ETF Odds & Ends: Goldman Debuts Cap-Weighted Fund

It was a quiet week for ETFs, as a new conference targeting the space played out in Miami Beach, Florida in the week leading up to Easter. But it wasn’t as though activity in the markets was dead in the water.  

Not only did J.P. Morgan complete its first conversion of one of its mutual funds into an ETF with the launch of the JPMorgan Inflation Managed Bond ETF (JCPI) on Monday, Goldman Sachs rolled out another addition to its lineup of plain vanilla, cap-weighted “MarketBeta” ETFs on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs MarketBeta U.S. 1000 Equity ETF (GUSA) covers roughly the largest 1,000 stocks in the U.S. market based on free-float market capitalization.  

It comes with an expense ratio of 0.15% and lists on the NYSE Arca.  

It’s an interesting move by Goldman Sachs. The firm’s MarketBeta family already includes the $592 million Goldman Sachs MarketBeta U.S. Equity ETF (GSUS), which more or less covers the largest 500 stocks listed on U.S. markets for a fee of 0.07%.  

GUSA will also be competing with the $29.3 billion iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB); however, IWB also comes with an expense ratio of 0.15%. Goldman has the brand power to compete with ETF behemoth iShares, and matching the pricing on a fund that ranks in the top 50 for ETF assets could garner investor interest.  

Pacer launched its own take on the streaming space on Monday. The Pacer BlueStar Digital Entertainment ETF (ODDS) tracks the BlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming, and eSports Index and charges an expense ratio of 0.60%. The fund lists on the Nasdaq exchange. 

First Trust ETF Name Change 

The only other development in the space occurred Thursday, when the actively managed First Trust Municipal CEF Income Opportunity ETF (MCEF) changed its name and ticker to the First Trust Flexible Municipal High Income ETF (MFLX), with its strategy shifting from investing in closed-end funds holding muni bonds to holding individual muni bonds.  

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]