GUSE vs VGRO

GUSEAGoldman Sachs Enhanced U.S. Equity ETF

VGROCVirtus Silvant Growth Opportunities ETF

In short

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.

VGRO Virtus hands the Silvant team an ETF wrapper and one job: pick U.S. stocks with above-average growth potential. Active stock-picking, priced closer to an index fund than to its stock-picking peers.

Stated mandate

GUSE The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in companies that the Investment Adviser believes are positioned for long-term growth.

VGRO The Fund seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in U.S. equity securities that the sub-adviser considers to have above-average growth potential.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• VGRO Charges 0.35% a year, well under the median for its active U.S. growth peer group. Active management without the usual active toll.
• Fee sits in the same neighborhood as heavyweight rivals GUSE and MAGS (0.30%) and undercuts LRGC (0.39%).
• A mandate you can say in one breath: capital appreciation from U.S. equities the sub-adviser judges to have above-average growth potential. No hedges, no overlays.
• Standard 1940 Act ETF structure: daily-traded, no K-1, the plumbing most investors already know.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• VGRO Launched December 2025. The strategy is new in this wrapper, so there is little live record to judge the stock-picking against.
• Small asset base and light trading volume. Spreads can run wider than at the big names in the category, which matters most on larger orders.
• Built for capital appreciation, not income. Growth mandates like this one lean on share-price gains rather than a payout stream.

Full GUSE profile⁠

Full VGRO profile⁠