At a glance
NUEM charges 0.36% a year, above the 0.26% average of the 8 funds most like it (the 6th cheapest of 9). It has $372.8M in assets, the 9th largest of that group; it paid 3.21% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, annual. Over the past year it returned +9.5% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), 6th of those 9 funds; over three years it returned +19.4% a year. At its worst it fell 30.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 24 months after the low. Its ten largest positions make up 39.4% of the fund, out of 187 in all.
The short version
Nuveen ESG Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NUEM) tracks an index built by MSCI. The index picks emerging-market stocks with stronger environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores and leaves out businesses such as tobacco and weapons. Its 0.36% expense ratio is half the 0.72% of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) but well above the 0.09% of iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing alone made up 16.5% of assets as of July 31, 2026.
Price history
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NUEM +9.5% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NUEM official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +27.66% | — | +3.83% | — | +6.46% |
| NUEM price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +11.1% | +9.5% | +19.4% | +5.1% | — | +10.3% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, NUEM returned +9.5%, 6th of 9 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +5.1%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-19.7%); its best was 2025 (+27.1%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 39.5% (Feb 17, 2021 to Oct 24, 2022), recovered by Sep 11, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +11.1% | — |
| 2025 | +27.1% | +27.66% |
| 2024 | +9.8% | +8.64% |
| 2023 | +8.5% | +9.07% |
| 2022 | -19.7% | -19.25% |
| 2021 | -1.1% | -1.19% |
| 2020 | — | +24.56% |
| 2019 | — | +16.06% |
| 2018 | — | -16.74% |
| 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 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 28.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30.3%, back to its old high 23.7 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1.2700 | +122.8% |
| 2024 | $0.5700 | -10.9% |
| 2023 | $0.6400 | +33.3% |
| 2022 | $0.4800 | -39.2% |
| 2021 | $0.7900 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 187 securities; the ten largest made up 39.38% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd | 16.45% | |
| SK hynix Inc | 6.71% | |
| Tencent Holdings Ltd | 3.44% | |
| China Construction Bank Corp | 2.05% | |
| Lenovo Group Ltd | 1.86% | |
| SK Square Co Ltd | 1.85% | |
| Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd | 1.84% | |
| Delta Electronics Inc | 1.82% | |
| Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd | 1.76% | |
| United Microelectronics Corp | 1.61% | |
| Cathay Financial Holding Co Ltd | 1.60% | |
| Axis Bank Ltd | 1.45% | |
| Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd | 1.38% | |
| Asia Vital Components Co Ltd | 1.33% | |
| China Merchants Bank Co Ltd | 1.26% |
By country
Taiwan 27.11%Hong Kong 19.01%South Korea 18.53%India 11.37%China 4.7%By asset type
Stocks 99.66%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $0.00 (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.80%, -2.00%, -3.18%.
How it works
NUEM is an index fund. It aims to match the Nuveen ESG Emerging Markets Equity Index, which MSCI owns and calculates. The fund's managers have no say in which stocks go in. The index starts with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which held large and mid-sized companies in 24 countries as of the prospectus date. MSCI ESG Research scores each company against its industry peers on topics like climate change, waste, treatment of workers, product safety and business ethics. Companies with significant alcohol, tobacco, gambling, nuclear power or weapons businesses are excluded. So are companies above certain carbon thresholds.
Next, the remaining companies are ranked by ESG score within each sector. The highest scorers get in until they add up to 50% of that sector's market value in the starting index. Each stock is then weighted by its market value (its total share value), and the weights are adjusted so sector weights stay close to the broad index. This means the fund holds the higher-scoring half of each sector rather than skipping whole sectors.
The fund owns the stocks directly, in about the same proportions as the index. The index is rebalanced every quarter, in February, May, August and November. Portfolio turnover was 69%. As of July 31, 2026, the fund held 187 stocks and used no derivatives. Its 10 largest holdings made up 39.4% of assets. By country, Taiwan was 27.1%, Hong Kong 19.0%, South Korea 18.5% and India 11.4%.
What it really costs
- NUEM charges 0.36% a year, versus an average of 0.26% for the similar funds below (6th of 9, cheapest first).
