Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
NUSC vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, NUSC returned +12.2% to SPSM's +17.6%; 24% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF, and $16.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPSM costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.4 points.
| Measure | NUSC | SPSM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.2% | +17.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 6.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index | S&P SmallCap 600 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.31% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026 and SPSM as of Oct 27, 2026 | $1.3bn | $16.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 24% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 10.2% | 5.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 513 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: NUSC against MLRG, Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026; SPSM against IJR, Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.
NUSC returned slightly more: +139.1% to +135.0%. NUSC swung slightly less: 21.6% to 22.6%. NUSC fell slightly less at its worst: −40.5% to −41.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | NUSC | SPSM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +139.1% | +135.0% | NUSC (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.2% | +9.0% | NUSC (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +100.1% | +100.4% | Tie | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.6% | 22.6% | NUSC (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.1% | 15.7% | NUSC (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −40.5% | −41.9% | NUSC (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 93.6% | 99.1% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 103.0% | 100.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.07 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.77 | 0.99 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.40 | 0.38 | NUSC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.57 | 0.55 | NUSC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.081 | 0.091 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.23 | 0.22 | NUSC (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | MLRG | IJR | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −4.5% a year | −0.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.33 | −0.73 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −11.0% to +2.1% | −1.8% to +0.8% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.34 | −0.20 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 10.5% | 2.4% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 513 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, NUSC and SPSM hold 24% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
24% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
NUSC and SPSM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
NUSC and SPSM are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. NUSC follows Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index and SPSM follows S&P SmallCap 600 Index.
- Holdings in common. 24% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 NUSC returned +12.2% and SPSM +17.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
SPSM
SPSM tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 609 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, NUSC or SPSM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, NUSC returned +12.2% and SPSM +17.6%.
- Which is cheaper, NUSC or SPSM?
- SPSM is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 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, NUSC against SPSM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nusc-vs-spsm
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). NUSC against SPSM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nusc-vs-spsm
[NUSC against SPSM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nusc-vs-spsm)
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