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Is Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC - 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 - Small Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Nuveen. It has amassed assets over $1.21 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, NUSC seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG Small-Cap Index.
The TIAA ESG USA Small-Cap Index comprises of equity securities issued by small-capitalization companies listed on US exchanges.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.31% for NUSC, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.02%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 17.80% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Murphy Usd Inc (MUSA - Free Report) accounts for about 1.11% of the fund's total assets, followed by Service Corp Internationa (SCI - Free Report) and H & R Block Inc. (HRB - Free Report) .
NUSC's top 10 holdings account for about 8.24% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 8.54% and was up about 18.67% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/27/2024), respectively. NUSC has traded between $31.77 and $42.75 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 21.75% for the trailing three-year period. With about 526 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index and the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ - Free Report) tracks ----------------------------------------. IShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $12.91 billion in assets, JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF has $15.74 billion. ESGU has an expense ratio of 0.15% and JEPQ charges 0.35%.
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 - Small Cap Growth.
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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Is Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC - 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 - Small Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Nuveen. It has amassed assets over $1.21 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, NUSC seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG Small-Cap Index.
The TIAA ESG USA Small-Cap Index comprises of equity securities issued by small-capitalization companies listed on US exchanges.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.31% for NUSC, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.02%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 17.80% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Murphy Usd Inc (MUSA - Free Report) accounts for about 1.11% of the fund's total assets, followed by Service Corp Internationa (SCI - Free Report) and H & R Block Inc. (HRB - Free Report) .
NUSC's top 10 holdings account for about 8.24% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 8.54% and was up about 18.67% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/27/2024), respectively. NUSC has traded between $31.77 and $42.75 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 21.75% for the trailing three-year period. With about 526 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index and the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ - Free Report) tracks ----------------------------------------. IShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $12.91 billion in assets, JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF has $15.74 billion. ESGU has an expense ratio of 0.15% and JEPQ charges 0.35%.
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 - Small Cap Growth.
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.