Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NUMG) tracks an MSCI index of mid-sized U.S. growth companies that score well on environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures. It holds about 40 stocks. Its 0.31% annual fee is higher than plain mid-cap growth funds such as Vanguard's VOT at 0.07%. It has also trailed the broad market: 0.63% in 2025, against 17.75% for the MSCI USA Index.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, NUMG returned -6.3%, 6th of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was -1.6%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-28.3%); its best was 2023 (+20.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 38.7% (Nov 16, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022), not yet recovered.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 43 securities; the ten largest made up 33.12% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $21.3M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +7.00%, -0.65%, -2.07%.

NUMG is an index fund. It tries to match the Nuveen ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index, which MSCI owns and calculates, and the fund's managers don't pick stocks. The index starts from the MSCI USA Mid-Cap Growth Index. That is a group of mid-sized U.S. companies chosen for growth traits such as forecast earnings growth, past earnings growth and sales growth. As of December 31, 2025, those companies ranged from $4.8 billion to $40.9 billion in float-adjusted market value, which counts only shares available to investors.

Next come the ESG screens, based on scores from MSCI ESG Research. Companies with significant businesses in alcohol, tobacco, nuclear power, gambling, or weapons and firearms are removed, along with those above certain carbon thresholds. The rest are ranked against peers in their sector. The highest scorers get in until they add up to half of that sector's market value in the starting index. Stocks are weighted by size, then adjusted so sector weights roughly match the starting index. The index had 41 stocks as of December 31, 2025, with a large share in information technology.

The index rebalances every quarter, in February, May, August and November, and the fund trades soon after. Portfolio turnover was 95%: the fund's trading over the year added up to almost its whole portfolio, which can raise trading costs. There is no leverage and there are no options or derivatives. Stocks made up nearly 100% of assets as of July 31, 2026.

• NUMG charges 0.31% a year, versus an average of 0.24% for the similar funds below (5th of 7, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.3% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $32 in the first year and $393 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a concentrated, ESG-screened basket of about 40 mid-sized growth stocks with large past drops and almost no income, so it fits as a smaller add-on rather than a core holding.

NUMG could add mid-sized U.S. growth companies with an ESG filter, but it behaves like a high-risk slice. In the 2022 bear market it fell 32.9% and needed about 25 months, until November 2024, to recover. Its deepest drop was 38.7%, from November 2021 to October 2022, and it had not been fully recovered as of October 27, 2026. Its worst calendar year was 2022, down 28.2%. The fund didn't exist in 2008, and price data doesn't cover the 2020 crash. Selling shares in a year like 2022 would lock in steep losses. Income is minimal: the yield was 0.02% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year. In the SEC's standard $10,000 example, costs come to $32 after one year and $393 after ten. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).