Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FESM vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FESM returned +23.0% to NUSC's +12.2%; 18% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $6.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap Core ETF, and $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
FESM costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.8 points.
| Measure | FESM | NUSC |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +23.0% | +12.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.28% | 0.31% |
| Net assets, FESM as of Sep 30, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026 | $6.4bn | $1.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 18% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 8.0% | 10.2% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 1, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 151 weekly returnsFESM returned more: +80.6% to +40.7%. NUSC swung less: 17.2% to 19.4%. NUSC fell slightly less at its worst: −23.6% to −24.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FESM | NUSC | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +80.6% | +40.7% | FESM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +22.6% | +12.5% | FESM | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +75.5% | +36.1% | FESM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.4% | 17.2% | NUSC | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.7% | 12.0% | NUSC (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −24.5% | −23.6% | NUSC (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.92 | 0.51 | FESM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.41 | 0.74 | FESM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.92 | 0.53 | FESM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 151 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, FESM and NUSC hold 18% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
18% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FESM and NUSC on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FESM and NUSC are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. FESM follows No index, actively managed and NUSC follows Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index.
- Holdings in common. 18% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FESM returned +23.0% and NUSC +12.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.8 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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FESM
FESM is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +23.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.28% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 1% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 779 positions, with the top ten at 8.0%. It sat 5.9% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
NUSC
NUSC tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.31% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 6% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 405 positions, with the top ten at 10.2%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, FESM or NUSC?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FESM returned +23.0% and NUSC +12.2%.
- Which is cheaper, FESM or NUSC?
- FESM is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, FESM against NUSC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fesm-vs-nusc
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FESM against NUSC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fesm-vs-nusc
[FESM against NUSC (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fesm-vs-nusc)
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