ESMV vs USMV

ESMVCiShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

USMVAiShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

In short

ESMV Minimum volatility with an ESG conscience. ESMV runs MSCI's low-vol optimizer across US large and mid caps, then pushes the result toward better ESG characteristics and lower carbon than the parent index, for 0.18% a year.

USMV The household name in low-volatility investing. Since 2011 USMV has tracked an MSCI index built around U.S. stocks with calmer price behavior, holding roughly 160 names for 0.15% a year.

Stated mandate

ESMV The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization equities designed to have lower volatility, reduced carbon exposure, and improved environmental, social, and governance characteristics relative to the parent index.

USMV The fund seeks to track an index targeting U.S. stocks with lower-volatility characteristics.

Why people hold it

• ESMV 0.18% a year, which undercuts what the typical US factor fund in its peer group charges.
• Two mandates in one ticker: MSCI's minimum volatility optimization plus ESG and reduced-carbon constraints measured against the MSCI USA parent index.ishares.com
• Roughly 160 US large and mid caps, chosen by published index rules rather than a manager's hunch, with cash paid out quarterly.
• Lands in the upper half of the US factor funds we grade, on the strength of its cheap fee and broad, diversified book.

• USMV Costs 0.15% a year, below the typical fee in its low-volatility peer group.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
• Running since 2011 on a published MSCI rulebook, with one of the stronger implementations among U.S. low-vol funds.ishares.com
• Straightforward plumbing: index-tracked U.S. stocks, quarterly distributions, no derivatives layer to decode.

Worth knowing

• ESMV One of the lighter-traded names in its factor cohort, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than at the category's household-name funds.
• Minimum volatility aims to dampen swings, not to prevent losses, and stacking an ESG and carbon screen on top pulls the portfolio further from plain US beta.
• Launched in 2021, so its live record covers a shorter stretch than the older min-vol funds it competes with.

• USMV Not the cheapest ticket in the aisle. QLV and LGLV both undercut it on fee.
• "Minimum volatility" describes how the index picks and weights stocks, not a floor under losses. This is still a fully invested equity fund.
• Roughly 160 holdings is a far narrower slice than a total-market fund, so results can drift from the broad U.S. index in either direction.

Full ESMV profile⁠

Full USMV profile⁠