FLCG vs GUSE

FLCGBFederated Hermes MDT Large Cap Growth ETF

GUSEAGoldman Sachs Enhanced U.S. Equity ETF

In short

FLCG Federated Hermes dropped its decades-old MDT quant engine into an ETF in 2024: a bottom-up model picks roughly 100 large-cap growth names from the Russell 1000 Growth universe, aiming for an edge without straying far from the benchmark.

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

FLCG The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

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

• FLCG Cheap for an active mandate: 0.39% net of a waiver through May 1, 2027 (0.51% gross), below the median fee in its large-growth peer group.federatedhermes.com
• The ETF is young, the engine is not. MDT has run systematic US equity strategies since 1991, and this large-cap growth mandate has an institutional track record dating to 2004.hermes-investment.comfederatedhermes.com
• Risk control is written into the mandate: the strategy targets excess return with moderate tracking error versus the Russell 1000 Growth Index, so style drift stays contained.federatedhermes.com
• Around 100 holdings and a stated aim of long-term capital appreciation, which makes this a broad slice of US growth rather than a handful of concentrated bets.

• 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

• FLCG Systematic large-growth exposure comes cheaper elsewhere: JUSA and FELG each charge 0.18%, with no waiver propping up the number.
• The ETF only started trading in 2024, so the risk picture rests on a short window of its own data rather than a full market cycle.
• Volume is moderate rather than heavy, so spreads can widen in fast markets, and distributions land once or twice a year, not monthly.

• 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 FLCG profile⁠

Full GUSE profile⁠