, the factor process amplifies a large position rather than trimming it.
The rest of the book follows a similar pattern. Microsoft 4.1%, Amazon 3.4%, Alphabet Class A 3.1%, Broadcom 2.4%, Meta 1.9%, Alphabet Class C 1.8%. Adding both Alphabet lines gives 4.9% for a single company. The top ten reaches 33.4%, which is not materially different from an unfiltered large-cap fund.
This is a description of what happened, not a flaw in the design. ActiveBeta applies its screens within sectors and keeps sector weights close to the parent universe, which by construction limits how far the portfolio can drift. The fund is best understood as a market fund with a modest overlay, not a genuinely different portfolio.
What actually differs, and where to look for it
The visible signature of the factor process is Eli Lilly at 1.3% in the top ten. Cap-weighted US funds of similar size show Tesla in that slot instead. Swapping a volatile, expensive-looking carmaker for a large pharmaceutical company is exactly what a blend of quality and low-volatility screens should produce, and it is a real difference even if it is a small one.
Sector weights tell the same story of restraint. Technology 38%, financials 11%, consumer discretionary 10%, communication services 10%, industrials 9%. Those are within a percentage point or two of an unscreened large-cap fund. The methodology deliberately neutralises sector bets so that the factor exposure comes from stock selection inside each sector, which keeps the fund from turning into an accidental utilities or staples product.
The honest way to read GSLC is as a low-cost core holding with a small, systematic lean, rather than as a defensive or diversifying position. Someone who wants a factor exposure strong enough to change portfolio behaviour will need a fund with far higher tracking error than this one is built to run.
Cost, scale and fit
At 0.09%, GSLC is priced like an index fund rather than a smart-beta product, which is unusual and is a large part of why it has gathered $15.4 billion since 2015. A decade ago factor ETFs routinely charged three or four times this. The fee is low enough that the tilt does not have to work hard to be worth having.
The yield of 0.95% is slightly above what a plain US large-cap fund produces, which is consistent with a value screen nudging the portfolio towards companies that distribute more. It is not enough to make this an income holding.
It is a poor fit for two purposes. If you want to reduce mega-cap technology exposure, this fund does not do that, and the NVIDIA weight is the proof. If you already own an S&P 500 fund, GSLC is an overlap rather than a complement: the same companies, at very similar weights, with a slightly different tie-breaker.
GSLC holdings: top 10
Approximate weights as of August 2026. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.
How do I invest in GSLC?
There are three common ways to get GSLC exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of GSLC directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic portfolio in Walnut, so GSLC sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. GSLC trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.
New to buying funds? See how to buy an ETF, step by step.
Is GSLC a good buy?
Whether GSLC is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is GSLC a buy?
The bottom line on GSLC
GSLC gives you the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index exposure in one ticker at a 0.09% expense ratio. Most investors use it as a core holding and layer more concentrated thematic portfolios on top.
More on GSLC
Whether GSLC is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is GSLC a buy?
GSLC yields 0.95% as of August 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see GSLC dividend: yield and schedule.
New to funds like GSLC? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.
Wondering how GSLC fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in GSLC with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how GSLC fits what you actually hold: what it overlaps with, what it leaves you exposed to, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does ActiveBeta mean?
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It is Goldman Sachs's brand name for its factor index methodology. Rather than weighting companies by market value alone, the process scores them on value, momentum, quality and low volatility, then combines those scores into final weights. Sector exposures are kept close to the starting universe, so the differences come from stock selection within sectors rather than from large sector bets.
Is GSLC an index fund or an active fund?
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It is an index fund that tracks the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index. The rules are systematic and published, so no manager is making discretionary calls. The word active in the name refers to the factor screens the index applies, not to human decision-making. In regulatory terms it is a passive product tracking a rules-based benchmark.
How different is GSLC from an S&P 500 fund?
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Less different than the marketing suggests. The top ten holdings are 33.4% of the fund and consist of the same mega-cap names, with NVIDIA at 7.5% and Apple at 6.6%. Sector weights land within a point or two of a standard large-cap fund. The visible differences are at the margin, such as Eli Lilly appearing in the top ten where cap-weighted funds show Tesla.
Why is NVIDIA a larger position here than in a cap-weighted fund?
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Because momentum and quality screens both favoured it. A stock that has risen strongly scores well on momentum, and a company with high margins and returns on capital scores well on quality. When several factors point at the same name, the combined score pushes its weight above where market capitalisation alone would place it. That is how a diversification tool ends up concentrating.
What factors does the index use?
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Value, momentum, quality and low volatility. Value looks for companies cheap relative to fundamentals, momentum for recent price strength, quality for profitability and balance sheet strength, and low volatility for stocks with smaller price swings. These four often disagree, and the blending step is what stops any single factor from dominating the portfolio.
What does GSLC cost?
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0.09% a year. That is priced alongside broad index funds rather than typical factor products, which historically charged considerably more for the same kind of overlay. On a $10,000 position it works out to $9 a year. The low fee is one of the clearer arguments for the fund, given how modest the tilt turns out to be.
Is GSLC diversified?
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It holds a broad list of US large-cap companies, but concentration at the top is real: the ten largest positions are 33.4% of the fund and technology is 38%. Adding both Alphabet share classes gives one company 4.9%. It is diversified in the sense that a large-cap index fund is diversified, which is to say broadly, with a heavy tilt towards a handful of very large businesses.
Who is GSLC a poor fit for?
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Anyone hoping to dilute exposure to mega-cap technology, since the fund holds more NVIDIA than the market does. Also anyone who already owns a large-cap US index fund, because the overlap is near total. And anyone wanting a factor exposure strong enough to behave differently in a drawdown, which requires a fund willing to run much larger deviations from the market.
What is GSLC's expense ratio?
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GSLC has an expense ratio of 0.09% per year as of August 2026, charged by Goldman Sachs and deducted from the fund's value rather than billed to you separately. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $9 a year. Fees compound over time, so on a long-term holding the expense ratio is one of the few return drivers you control. It is worth comparing against other funds that track the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index before you choose.
How do I compare GSLC to similar ETFs?
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Put a few fields side by side: the expense ratio (fees compound over decades), the index or strategy it tracks, the top holdings and how much they overlap with what you already own, the dividend yield, and the AUM, liquidity, and bid-ask spread that affect trading costs. For index funds, tracking error (how closely it follows its index) and tax efficiency matter too. GSLC's figures are above; the full method is in Walnut's guide on how to compare ETFs.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Holdings weights and fund statistics on this page are approximations stamped to August 2026; verify current figures against Goldman Sachs's fund page or your broker before investing.