Nuveen Launches 3 Active ETFs

Nuveen is returning to the ETF launchpad with a trio of funds modeled after three of its mutual funds.

The asset manager launched the Nuveen Small Cap Select ETF (NSCS), the Nuveen Dividend Growth ETF (NDVG) and the Nuveen Winslow Large-Cap Growth ESG ETF (NWLG) on Thursday on the NYSE Arca.

The ETFs follow the same strategies respectively used by Nuveen’s Small Cap Select Fund, Santa Barbara Dividend Growth Fund and Winslow Large-Cap Growth ESG Fund, but within the structure of a semitransparent ETF wrapper. Those three mutual funds have respectively produced year-to-date returns of 20.89%, 15.09% and 19.64% as of Wednesday morning.

All three ETFs are cheaper than their Class I mutual fund counterparts, with NSCS undercutting its sibling fund by 14 basis points at 0.85%, while NWLG undercuts its sibling fund by just 1 basis point at 0.64%. NDVG carries a 0.64% expense ratio, while its counterpart charges 0.70%.

Accessing Same Strategies

Nuveen Head of ETF Product Jordan Farris said the launches are meant to give customers access to the same strategies as the original mutual funds, but within the ETF wrapper if they so choose.

“We want to meet clients where they want to be met,” he said.

While the concept of converting the mutual funds into ETFs directly was “interesting,” Farris said Nuveen opted to launch separate ETFs in the interest of customer choice.

The funds are Nuveen’s first foray into active management, with the existing 13 ETFs in its stable all index-based. Its most recent fund, the Nuveen ESG High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NUHY), was launched in September 2019.

Nuveen is planning to continue adding to its ETF roster, with launches planned for later this year.

Contact Dan Mika at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter