GTPE vs LBO

GTPEAGoldman Sachs MSCI World Private Equity Return Tracker ETF

LBODWHITEWOLF Publicly Listed Private Equity ETF

In short

GTPE Private equity returns, minus the lockup. GTPE tracks an MSCI index that rebuilds buyout-style return patterns out of public developed-market stocks, so the exposure trades on an exchange instead of sitting in a locked-up partnership.

LBO LBO plays both sides of the buyout trade: the sponsors doing the deals and the BDCs financing them. Its 6.53% headline cost is mostly the pass-through fees of those BDCs, not the adviser's own.

Stated mandate

GTPE The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the MSCI World Private Equity Return Tracker Index (Net, USD, Unhedged).

LBO The actively managed fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and current income. It normally invests at least 80% of net assets in U.S.-listed private-equity companies, including leverage-finance providers and buyout, sponsor, and asset-management firms.

Why people hold it

• GTPE Peers like PSP and GPZ own listed buyout shops and alt managers. GTPE goes wider: roughly 1,600 developed-market stocks tilted to growth, value, momentum and low volatility.
• 0.50% a year sits at the low end of the listed private-markets shelf, where the long-running incumbent PSP charges 1.80%.
• A plain 1940 Act ETF holding public equities: trades any market day, no capital calls, no lockup, no accreditation requirement.

• LBO Owns the whole buyout chain: listed buyout firms, sponsors and asset managers plus the leverage providers, with at least 80% of net assets in US-listed private equity companies.sec.gov
• Income is half the mandate. The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and current income, and it pays quarterly.
• Peers pick a lane: GPZ at 0.40% buys alternative asset managers, BIZD at 9.69% buys BDCs. LBO takes both ends of the deal in one actively managed ticker.
• Runs unlevered at the fund level and rebalances and reconstitutes at least quarterly, with a live track record since 2023.alphaarchitect.com

Worth knowing

• GTPE A proxy, not the real thing. You own public stocks selected to echo private equity's return pattern, not stakes in private companies.
• Launched in October 2025 and still small and thinly traded, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads and a short record to judge it on.
• Developed markets only. Private-market activity in emerging economies sits outside the mandate.

• LBO Expensive on paper: 6.53% total, above the category median, no fee waiver. Most of it is acquired fund fees from the BDCs it holds, a cost you also bear owning them directly.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades lightly, so spreads can be wider and limit orders carry more weight than with a mega-fund.
• Non-diversified and entirely financials: a handful of large positions set the tone, and the lending side tracks the credit cycle.sec.gov

Full GTPE profile⁠

Full LBO profile⁠