At a glance
FEUS charges 0.09% a year, below the 0.1% average of the 8 funds most like it (the 5th cheapest of 9). It has $112.0M in assets, the 9th largest of that group; it paid 0.97% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +14.7% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), the best of those 9 funds; over three years it returned +23.4% a year. At its worst it fell 25.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 14 months after the low. Its ten largest positions make up 38.9% of the fund, out of 176 in all.
The short version
FlexShares ESG & Climate US Large Cap Core Index Fund (FEUS) tracks a Northern Trust index of large US stocks that drops tobacco, weapons and thermal coal companies, then tilts toward better ESG (environmental, social and governance) scores and lower carbon emissions. It charges 0.09% a year, near the 0.10% average for similar funds, but with about $112 million in assets as of July 31, 2026, it is the smallest in that group.
Price history
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FEUS +14.7% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FEUS official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +14.49% | — | — | — | +11.20% |
| Russell1000Index index, same period | — | +17.37% | — | — | — | +11.97% |
| Sand P500Index index, same period | — | +17.88% | — | — | — | +12.78% |
| Northern Trust ESG And Climate US Large Cap Core Index index, same period | — | +14.62% | — | — | — | +11.29% |
| FEUS price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +14.5% | +14.7% | +23.4% | +11.3% | — | +12.1% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, FEUS returned +14.7%, 1st of 9 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +11.3%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-19.1%); its best was 2023 (+25.6%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 25.3% (Dec 29, 2021 to Oct 12, 2022), recovered by Dec 18, 2023.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +14.5% | — |
| 2025 | +14.7% | +14.49% |
| 2024 | +23.1% | +23.12% |
| 2023 | +25.6% | +25.53% |
| 2022 | -19.1% | -19.04% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 25.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 25.3%, back to its old high 14.2 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.6000 | |
| 2025 | $0.7900 | +5.3% |
| 2024 | $0.7500 | -2.6% |
| 2023 | $0.7700 | +18.5% |
| 2022 | $0.6500 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 176 securities; the ten largest made up 38.93% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp. | 7.61% | |
| Apple, Inc. | 7.33% | |
| Microsoft Corp. | 5.48% | |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 4.31% | |
| Alphabet, Inc. Class A | 3.39% | |
| Alphabet, Inc. Class C | 2.93% | |
| Broadcom, Inc. | 2.22% | |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 2.19% | |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. | 1.78% | |
| Tesla, Inc. | 1.70% | |
| Visa, Inc. | 1.65% | |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1.60% | |
| Micron Technology, Inc. | 1.48% | |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | 1.43% | |
| Mastercard, Inc. | 1.38% |
By country
United States 95.88%Ireland 2.06%Netherlands 0.55%Canada 0.31%Curaçao 0.3%By asset type
Stocks 99.44%RA 0.01%By sector
Sectors of the companies held, for the 91.8% of the fund in companies that have a stock page here; other holdings and cash aren't classified. Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Jul 31, 2026. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $4.0M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.81%, -1.65%, +1.05%.
How it works
FEUS tracks the Northern Trust ESG & Climate US Large Cap Core Index. Northern Trust builds that index and also manages the fund. The starting point is the Northern Trust 600 Index, a group of large US companies weighted by float-adjusted market value. That means a company's size counts only the shares that are freely available to trade. Using third-party data, the index then drops companies tied to tobacco, weapons, thermal coal, unconventional oil and gas or for-profit prisons. It also drops companies linked to violations of international norms.
Next, an optimization process sets the weights. It keeps the index's ups and downs close to the 600-stock universe while raising its overall ESG Vector Score, which ranks companies using Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards. It also improves carbon risk ratings and cuts carbon intensity and potential emissions, using data from Institutional Shareholder Services. Limits on sectors, industries, weights and turnover keep the index near the broad market. The targets apply to the index as a whole, so some individual holdings may score worse.
The index is rebuilt every quarter. The fund uses representative sampling, so it may not hold every stock in the index. It held 176 issuers as of July 31, 2026. At least 80% of assets go into index securities. The rest can go to cash, futures or other stocks. The fund may also lend out securities, and it is legally non-diversified.
What it really costs
- FEUS charges 0.09% a year, versus an average of 0.1% for the similar funds below (5th of 9, cheapest first).
