ETF Evaluator:
Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF ()
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(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Large Growth Over the Last Year
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ETF Details
Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF Overview
Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF (NUGO) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Large Growth exchange-traded fund (ETF). Nuveen launched the ETF in 2021.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Under normal market conditions, the fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in equity securities of U.S. companies with market capitalizations of at least $1 billion. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in exchange-traded American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and common stocks of non-U.S. issuers, including emerging market issuers, that are listed and trade on a foreign exchange contemporaneously with fund shares. The fund is non-diversified.
About Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF (NUGO)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.70 years: Scott Tonneson (2026) and Karen Hiatt (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 1000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 1000 Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF has 45 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 62.4% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.9% 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 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF has 0.1% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $2 billion in total assets, which is below the $8 billion average for the Large Growth 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.
NUGO 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 Growth Opportunities ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Large Growth category. Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF has an expense ratio of 0.50%, which is 1% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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 Growth Opportunities ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 46%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 74% for the Large Growth category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF returned -2.7%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Large Growth category had an average return of -3.8%. 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 Growth Opportunities ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.53% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income annually.
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 Growth Opportunities ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 6.1%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 12.3% over the past year (grade of C) and 21.4% over the past three years (grade of B).
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NUGO 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 |
|
| NUGO Return (NAV) | -2.7% | 2.0% | 12.3% | 21.4% | na | na |
| NUGO Return (Price) | -2.6% | 2.3% | 12.9% | 21.4% | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.065% | -0.324% | -0.585% | -0.012% | na | na |
| Large Growth Avg | -3.8% | 2.7% | 13.0% | 19.6% | 9.9% | 15.8% |
| NUGO Grade (NAV) | C | D | C | B | na | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 1.1% | -0.7% | -0.7% | 1.8% | na | na |
| NUGO Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | na | na |
NUGO Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| NUGO Return (NAV) | 6.1% | 14.5% | 36.1% | 45.9% | -33.1% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NUGO Return (Price) | 5.9% | 14.9% | 36.0% | 45.4% | -32.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.030% | 0.027% | -0.003% | -0.011% | -0.010% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Large Growth Avg | 6.2% | 16.9% | 30.5% | 38.6% | -30.7% | 21.6% | 37.2% | 33.0% | -2.1% | 28.4% | 5.0% |
| NUGO Grade (NAV) | C | D | A | B | D | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | -2.3% | 5.6% | 7.2% | -2.4% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 1.28 |
| R-Squared: | 85% |
| Standard Deviation: | 18.3% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.99 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Above Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.49 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Above Average |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Total Assets: | $ 2,442 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 2,442 Mil |
| Turnover: | 46.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.50% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Russell 1000 TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 4.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 2.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Hiatt Karen (2021), Tonneson Scott (2026) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 45 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 62.4% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 99.9% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.1% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Nuveen |
| Phone Number: | 888-290-9881 |
| Website: | http://www.nuveen.com |
| Inception Date: | September 27, 2021 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.50% (Rating: Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.49% |
