ESML vs USCL

ESMLBiShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF

USCLAiShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF

In short

ESML Most ESG funds stop at the S&P 500. ESML takes the same iShares screen down the cap ladder: roughly 900 smaller US companies, ranked on ESG profile, at a price below the category median.

USCL Most ESG index funds work by exclusion. USCL scores roughly 400 US large and mid caps on where they're heading instead: emissions intensity, reduction targets, green revenue. And it charges 0.08% a year to do it.

Stated mandate

ESML The fund seeks to track an index of small-cap U.S. companies with favorable ESG profiles, aiming to provide ESG-focused core equity exposure.

USCL The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization companies selected for their relative positioning on the transition to a low-carbon economy, using climate-related measures such as emissions intensity, reduction targets, green-business revenue, and climate-risk management.

Why people hold it

• ESML Small-cap ESG is a thin shelf. The other top-graded names in the category (SNPE, EFIV, XVV) are S&P 500 builds; ESML fishes in the part of the market they skip.
• 0.17% a year, under the 0.25% category median, for an index that holds roughly 900 names rather than a short list of screen survivors.
• Live since 2018, now a multi-billion-dollar fund paying quarterly, and one of the stronger implementations in its ESG peer group.

• USCL At 0.08% a year, it matches the cheapest fund in its ESG cohort (XVV) and undercuts ESGV, SNPE, EFIV and ESGU.ishares.com
• The index doesn't just screen out offenders. It selects on transition evidence: emissions intensity, reduction targets, green-business revenue, climate-risk management.ishares.com
• About 400 US large and mid caps, so it reads as core equity exposure with a climate tilt, not a narrow clean-energy sector bet.
• A multi-billion-dollar iShares fund that sticks tightly to the MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index, one of the cleaner implementations in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• ESML These are small companies, so the ride is bumpier than the S&P 500-based ESG funds sitting next to it in the category.
• MSCI does the judging. The Extended ESG Focus index scores and re-weights companies rather than simply banning industries, so the holdings may not match your own definition.
• Volume is moderate, not the constant flow of the big large-cap ESG names, which matters more on large or hurried orders.

• USCL Trading is thin for a fund this size, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the standard tool here.
• Climate scoring reshapes the sector and name mix, so results can diverge from a plain US large-cap index in either direction.
• Launched in 2023, so its history is short next to the older ESG funds it competes with.

Full ESML profile⁠

Full USCL profile⁠