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Is Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF (NUMV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF (NUMV - Free Report) made its debut on 12/13/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Nuveen. NUMV has been able to amass assets over $332.28 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, NUMV seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Value Index.

The TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Value Index comprises of equity securities issued by mid- capitalization companies listed on US exchanges. It uses a rules-based methodology that seeks to provide investment exposure that generally replicates mid-cap value benchmarks through a portfolio of securities that adhere to predetermined ESG, controversial business involvement and low-carbon screening criteria.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.31%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.23%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Representing 17.70% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, United Rentals Inc (URI - Free Report) accounts for about 2.49% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ferguson Plc and Oneok Inc (OKE - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 20.49% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF has lost about -1.08% so far, and is down about -3.17% over the last 12 months (as of 02/05/2024). NUMV has traded between $26.41 and $32.46 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 18.91% for the trailing three-year period. With about 88 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF has $9.66 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $13.37 billion. JEPQ has an expense ratio of 0.35% and ESGU charges 0.15%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Mid Cap Value.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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