A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF (NUMV) debuted on 12/13/2016, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value 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.
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.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as 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
NUMV is managed by Nuveen, and this fund has amassed over $439.18 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Value. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Value Index before fees and expenses.
The Nuveen ESG USA Mid-Cap Value Index primarily 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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.31%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.00%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 18.4% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) accounts for about 2.52% of the fund's total assets, followed by Baker Hughes Co (BKR) and Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.67% of NUMV's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 12.76% and it's up approximately 19.89% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/06/2026), respectively. NUMV has traded between $35.99 and $44.09 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 14.53% for the trailing three-year period. With about 95 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could 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 $13.1 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.66 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 Value
Bottom Line
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Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF (NUMV): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).