ETF Intel Q&A: Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Gabrielle Vennitti, Senior Manager of ETF Listings at Nasdaq, speaks with Brendan McCarthy, Global Head of ETF Distribution at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, about the firm’s ever-growing ETF strategy.

1. Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has introduced several ETPs this year. What is GSAM’s overarching strategy regarding these launches?

We are focused on bringing the best of Goldman Sachs Asset Management active investment capabilities to the ETF wrapper in differentiated products where we anticipate strong demand. These principles guided every new GSAM ETF in 2025. We launched 20 ETFs globally in 2025, including 7 in the U.S. and 13 in EMEA with all but one of our new ETFs being in actively managed strategies.

A tilt towards new launches in EMEA reflects the view that Europe is poised for outsized growth. In the U.S., where we also see a lot of growth potential, we’ve concentrated on opportunities broadly in actively managed fixed income and specifically in a private equity-like return strategy.

2. In what ways does GSAM distinguish itself from other asset managers and ETF providers?

With a long track record and broad and deep expertise across asset classes and geographies, active management is truly embedded in the DNA of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Our unique position enables us to deliver the most effective and efficient tools investors need to navigate today’s complex markets, with approximately $3.5 trillion in assets under supervision across Goldman Sachs.

3. How do GSAM’s ETFs typically fit within investors’ portfolios?

Across the GSAM ETF product suite, we provide a broad range of solutions designed to meet diverse investor needs—and a correspondingly wide array of ways these ETFs can be integrated into portfolios.

Our Active Equity and Fixed Income ETF suites include alpha-seeking strategies that can be used to complement core beta allocations, adding potential for outperformance. Alternatively, investors can incorporate the GSAM Premium Income ETFs into income allocations to diversify income generation beyond traditional bonds. GSAM also offers specialized implementation ETFs for targeted portfolio objectives including a Gold ETF for diversification and our private equity return-tracking ETF, which can fit within an investor’s alternatives allocation.

4. Among GSAM’s notable launches this year is the Goldman Sachs MSCI World Private Equity Return Tracker ETF (GTPE). Could you elaborate on the investment approach of this ETF?

GTPE is designed to expand access to drivers of private equity returns via public equity exposure. The fund seeks to deliver investment results that track the MSCI World Private Equity Return Tracker Index, which leverages MSCI’s proprietary private company dataset—one of the world’s largest—to replicate the regional, sectoral, and stylistic exposures characteristic of private equity investments. All of this is delivered within the ETF wrapper, offering the liquidity, transparency, and cost efficiency that investors expect from ETFs.

5. GSAM recently announced it will acquire Innovator Capital Management, recognized as a leader in defined outcome ETFs. Could you provide further insights into this development?

Innovator is a pioneer in the Defined Outcome buffer ETF space and adding this capability is part of our strategy to expand investor access to sophisticated strategies that meet investor needs.  Innovator launched the first ETF in what is now a $60 billion Defined Outcome buffer ETF space, growing at 66% CAGR since 2020 as investors seek to increase income, target risk profiles, and add growth opportunities to their portfolios. (Source: Morningstar).

Innovator’s capabilities are highly complementary to Goldman’s industry-leading SMA/Direct Indexing solutions and G-Series suite of Evergreen alternatives, which are all designed to deliver differentiated outcomes for investors. We think buffered products offer similar benefits to structured note products that sophisticated investors have been using for years, in a lower fee, liquid format. Sophisticated advisors work with their clients to use the products as part of their overall portfolios to meet specific objectives.

6. As we look ahead to 2026, what key areas are GSAM monitoring in both the ETF space and the broader market?

With global ETF assets recently surpassing $18 trillion and another year of record flows, the outlook for ETFs remains incredibly strong. Looking ahead to 2026, we anticipate continued robust growth across actively managed strategies in the ETF wrapper—driven by both alpha-seeking approaches and solutions-based strategies.

Within alpha-seeking strategies we expect an uptick in conversions of existing actively managed mutual funds into ETFs. ETFs as a share class of existing mutual funds present unique challenges and opportunities that we’ll be monitoring closely. And across solutions-based strategies, investor demand for differentiated and sophisticated approaches—such as Derivative Income and Buffer ETFs—continues to fuel growth.

We also see broader market dynamics shaping ETF flows in 2026. The Fed cutting cycle is front and center and has broad implications for ETF flows. We see potential ETF category beneficiaries including Ultrashort Bond ETFs as investors seek to maintain income amid declining money market yields, Derivative Income ETFs as investors seek income without fixed income and Small Cap ETFs given small caps historically benefitting from lower rates.