Two Income ETFs Are Goldman’s Fastest Sellers

Who knew that derivative income would be such a selling point for ETFs in 2025?

Goldman Sachs apparently did — and its two fastest growing exchange-traded funds are evidence of that. In the first half of the year, the Wall Street firm’s Nasdaq 100 Premium Income (GPIQ) and S&P 500 Premium Income (GPIX) ETFs have more than doubled in size, with each attracting more than $700 million in sales. The funds are relatively young, at about two years old, and at $1.2 billion each are small compared with the likes of the $70 billion Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD). But demand for the category is vast, and it is likely to grow. 

“This is just really a representation of the search for diversified sources of income from US investors,” said Alyson Shupe, head of the global product strategy group for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, adding that the two ETFs “have really been able to differentiate themselves within the market to tap into that continued investor interest.”

Appreciate It

It’s helped that the Goldman ETFs offer returns in addition to income, even if they provide “lower highs and higher lows” than the market, said Sirion Skulpone, managing director in quantitative equity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “The derivatives income ETFs offer something that traditional fixed income doesn’t, which is high potential for capital appreciation,” she said. “A lot of investors want to maintain equity exposure but are maybe looking for that smoother ride.” Using a “dynamic options writing strategy,” the ETFs have captured 85% of the market upside while providing monthly distributions of about 8.5% (GPIX) and 10.5% (GPIQ), she said.

It follows that demand is increasing as more people approach retirement, she said.

Figures from Morningstar Direct show that in the first six months of 2025:

• Flows into all US derivative income ETFs were over $32 billion.
• Net assets in the category hit nearly $128 billion.

Don’t Expect the World: As investors have shown more interest in derivative income, Goldman has increasingly focused on helping them understand how the products work, Skulpone said. “In a really strong market, we expect them to underperform.”