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Is Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (NULG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (NULG - Free Report) was launched on 12/13/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
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
Managed by Nuveen, NULG has amassed assets over $1.27 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, NULG seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Growth Index.
The TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Growth Index is comprised of equity securities of large capitalization companies listed on US exchanges & meet ESG criteria & exhibit overall growth style characteristics based on long-term forward EPS growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend & long-term historical sales per share growth trend.
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.
Annual operating expenses for NULG are 0.26%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.40%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 27.70% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 6.75% of total assets, followed by Tesla Inc (TSLA - Free Report) and Alphabet Inc-Cl C (GOOG - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 35.95% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 6.23% so far this year and was up about 40.25% in the last one year (as of 02/28/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $51.14 and $74.09.
The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 22.28% for the trailing three-year period. With about 82 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
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 $10.47 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $13.44 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 - Large 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 Large-Cap Growth ETF (NULG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (NULG - Free Report) was launched on 12/13/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
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
Managed by Nuveen, NULG has amassed assets over $1.27 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, NULG seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Growth Index.
The TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Growth Index is comprised of equity securities of large capitalization companies listed on US exchanges & meet ESG criteria & exhibit overall growth style characteristics based on long-term forward EPS growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend & long-term historical sales per share growth trend.
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.
Annual operating expenses for NULG are 0.26%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.40%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 27.70% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 6.75% of total assets, followed by Tesla Inc (TSLA - Free Report) and Alphabet Inc-Cl C (GOOG - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 35.95% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 6.23% so far this year and was up about 40.25% in the last one year (as of 02/28/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $51.14 and $74.09.
The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 22.28% for the trailing three-year period. With about 82 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
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 $10.47 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $13.44 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 - Large 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.