GSLC vs VYM

GSLCAGoldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

GSLC Goldman's first ETF, out in 2015, packs value, momentum, quality and low volatility into one large-cap portfolio and charges 0.09% for it. Multifactor machinery at index-fund pricing, with tilts kept deliberately modest.

VYM The no-frills dividend workhorse. VYM buys the higher-yielding end of the US market, roughly 600 names, for four basis points: no quality screen, no dividend-growth-streak test, just yield, at scale since 2006.

Stated mandate

GSLC The Fund seeks to track the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® U.S. Large Cap Equity Index, which provides exposure to large-capitalization U.S. issuers.

VYM The Fund seeks to track a benchmark index measuring the investment return of common stocks from companies characterized by high dividend yields.

Why people hold it

• GSLC 0.09% a year, against a roughly 0.32% median for US multifactor funds. Factor exposure priced like plain beta.
• Four factors (value, momentum, quality, low volatility) each get their own sleeve, combined in equal weights and rebalanced quarterly. No guessing which style leads.sec.gov
• The index rules include a turnover minimization step that skips trades not worth making, which holds down the churn factor strategies are known for.solactive.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund running since 2015 that tracks its index tightly, and one of the strongest implementations in the US multifactor group.

• VYM Four basis points a year, against a peer-group median near 0.32%. Cheaper than cohort neighbors VONV (0.06%) and FNDX (0.25%).
• Running since 2006 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so ordinary orders tend to fill at tight spreads.
• Simple mandate: track the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index of US common stocks screened on yield. No manager discretion, no options overlay, plain 1940-Act fund.vanguard.com
• Pays quarterly, and among 100-plus value and multifactor rivals it stands as one of the strongest overall packages in the group.

Worth knowing

• GSLC About 400 large-cap US names drawn from a broad reference index, so the tilts are a nudge on top of the market rather than a break from it.sec.gov
• Cheaper cohort options exist (VYM at 0.04%, VONV at 0.06%), the trade-off being a single style instead of four blended together.
• A proprietary Goldman index, not a household benchmark, so results can part ways with the standard large-cap yardstick in either direction. Pays quarterly.

• VYM The screen is yield, not payout growth or dividend quality, so a company can qualify simply because its share price fell.
• This is a value slice by design, tilted to established payers, so it behaves differently from a total US market fund.
• Roughly 600 holdings, but weight leans toward the largest payers, so the top of the roster does more of the work than the count suggests.

Full GSLC profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