Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Nuveen ESG MidCap Value ETF (NUMV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Nuveen ESG MidCap 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?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option 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.

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 managed by Nuveen. NUMV has been able to amass assets over $345.51 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Value. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Value Index before fees and expenses.

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

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.30% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

NUMV's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 5.48%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For NUMV, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 17.20% of the portfolio --while Real Estate and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Vici Properties Inc (VICI - Free Report) accounts for about 2.44% of total assets, followed by Oneok Inc (OKE - Free Report) and Baker Hughes Co (BKR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 21.04% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, NUMV has gained about 5.58%, and is down about -11.01% in the last one year (as of 01/18/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $28.38 and $36.91.

The fund has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 28.62% for the trailing three-year period. With about 81 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Nuveen ESG MidCap 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.

IShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF (ESGD - Free Report) tracks MSCI EAFE ESG Focus Index and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. IShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF has $7.23 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $19.82 billion. ESGD has an expense ratio of 0.20% 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.

Published in