FRTY vs GUSE

FRTYDAlger Mid Cap 40 ETF

GUSEAGoldman Sachs Enhanced U.S. Equity ETF

In short

FRTY Alger's stock-picking house style in ETF form: roughly 40 mid-cap growth names, chosen for what the manager calls Positive Dynamic Change. In a peer group stacked with cheap large-cap index-huggers, it's the concentrated mid-cap outlier.

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

FRTY The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a focused portfolio of mid-cap companies selected through fundamental research for promising growth potential. Its manager emphasizes companies experiencing Positive Dynamic Change.

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

• FRTY About 40 holdings, so every pick carries real weight. This is a conviction portfolio, not a closet index fund shadowing a benchmark.
• Mid-cap growth is the actual mandate, which separates it from a peer group led by large-cap enhanced-index products like JUSA and FELG.
• Stocks are picked by fundamental research under Alger's Positive Dynamic Change framework, aimed at US mid caps the team sees as hitting a growth inflection.
• Launched in 2021, it puts a long-running active growth process into a daily-traded ETF wrapper instead of a mutual fund share class.

• 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

• FRTY The 0.60% expense ratio sits above the 0.54% typical for its cohort, and far above index-tracking rivals such as JUSA at 0.12%.
• It trades thinly. Spreads can widen and fills get lumpy, so execution matters more here than in a heavily traded fund.
• Concentration cuts both ways: 40 mid-cap growth names can swing harder than a broad index. Distributions are infrequent, so income isn't the point.

• 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 FRTY profile⁠

Full GUSE profile⁠