ETF Evaluator:
Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF ()
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(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Intermediate Core Bond Over the Last Year
| 7.3% | Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF (JUCY) |
| 6.6% | SGI Enhanced Core ETF (USDX) |
| 5.9% | Hartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETF (HTAB) |
| 5.1% | Overlay Shares Core Bond ETF (OVB) |
| 4.8% | NEOS Enhanced Income Aggregate Bond ETF (BNDI) |
Risk
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Risk
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ETF Details
Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF Overview
Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF (NUBD) is a passively managed Taxable Bond Intermediate Core Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). Nuveen launched the ETF in 2017.
The investment seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the Bloomberg MSCI U.S. Aggregate ESG Select Index (the "index").
Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in component securities of the index. The index utilizes certain environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") criteria to select from the securities included in the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (the "base index"), which is designed to broadly capture the U.S. investment grade, taxable fixed income market.
About Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF (NUBD)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.60 years: James Tsang (2021) and Joseph Spinelli (2026). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg MSCI US Agg ESG Select TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF has 2411 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 10.4% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF has 7.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 99.6% (92.0% domestic bond, 7.6% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF has 0.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $463 million in total assets, which is below the $6 billion average for the Intermediate Core Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
NUBD Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Intermediate Core Bond category. Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF has an expense ratio of 0.12%, which is 63% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 10%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 95% for the Intermediate Core Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF returned -1.3%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Intermediate Core Bond category had an average return of -1.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF has a trailing yield of 4.07%, which is below the 4.44% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Nuveen ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned -0.6%, 0.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 2.5% over the past year (grade of D), 3.6% over the past three years (grade of F) and -0.5% per year over the past five years (grade of F).
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NUBD Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| NUBD Return (NAV) | -1.3% | -0.8% | 2.5% | 3.6% | -0.5% | na |
| NUBD Return (Price) | -1.4% | -0.9% | 2.5% | 3.5% | -0.6% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.099% | 0.092% | 0.069% | 0.062% | 0.016% | na |
| Intermediate Core Bond Avg | -1.2% | -0.7% | 3.0% | 4.0% | -0.3% | 1.5% |
| NUBD Grade (NAV) | B | D | D | F | F | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -0.1% | -0.1% | -0.5% | -0.4% | -0.2% | na |
| NUBD Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.3% | na |
NUBD Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| NUBD Return (NAV) | -0.6% | 6.9% | 1.3% | 5.5% | -13.2% | -2.2% | 7.5% | 8.2% | -0.0% | na | na |
| NUBD Return (Price) | -0.7% | 6.7% | 1.3% | 5.4% | -12.9% | -2.2% | 7.2% | 8.2% | 0.1% | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.122% | -0.024% | 0.004% | -0.010% | -0.021% | -0.005% | -0.044% | 0.6% | -395.8% | na | na |
| Intermediate Core Bond Avg | -0.4% | 7.1% | 1.9% | 6.0% | -13.2% | -1.5% | 7.6% | 9.1% | -0.5% | 3.7% | 3.0% |
| NUBD Grade (NAV) | D | D | D | F | B | F | C | F | A | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.3% | -0.2% | -0.6% | -0.5% | 0.0% | -0.7% | -0.1% | -0.9% | 0.5% | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.98 |
| R-Squared: | 100% |
| Standard Deviation: | 5.5% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.99 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Below Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.45 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 4.1% |
| Total Assets: | $ 463 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 463 Mil |
| Turnover: | 10.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.12% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | Yes |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 4.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 2.6 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Tsang James (2021), Spinelli Joseph (2026) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 2411 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 10.4% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 7.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 92.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 7.6% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.4% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Nuveen |
| Phone Number: | 888-290-9881 |
| Website: | http://www.nuveen.com |
| Inception Date: | September 29, 2017 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.12% (Rating: Low) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.32% |