- Of that, 0.35% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $37 in the first year and $456 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NUEM | $37 | $116 | $202 | $456 |
In a retirement portfolio
It adds ESG-screened emerging-market stocks, but its deep drops, swings above the overall market and heavy weight in a few Asian chipmakers make it better suited to a small slice than a core position.
NUEM could add exposure to emerging-market companies, many of them in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, to a portfolio built mostly on US stocks. It launched in 2017, so it has no 2008 record. Its worst quarter was a 22.42% loss in early 2020, and its worst calendar year was 2022, when it lost 19.25%. In the 2022 bear market it fell 30.3% and took nearly 24 months to recover. Its deepest drop was 39.5%, from February 2021 to October 2022, and it didn't recover until September 2025, about 35 months later. Someone forced to sell shares during a stretch like that would lock in losses.
The fund pays income once a year. Its trailing yield was 3.21% as of October 27, 2026. It costs 0.36% a year, which works out to $456 over 10 years in the SEC's standard $10,000 example. Past results don't predict future returns, and any plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want emerging-market stocks screened by MSCI ESG scores, with alcohol, tobacco, gambling, nuclear power and weapons businesses excluded.
- Those comfortable with heavy chipmaker exposure: Taiwan Semiconductor was 16.5% and SK hynix 6.7% of assets as of July 31, 2026.
- Long-term holders who can sit through deep drops, like the 39.5% fall from 2021 to 2022 that took about 35 months to recover.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-focused investors: Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) charges 0.07% and IEMG charges 0.09%, compared with NUEM's 0.36%.
- Retirees who need regular cash flow, since NUEM pays income once a year, with a 3.21% trailing yield as of October 27, 2026.
- Investors who prefer large funds: at $372.8 million in net assets as of July 31, 2026, NUEM was the smallest of nine comparable funds.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NUEM this fund | — | 0.36% | $372.8M | +9.5% | +19.4% |
| EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | 42% | 0.72% | $31.21B | +12.7% | +20.3% |
| EMXC iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF | 40% | 0.25% | $24.92B | +27.3% | +24.6% |
| IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | 37% | 0.09% | $160.90B | +11.7% | +19.8% |
| SCHE Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF | 36% | 0.11% | $13.00B | +4.4% | +16.7% |
| VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | 34% | 0.07% | $162.04B | +3.3% | +16.8% |
| SPEM SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF | 31% | 0.07% | $17.31B | +5.0% | +16.8% |
| DFEM Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 … | 28% | 0.39% | $8.96B | +14.6% | +21.4% |
Questions investors ask
Is NUEM good for retirement?
NUEM may suit retirement investors who want a small, higher-risk slice of emerging-market stocks with ESG screens. It is volatile. Its three-year volatility was 20.9% as of October 27, 2026, and it once fell 39.5% and took about 35 months to recover. It pays income only once a year and costs 0.36% a year. For many retirement plans, that profile fits a satellite position better than a core holding.
What's the difference between NUEM and EEM?
The main differences are the ESG screen and the cost. NUEM keeps only the higher-ESG-scoring companies in each sector and excludes some industries, and it charges 0.36% a year. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) charges 0.72%. The two funds share about 42% of their holdings. EEM is also far larger, with $31.2 billion in net assets as of August 31, 2026. EEM's one-year return was 12.3% as of October 30, 2026. NUEM's was 9.5% as of October 27, 2026.
How often does NUEM pay dividends?
NUEM pays its income once a year, not monthly or quarterly. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid $1.27 per share, a trailing yield of 3.21%. The amount depends on dividends from its emerging-market holdings and on currency moves. A strong US dollar lowers the dollar value of that foreign income, so the payout can change a lot from one year to the next.
How has NUEM performed over time?
Results have been uneven. The prospectus reports a 27.66% return for 2025 and losses of 16.74% in 2018 and 19.25% in 2022. As of December 31, 2025, the fund's average annual return was 3.83% over five years and 6.46% since its 2017 launch. Based on prices, it returned 9.5% over the year to October 27, 2026, which ranked sixth of nine comparable funds.
What is NUEM's expense ratio?
NUEM's expense ratio is 0.36% a year, according to the prospectus filed February 26, 2026. Of that, 0.35% is the management fee. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $37 in the first year and $456 over 10 years. The average for comparable emerging-market funds is 0.26%, and some large index funds charge less than 0.10%.