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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) made its debut on 12/13/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large 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.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Nuveen. NULG has been able to amass assets over $1.31 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
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.26%.
NULG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.40%.
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.
For NULG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 26.80% of the portfolio --while Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 10.79% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alphabet Inc-Cl A (GOOGL - Free Report) and Alphabet Inc-Cl C (GOOG - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 39.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 6.64% and it's up approximately 38.19% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/29/2024), respectively. NULG has traded between $54.25 and $76.81 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 21.86% for the trailing three-year period. With about 77 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 $12.30 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $12.32 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) made its debut on 12/13/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large 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.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Nuveen. NULG has been able to amass assets over $1.31 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
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.26%.
NULG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.40%.
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.
For NULG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 26.80% of the portfolio --while Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 10.79% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alphabet Inc-Cl A (GOOGL - Free Report) and Alphabet Inc-Cl C (GOOG - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 39.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 6.64% and it's up approximately 38.19% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/29/2024), respectively. NULG has traded between $54.25 and $76.81 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 21.86% for the trailing three-year period. With about 77 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 $12.30 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $12.32 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.