Launched on 12/13/2016, the Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF (NULV) 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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 managed by Nuveen. NULV has been able to amass assets over $1.69 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund 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
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.26%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.01%.
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 23.30% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Coca Cola Co. (KO) accounts for about 2.58% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mcdonald's Corp. (MCD) and International Business Ma (IBM).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.6% of NULV's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, NULV return is roughly 4.22%, and is up about 11.16% in the last one year (as of 06/12/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $36.02 and $43.28.
The ETF has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 14.75% for the trailing three-year period. With about 111 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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 $10.31 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $13.51 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 - 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.
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Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF (NULV): ETF Research Reports International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Free Stock Analysis Report CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report McDonald's Corporation (MCD): Free Stock Analysis Report iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU): ETF Research Reports Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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