GSWO vs ISCF

GSWOAGoldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Equity ETF

ISCFBiShares International Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

In short

GSWO Four factor tilts (value, momentum, quality, low volatility) on developed markets outside the US, for 15 basis points. Goldman's ActiveBeta rules at a price closer to an index fund than an active one.

ISCF Factor investing usually stops at big multinationals. ISCF runs value, quality, momentum and low volatility on developed-market small caps outside the US, roughly 1,200 of them, for 0.24% a year.

Stated mandate

GSWO The fund is an ActiveBeta World Equity ETF designed to track an ActiveBeta Index and provide exposure to value, momentum, quality, and low-volatility characteristics.

ISCF The Fund seeks to follow an index of developed-market small-cap stocks outside the United States, selected and weighted to provide favorable exposure to specified style factors within defined constraints.

Why people hold it

• GSWO 0.15% a year against a 0.69% median for its global active-equity peers, and cheaper than fellow top-graded names DFAW (0.24%) and AVGE (0.25%).
• Value, momentum, quality and low volatility come from one published ActiveBeta index methodology, not a manager's discretionary call.gsam.com
• Stands among the strongest implementations in its global equity peer group: a multi-billion-dollar fund in the standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper that pays quarterly.

• ISCF Four factors in one wrapper: value, quality, momentum and low volatility, applied inside constraints meant to keep country and sector tilts from running away.ishares.com
• 0.24% a year undercuts the typical international multifactor fund, and it buys the small-cap end that most factor ETFs skip entirely.
• Roughly 1,200 stocks across developed markets outside the US, so no single name or country runs the show.
• Running since 2015, and the portfolio it holds lines up closely with the mandate it advertises: one of the tighter implementations in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• GSWO Despite the "World" name, the reference index is MSCI World ex USA, so US stocks sit outside the mandate.
• Launched in 2022, so the live record is short, and factor blends can trail plain cap-weighted benchmarks for long stretches.
• Four factors in one basket can pull against each other; the net tilt is milder than a single-factor fund.

• ISCF Small caps abroad move harder than large-cap international funds, and foreign-currency swings feed into what you see in dollars.
• It trades moderately, not like the large-cap factor names (INTF, GSIE), so bid-ask spreads can matter more than the headline fee.
• Distributions land once or twice a year rather than quarterly, so cash arrives lumpy.

Full GSWO profile⁠

Full ISCF profile⁠