Is Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NUMG) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth category of the market, the Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NUMG) 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.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option 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.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Nuveen, and has been able to amass over $420.20 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses.

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

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.31%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

NUMG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.06%.

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.

Representing 27.20% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) accounts for about 4.51% of the fund's total assets, followed by Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Grainger W.w. Inc. (GWW).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 35.26% of NUMG's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF has added roughly 0.87% so far, and was up about 14.29% over the last 12 months (as of 06/04/2025). NUMG has traded between $37.77 and $51.47 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 22.44% for the trailing three-year period. With about 44 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 $10.24 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $13.48 billion. ESGV has an expense ratio of 0.09% 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 - 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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