EFIV vs NUMG

EFIVAState Street SPDR S&P 500 ESG ETF

NUMGCNuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth

In short

EFIV A screened S&P 500 that still looks like one. EFIV trims to about 300 names on ESG criteria but holds industry-group weights close to the parent index, for 0.10% a year.

NUMG Most mid-cap index funds go wide. NUMG goes narrow: ESG and growth screens distill the middle of the US market down to about 40 names, tracked through an index Nuveen built in-house.

Stated mandate

EFIV The Fund seeks to track an index of securities selected using environmental, social, and governance sustainability criteria while retaining industry-group weights broadly similar to the S&P 500 Index.

NUMG The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Nuveen ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index. The index targets U.S.-listed mid-cap equities with growth characteristics and ESG criteria.

Why people hold it

• EFIV Charges 0.10% a year, well under the 0.25% typical of its values-screened peer group.
• Keeps industry-group weights broadly similar to the S&P 500, so the screen changes which names you own more than which sectors.
• Tracks its declared index very tightly, one of the cleaner implementations in its cohort.
• Straightforward 1940 Act index fund from SPDR, running since 2020, distributing quarterly.

• NUMG About 40 holdings makes this a concentrated sleeve, not a broad market proxy. Each name carries real weight, so the ESG and growth screens actually show up in the portfolio.
• Rules, not vibes. It tracks the Nuveen ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index, so the sustainability screens and growth tilt are written into the index rather than left to a manager's judgment.
• One ticker for a corner the mid-cap aisle mostly skips: US mid-caps filtered for both ESG and growth, while the cohort's biggest names are broad core trackers.
• Trading since December 2016, so there's a live multi-year record behind the strategy instead of a backtest and a launch deck.

Worth knowing

• EFIV About 300 stocks, not 500. The screens remove names, so results can diverge from the headline S&P 500.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist: XVV at 0.08% and ESGV at 0.09% undercut it on fee.
• Mid-size asset base and moderate trading volume, which can mean wider spreads than the mega-cap index giants.

• NUMG At 0.31% it runs about double the mid-cap cohort median of 0.15%, and broad trackers like VO and SCHM sit near 0.03%. The screening is what you're paying for.
• Thinly traded next to the category's heavyweights, so spreads deserve a look and limit orders do more work here than on a mega-fund.
• About 40 growth-tilted names cuts both ways: single-stock stumbles and style swings land harder than in a broad mid-cap index. Payouts come annually or semiannually, not monthly.

Full EFIV profile⁠

Full NUMG profile⁠