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Is Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth category of the market, the Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/13/2016.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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. NUSC has been able to amass assets over $1.20 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Growth. NUSC, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG Small-Cap Index.
The Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index composed of equity securities issued by small-capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.31% for NUSC, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
For NUSC, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 19% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, East West Bancorp Inc (EWBC - Free Report) accounts for about 1% of the fund's total assets, followed by Murphy Usd Inc (MUSA - Free Report) and Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR - Free Report) .
NUSC's top 10 holdings account for about 8.15% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF has lost about -4.14% so far, and was up about 1.58% over the last 12 months (as of 03/06/2025). NUSC has traded between $38.12 and $46.20 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 21.14% for the trailing three-year period. With about 503 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 $13.45 billion in assets, JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF has $23.09 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?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth category of the market, the Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/13/2016.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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. NUSC has been able to amass assets over $1.20 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Growth. NUSC, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG Small-Cap Index.
The Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index composed of equity securities issued by small-capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.31% for NUSC, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
For NUSC, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 19% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, East West Bancorp Inc (EWBC - Free Report) accounts for about 1% of the fund's total assets, followed by Murphy Usd Inc (MUSA - Free Report) and Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR - Free Report) .
NUSC's top 10 holdings account for about 8.15% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF has lost about -4.14% so far, and was up about 1.58% over the last 12 months (as of 03/06/2025). NUSC has traded between $38.12 and $46.20 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 21.14% for the trailing three-year period. With about 503 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 $13.45 billion in assets, JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF has $23.09 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.