NuShares Adds More ESG ETFs

Nuveen's NuShares unit, the investment manager's exchange-traded funds arm, added to its lineup of environmental, social and governance ETFs Wednesday with two new products.

Wednesday, Nuveen launched the NuShares ESG International Developed Markets Equity ETF NUDM and NuShares ESG Emerging Markets Equity ETF NUEM.

2 New ESG ETFs

The NuShares ESG International Developed Markets Equity ETF tracks the TIAA ESG International Developed Markets Equity Index. That index is an ESG-based offshoot of the widely followed MSCI EAFE Index, one of the most widely followed gauges of ex-US developed markets stocks.

The NuShares ESG Emerging Markets Equity ETF follows the TIAA ESG Emerging Markets Equity Index. That benchmark is comprised of companies from the popular MSCI Emerging Markets Index that meet certain ESG criteria.

ESG ETFs are increasingly popular with investors, a theme Nuveen has been emphasizing in recent months.

“We’ve certainly seen that investor motivations for adopting responsible investment approaches to managing their money are on the rise,” said Amy O’Brien, managing director and head of responsible investment at TIAA Investments, in a statement.

Why Integrate ESG ETFs Into Your Portfolio?

“Investors large and small are beginning to understand that the integration of environmental, social and governance factors within their investment portfolios actually has the potential to reduce risk and enhance long-term investment performance,” O'Brien said. “Those advisors and consultants who can assist their clients in evaluating the significant differences among available ESG products and strategies in order to select those that are an appropriate fit, will prove themselves to be invaluable.”

NUDM charges 0.4 percent per year while NUEM charges 0.45 percent, or the equivalent of $45 per $10,000 invested.

“The environmental assessment category can include a company’s impact on climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management, according to the prospectus sheet,” reported ETF Trends. “Social evaluation categories include a company’s relations with employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance assessment categories can include a company’s corporate governance practices and business ethics.”

With the addition of NUDM and NEUM, NuShares now offers 10 ETFs, including six ESG strategies.