Making its debut on 12/13/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NUMG) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth 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.
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.
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.
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
Managed by Nuveen, NUMG has amassed assets over $358.96 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index.
The Nuveen ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index composes of equity securities issued by mid-capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges.
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.31%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.01%.
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 NUMG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 24.8% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Carvana Co (CVNA) accounts for about 4.59% of the fund's total assets, followed by Idexx Laboratories Inc (IDXX) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals I (ALNY).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 35.75% of NUMG's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF has lost about -8.59% so far, and is down about -11.86% over the last 12 months (as of 02/09/2026). NUMG has traded between $37.77 $49.54 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 19.24% for the trailing three-year period. With about 42 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
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 $11.81 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $15.79 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 - Mid 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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Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NUMG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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