- The fee includes a 0.01% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $9 in the first year and $127 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FEUS | $9 | $31 | $55 | $127 |
In a retirement portfolio
It holds a broad basket of large US companies and moved almost in step with the market, with a one-year beta of 0.97 as of October 27, 2026.
FEUS launched in September 2021, so it has no record from the 2008 or 2020 crashes. In the 2022 bear market it fell 25.3% between January 3 and October 12, 2022, its deepest drop. It took about 14 months to recover, getting back to its old high on December 18, 2023. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -19.04%. Anyone who had to sell shares in late 2022 would have locked in those losses. Income is modest. The trailing yield was 0.97% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. Costs are low: 0.09% a year, or $127 over 10 years in the SEC's standard $10,000 example. The ESG tilt can also cause the fund to lag the market. It returned 14.49% in 2025, against 17.88% for the S&P 500. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want broad US large-cap stocks with ESG and carbon screens for 0.09% a year, below the 0.10% peer average.
- Holders comfortable with a tech-heavy portfolio: NVIDIA, Apple and Microsoft made up about 20% of assets as of July 31, 2026.
- Long-term investors who can sit through drops like the 25.3% fall in 2022, which took about 14 months to recover.
Look elsewhere if
- Income seekers: the trailing yield was just 0.97% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly.
- Investors who want to match the S&P 500: FEUS returned 14.49% in 2025, against 17.88% for that index.
- Those who prefer large, widely held funds: at about $112 million in assets, FEUS is the smallest of nine similar funds.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FEUS this fund | — | 0.09% | $112.0M | +14.7% | +23.4% |
| USCL iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI… | 62% | 0.08% | $2.87B | +9.2% | +23.1% |
| USCA Xtrackers MSCI USA Climate Action Equity ETF | 62% | 0.07% | $3.52B | +9.2% | +23.2% |
| MGC Vanguard Mega Cap ETF | 62% | 0.07% | $10.90B | +13.5% | +26.0% |
| ESGU iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF | 62% | 0.15% | $18.15B | +11.0% | +21.6% |
| IWL iShares Russell Top 200 ETF | 62% | 0.15% | $2.19B | +12.5% | +25.5% |
| BKLC BNY Mellon US Large Cap Core Equity ETF | 61% | 0% | $5.47B | +13.4% | +25.4% |
| SPYX SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF | 61% | 0.2% | $2.74B | +12.6% | +24.8% |
Questions investors ask
Is FEUS good for retirement?
FEUS could work as a core US stock holding for retirees who want ESG and climate screens. It holds large US companies, costs 0.09% a year and moves much like the market. Its one-year beta was 0.97 as of October 27, 2026 (a beta of 1.0 means moving in step with the market). It is still all stocks, though. It fell 25.3% in 2022 and needed about 14 months to recover, and its 0.97% yield offers little income.
What is the FEUS expense ratio?
The expense ratio is 0.09% a year, according to the prospectus filed February 25, 2026. In the SEC's standard example of $10,000 earning 5% a year, total costs come to about $9 after one year, $31 after three, $55 after five and $127 after ten. That is close to SPY at 0.0945%, slightly above USCL at 0.08%, and below ESGU at 0.15%.
FEUS vs ESGU: what's the difference?
Both hold ESG-tilted US large-cap stocks, and their holdings overlap by about 62%. They differ in cost, size and approach. ESGU, from iShares, follows an MSCI index and charges 0.15%, against 0.09% for FEUS. ESGU had about $18.1 billion in assets as of August 31, 2026. FEUS had about $112 million as of July 31, 2026. FEUS also has explicit carbon targets. Over one year, FEUS returned 14.7% through October 27, 2026, and ESGU returned 12.1% through October 30, 2026.
Does FEUS pay dividends?
Yes. FEUS pays dividends quarterly, but the amounts are small. Over the 12 months through October 27, 2026, it paid $0.82 per share, a yield of 0.97%. That reflects its heavy weighting in large technology companies, which tend to pay low dividends. Investors who want regular income usually look at funds built around dividend-paying stocks or bonds.
Has FEUS beaten the S&P 500?
No, not since it launched. As of December 31, 2025, FEUS returned 11.20% a year since its September 2021 start, against 12.78% for the S&P 500. Over the year 2025 it returned 14.49%, against 17.88%. Its own index returned 14.62% that year, so most of the gap comes from the ESG and carbon tilt, not from tracking errors. Screened funds can lag or lead the broad market for long stretches.