Launched on 12/13/2016, the Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF (NULV Quick QuoteNULV - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large 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.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

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

The fund is sponsored by Nuveen. It has amassed assets over $1.78 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. NULV seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Value Index before fees and expenses.

The Nuveen ESG USA Large-Cap Value Index composes of equity securities issued by large capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges.

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.

Annual operating expenses for NULV are 0.26%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.93%.

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.

For NULV, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 22.2% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Procter & Gamble Co/the (PG) accounts for about 2.61% of total assets, followed by Bank Of America Corp (BAC) and International Business Ma (IBM).

NULV's top 10 holdings account for about 22.35% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, NULV has gained about 8.46%, and it's up approximately 11.83% in the last one year (as of 08/15/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $36.02 and $43.28.

The fund has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 14.28% for the trailing three-year period. With about 108 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV) tracks FTSE US ALL CAP CHOICE INDEX and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF has $11.13 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $14.28 billion. ESGV has an expense ratio of 0.09% and ESGU changes 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 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.