Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta International Equity ETF

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta International Equity ETF (GSIE) tracks a Goldman Sachs index of about 630 large and midsize companies in developed markets outside the US, from Japan and Canada to Europe. It doesn't weight stocks by company size alone. Instead it tilts toward stocks that score well on value, momentum, quality and low volatility. Its 0.25% expense ratio is below EFA's 0.32% but well above the 0.03%–0.07% charged by plain index funds such as VEA and IEFA.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, GSIE returned +13.8%, 6th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +8.7% and its 10-year +9.5%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 33.6% and regained its old high 7.6 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-15.9%); its best was 2025 (+32.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 34.6% (Jan 17, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 16, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 632 securities; the ten largest made up 10.49% of assets, and 2.58% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $64.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.16%, +3.09%, +2.04%.

GSIE aims to track the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta International Equity Index. It keeps at least 80% of its assets in the index's stocks or in depositary receipts for them. Depositary receipts are certificates that trade like shares and represent a foreign company's stock. Goldman Sachs Asset Management designs the index itself, and Solactive AG calculates it. The starting point is the MSCI World ex USA Index, which covers developed markets outside the US and weights companies by market value.

Building the index takes two steps. First, every stock in the MSCI index gets a score on four "factors," which are traits linked to beating the market: value (price compared with book value, sales and free cash flow), momentum (price trend), quality (profitability) and low volatility (calmer share prices). Stocks scoring above a fixed cutoff get more weight than in the MSCI index, and stocks below it get less. Short positions aren't allowed, so the lowest possible weight is zero. Second, the four factor versions are blended in equal parts. The index normally rebalances every quarter. As of December 1, 2025, it held 644 stocks worth roughly $4.6 billion to $418 billion each.

Holders should know that this is not stock-picking. The fund won't sell a struggling company unless the index drops it. It may hold a sample of the index's stocks rather than all of them. Portfolio turnover was 22%. As of August 31, 2026, the largest holdings were ASML (2.2%), HSBC (1.1%) and Royal Bank of Canada (1.1%).

• GSIE charges 0.25% a year, versus an average of 0.12% for the similar funds below (7th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $26 in the first year and $318 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It spreads a US-heavy portfolio across about 630 companies in developed markets abroad, led by Japan, Canada and the UK.

GSIE adds foreign stocks to a portfolio. As of August 31, 2026, Japan made up 21.2% of the fund, Canada 11.4% and the UK 11.1%. The fund launched in November 2015, so it has no record from the 2008 crisis. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 33.6% and was back at its old high about 7.6 months later. In the 2022 bear market it fell 29% and took about 17 months to recover, until February 2024. Its worst calendar year was 2022, when it lost 15.9%. Anyone selling shares for spending money during those stretches would have sold at depressed prices.

The trailing yield was 2.61% as of October 27, 2026, and the fund pays quarterly. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 would cost $26 in the first year and $318 over 10 years. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.