Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GSSC vs PSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GSSC returned +17.1% to PSC's +21.0%; 38% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $1.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for GS ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF, and $2.7bn on Oct 26, 2026 for Principal U.S. Small-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
GSSC costs 0.18 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.9 points; PSC is 2.5 times larger.
| Measure | GSSC | PSC |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +17.1% | +21.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.20% | 0.38% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $1.1bn | $2.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 38% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 3.5% | 11.2% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jul 7, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 485 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: GSSC against IWV, Jul 7, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026; PSC against IWM, Sep 30, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026.
PSC returned more: +163.2% to +141.5%. GSSC swung slightly less: 22.7% to 23.6%. GSSC fell slightly less at its worst: −41.0% to −44.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GSSC | PSC | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +141.5% | +163.2% | PSC | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.9% | +10.9% | PSC (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +115.0% | +135.8% | PSC | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.7% | 23.6% | GSSC (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.8% | 16.4% | GSSC (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −41.0% | −44.9% | GSSC (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 101.1% | 84.9% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 106.0% | 91.9% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.10 | 0.95 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.76 | 0.88 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.41 | 0.45 | PSC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.60 | 0.64 | PSC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.086 | 0.118 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.24 | 0.24 | Tie | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IWV | IWM | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −4.0% a year | +2.4% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.08 | 0.96 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −11.2% to +3.2% | −2.5% to +7.4% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.25 | 0.24 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 11.3% | 8.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 485 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, GSSC and PSC hold 38% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
38% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
GSSC and PSC on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GSSC and PSC are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. GSSC follows Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Small Cap Equity Index and PSC follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 38% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GSSC returned +17.1% and PSC +21.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
GSSC tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings filed for Aug 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,410 positions, with the top ten at 3.5%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +21.0% with distributions reinvested, against +14.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index.
PSC is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.38% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 506 positions, with the top ten at 11.2%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GSSC or PSC?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GSSC returned +17.1% and PSC +21.0%.
- Which is cheaper, GSSC or PSC?
- GSSC is cheaper, by 0.18 percentage points a year. That is about $18 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, GSSC against PSC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gssc-vs-psc
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GSSC against PSC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gssc-vs-psc
[GSSC against PSC (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gssc-vs-psc)
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