GSWO vs QWLD

GSWOAGoldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Equity ETF

QWLDBState Street SPDR MSCI World StrategicFactors 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.

QWLD Three factor tilts (value, quality, low volatility) blended into one developed-world index instead of three separate bets. Live since 2014, priced below the typical multifactor peer, and it spans all 23 developed markets rather than an ex-US slice.

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.

QWLD The fund seeks to track the total return of the MSCI World Factor Mix A-Series Index before fees and expenses. The index combines value, low-volatility, and quality exposures across large- and mid-cap stocks in 23 developed countries.

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.

• QWLD Costs 0.30% a year against a 0.38% median for its multifactor peer group. Cheap for a strategy that runs three screens at once.
• The index blends value, quality and low volatility in one wrapper, so no single factor's cold spell drives the whole result. MSCI does the rebalancing; you hold one ticker.ssga.com
• Well over a thousand large- and mid-cap names across 23 developed countries. Most rivals here carve out the US; this one keeps the whole developed world in the basket.
• A decade-plus of live history under State Street, with tracking that has stayed tight to the index it advertises. It sits in the upper half of its multifactor cohort.

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.

• QWLD Thinly traded with a modest asset base, so spreads can run wider than the household-name international funds. Order type and size matter more here.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, not quarterly. Income-focused holders get a lumpier cadence.
• Cheaper multifactor options exist: INTF charges 0.16% and FDEV 0.18%, though both fish in ex-US waters rather than the full developed world.

Full GSWO profile⁠

Full QWLD profile⁠