Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
GSLC vs USMC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, GSLC returned +13.3% to USMC's +11.2%; 41% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $15.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF, and $4.9bn on Nov 2, 2026 for Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
GSLC costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.1 points; GSLC is 3.1 times larger.
| Measure | GSLC | USMC |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.3% | +11.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.3%, high on Oct 7, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.12% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $15.3bn | $5.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 41% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 35.2% | 54.3% |
Risk and return
Oct 20, 2017 to Oct 30, 2026 · 471 weekly returns · each against VOOFrom Oct 2017 to Oct 2026, USMC returned slightly more: +242.6% to +220.8%. USMC swung slightly less: 16.9% to 17.8%. USMC fell less at its worst: −28.4% to −31.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GSLC | USMC | VOO | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +220.8% | +242.6% | USMC (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +13.7% | +14.6% | USMC (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +182.1% | +198.5% | USMC (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 17.8% | 16.9% | USMC (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 12.4% | 11.9% | USMC (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −31.8% | −28.4% | USMC | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 96.8% | 92.9% | 100.0% | GSLC (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 99.2% | 95.8% | 100.0% | USMC (slight) | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.99 | 0.93 | 1.00 | USMC lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.99 | 0.95 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.66 | 0.73 | USMC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 0.95 | 1.04 | USMC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.118 | 0.133 | 0.124 | USMC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.43 | 0.51 | USMC | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | VOO | VOO | VOO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.5% a year | +0.8% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.98 | 0.69 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.6% to +0.6% | −1.5% to +3.2% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.37 | −0.01 | USMC | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.7% | 3.8% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 471 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, GSLC and USMC hold 41% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
41% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
GSLC and USMC on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Client brief:
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GSLC
GSLC tracks an index. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +13.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Aug 31, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 426 positions, with the top ten at 35.2%.
USMC
USMC is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +11.2% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.12% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 26 positions, with the top ten at 54.3%. It sat 3.3% below its high of Oct 7, 2026 on Nov 4, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GSLC or USMC?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GSLC returned +13.3% and USMC +11.2%.
- Which is cheaper, GSLC or USMC?
- GSLC is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, GSLC against USMC, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gslc-vs-usmc
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[GSLC against USMC (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gslc-vs-usmc)
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