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Is Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 12/13/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth category of the market.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix 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 sponsored by Nuveen. It has amassed assets over $1.28 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.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.92%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 20.2% of the portfolio. Industrials and Financials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Ati Inc (ATI) accounts for about 1.32% of the fund's total assets, followed by Td Synnex Corp (SNX) and Sterling Infrastructure (STRL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.97% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 14.18% so far this year and is up roughly 21.42% in the last one year (as of 07/24/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $40.43 and $52.12
NUSC has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 19.21% for the trailing three-year period. With about 412 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF Shares (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 Shares has $12.91 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.57 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 - 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?
Making its debut on 12/13/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth category of the market.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix 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 sponsored by Nuveen. It has amassed assets over $1.28 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.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.92%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 20.2% of the portfolio. Industrials and Financials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Ati Inc (ATI) accounts for about 1.32% of the fund's total assets, followed by Td Synnex Corp (SNX) and Sterling Infrastructure (STRL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.97% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 14.18% so far this year and is up roughly 21.42% in the last one year (as of 07/24/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $40.43 and $52.12
NUSC has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 19.21% for the trailing three-year period. With about 412 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF Shares (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 Shares has $12.91 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.57 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 - 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.