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?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Nuveen. It has amassed assets over $367.38 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, NUMG 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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for NUMG are 0.31%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.01%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For NUMG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 30.4% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Datadog Inc (DDOG) accounts for about 4.72% of the fund's total assets, followed by Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Comfort Systems Usa Inc (FIX).
NUMG's top 10 holdings account for about 33.4% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 1.04% so far this year and is up roughly 0.17% in the last one year (as of 08/19/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $39.77 and $49.46
NUMG has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 19.77% 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 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 $13.53 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $18.21 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.
Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF Insights
Zacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week.
Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!
Get it now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NUMG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
