AFGR vs GUSE

AFGRCFirst Trust Active Factor Large Cap Growth ETF

GUSEAGoldman Sachs Enhanced U.S. Equity ETF

In short

AFGR An active quant screen aimed at large-cap growth: names are ranked on growth, momentum and quality, landing on roughly 90 stocks. Rules-driven stock picking rather than a star manager's convictions.

GUSE Goldman's fundamental stock pickers hunting long-term growth in US companies, for 0.30% a year. The strategy dates to 2008 and charges well under the typical active US growth fund.

Stated mandate

AFGR The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and normally invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of large-capitalization growth companies.

GUSE The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in companies that the Investment Adviser believes are positioned for long-term growth.

Why people hold it

• AFGR Three factors do the choosing: growth, momentum and quality, applied systematically. No value screen, no low-volatility damper, so the growth tilt stays a growth tilt.ftportfolios.com
• Concentrated on purpose at roughly 90 US large caps, tight enough that individual picks register, wide enough that one blowup is not the whole story.
• Running since 2020 with a clear contract: at least 80% of assets in large-cap growth equities, all under standard 1940 Act fund rules.
• On portfolio construction and risk measures it lands in the upper half of a crowded active large-growth field of about 90 funds.

• GUSE Charges 0.30% a year, against a 0.54% median for its active US growth cohort. Cheap, for stock picking.
• Actively run with no index to shadow. Managers hold companies they judge positioned for long-term growth, so the portfolio can look different from a large-cap benchmark.
• Inception dates to 2008, so the strategy has run through multiple market cycles, not one long rally.
• One of the stronger implementations in a crowded field of active US growth funds.

Worth knowing

• AFGR At 0.65% a year it sits above the 0.55% peer median, and the top-graded enhanced-index rivals undercut it hard: JUSA at 0.12%, FELG at 0.18%.
• Thinly traded with a modest asset base, so part of the real cost can show up in the bid-ask spread rather than the expense ratio.
• Built for capital appreciation, not cash flow: it has not been making regular distributions, so income is not part of the package.

• GUSE Trades thinly next to the category's heavyweights. Spreads can be wider, which bites most on large or hurried orders.
• Two peers in the same top tier undercut it on fee: JUSA at 0.12% and FELG at 0.18%. Price is not where this one stands out.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, not monthly. Growth of capital is the stated goal, not an income stream.

Full AFGR profile⁠

Full GUSE profile⁠