NYLI Candriam U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF

NYLI Candriam U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (IQSM) is an index fund that holds about 250 mid-sized U.S. companies. It picks them from the Solactive GBS United States 400 Index using environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores from Candriam, and it excludes industries such as tobacco, gambling, alcohol and weapons. Its 0.15% expense ratio is higher than plain mid-cap index funds such as IJH (0.05%) and SPMD (0.03%).

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, IQSM returned +14.3%, 6th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+8.0%); its best was 2023 (+15.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 23.7% (Nov 25, 2024 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Dec 10, 2025.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 246 securities; the ten largest made up 9.24% of assets.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $2.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +3.07%, +4.00%, -1.53%.

The fund tracks the NYLIM Candriam U.S. Mid Cap Equity Index. New York Life's advisor builds the index itself, and Candriam acts as index consultant and runs the ESG selection. ESG stands for environmental, social and corporate governance. The starting pool is the Solactive GBS United States 400 Index, which covers the 400 largest U.S. mid-sized companies. As of June 30, 2026, the index's companies ranged from about $4 billion to $37.5 billion in market value.

Selection happens in two steps. First, Candriam scores each company only against others in its own industry. The scores cover how it treats customers, employees and suppliers, its environmental record and governance, and its exposure to trends such as climate change, digitalization and aging populations. Only the top 70% in each sector qualify. Second, the index drops companies with serious breaches of the UN Global Compact. It also drops companies involved beyond set limits in businesses such as tobacco, alcohol, gambling, weapons, nuclear, adult content or animal testing. As of June 30, 2026, 249 companies made it through.

Those companies are weighted by market value, but no single stock dominates: the top 10 made up 9.24% of assets as of July 31, 2026. The index is rebalanced every quarter. A company whose score slips into the 70%–80% band can stay in at a reduced weight for two more rebalances. The fund owns the stocks directly and uses no derivatives.

• IQSM charges 0.15% a year, versus an average of 0.1% for the similar funds below (7th 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 $15 in the first year and $192 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It adds mid-sized U.S. companies, which make up only a small part of most large-cap core funds, and filters them by ESG criteria.

IQSM has a short record. It launched in October 2022, after the 2008, 2020 and 2022 downturns, so it hasn't been tested in a deep bear market. Its worst calendar year was 2025, and even that was a gain of 8%. Its deepest drop was 23.7%, from November 25, 2024, to April 8, 2025. It took about eight months to recover, by December 10, 2025. Anyone who sold shares near that low to cover spending would have locked in the loss. The yield was 1.05% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, so this is not an income fund. Under the SEC's standard example, costs come to $15 on $10,000 in the first year, more than several plain mid-cap peers. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.