Exchange-Traded Funds

 

28 February
2022

       
   

Listing Exchange

Ticker Symbol

Fund Name

     

Nuveen ESG Dividend ETF

 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

NUDV

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap ETF

 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

NULC

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF

 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

NULG

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF

 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

NULV

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF

 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

NUMG

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF

 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

NUMV

Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF

 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

NUSC

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

As permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of the Funds’ annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will not be sent to you by mail unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Funds’ website (www.nuveen.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Funds electronically at any time by contacting the financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) through which you hold your Fund shares.

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge at any time by contacting your financial intermediary. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held in your account with your financial intermediary.

Prospectus


   
 

 

Table of Contents

 

   
 

Section 1 Fund Summaries 2

Nuveen ESG Dividend ETF 2

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap ETF 6

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF 11

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF 16

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF 21

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF 26

Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF 31

Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds’
Strategies, Holdings and Risks
 36

Investment Objectives and Principal Investment Strategies 36

Portfolio Holdings 37

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings 39

Risks 39

Section 3 Fund Management 46

Who Manages the Funds 46

Management Fees 47

Section 4 Investing in the Funds 48

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares 48

Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units 49

Distributor 49

Distribution and Service Payments 50

Frequent Trading 51

Section 5 General Information 52

Dividends and Distributions 52

Taxes 52

Net Asset Value 56

Premium/Discount Information 56

Fund Service Providers 56

Index Provider 57

Listing Exchange 58

Section 6 Financial Highlights 59

   
 

 NOT FDIC OR GOVERNMENT INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE  NO BANK GUARANTEE


Section 1 Fund Summaries

Nuveen ESG Dividend ETF

Investment Objective

Nuveen ESG Dividend ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the TIAA ESG USA High Dividend Yield Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

Management Fees

0.25%

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses*

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.25%

* Other Expenses are estimated for the current fiscal year.

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect brokerage commissions that you may pay when you purchase and sell Fund shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   

1 Year

$26

3 Years

$80

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal period September 27, 2021 (the Fund's commencement of operations) through October 31, 2021, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of high dividend paying equity securities issued by companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The Index selects securities that exhibit high dividend income and quality characteristics, including companies that have higher than average dividend yields that are both sustainable and persistent, from the MSCI USA Index (the “Base Index”). The Base Index generally consists of the large- and mid-capitalization segments of the U.S. market. MSCI Inc. (“MSCI” or the “Index Provider”) is the index provider for the Index and the Base Index. The Index and the Base Index are owned, calculated and controlled by MSCI, in its sole discretion. MSCI is not affiliated with the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser. None of the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-adviser, or their affiliates has any discretion to select Index components or change the Index methodology.

The Index identifies high dividend paying equity securities from the Base Index that satisfy certain ESG criteria, based on ESG performance data collected by MSCI ESG Research, Inc., an affiliate of the Index Provider. ESG performance is measured on an industry-specific basis, with assessment categories varying by industry. Companies are scored and ranked against industry peers using a consistent set of key performance indicators to determine relative ESG strength. Environmental assessment categories can include how a company is addressing climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management. Social evaluation categories can include a company’s relations with

   

2

Section 1 Fund Summary


employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance assessment categories can include governance practices and business ethics. The ESG criteria also consider how well a company adheres to national and international laws and regulations related to ESG matters. Index rules exclude companies with significant activities in the following controversial businesses: alcohol production, tobacco production, nuclear power, gambling, and weapons and firearm production. Companies otherwise eligible for inclusion in the Index that exceed certain carbon-based ownership and emissions thresholds are excluded from the Index.

Companies that are not excluded by the ESG criteria are then ranked within their respective sectors based on their ESG performance scores. The highest ranked companies in each sector are identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index until such point that the aggregate weight of companies in the sector reaches 50% of the market cap of such sector in the Base Index. For example, if the market capitalization of all consumer discretionary sector companies included in the Base Index totals $200 billion, then the Index would screen these consumer discretionary sector companies, rank them based on ESG performance scores, and add the highest scoring companies to the Index until such point that their combined total market capitalization reaches $100 billion. Those companies identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index are market capitalization weighted within their respective sectors. Once the universe of eligible Index components is established, the Index optimizes the market cap weightings of its individual components so that the sector weightings of the Index approximate the sector weightings of the Base Index, within certain constraints established by the Index. As of the date of this prospectus, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the financial services sector.

In seeking to track the investment results of the Index, the Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index. The Index is normally rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The Index may also remove a security at any time in response to a corporate event such as bankruptcy, delisting, merger or acquisition that causes the security to become ineligible for inclusion in the Index. The Fund makes changes to its portfolio shortly after any Index changes are made public. As of December 31, 2021, the Index was comprised of 113 securities.

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. To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

Concentration Risk—To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries or sector, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries or sector.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders. Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

Dividend-Paying Security Risk—The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying stocks could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of a company’s track record of paying dividends. Stocks of companies with a history of paying dividends may not participate in a broad market advance to the same degree as most other stocks, and a sharp rise in interest rates or economic downturn could cause a company to unexpectedly reduce or eliminate its dividend. There is no guarantee that the issuers of the stocks held by the Fund will declare dividends in the future or that, if declared, they will remain at their current levels or increase over time.

   

Section 1 Fund Summary

3


Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

ESG Strategy Risk—Because the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause the Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues or they will not exhibit positive ESG characteristics as intended. Further, in selecting companies for inclusion in the Index, the Index Provider relies on information and ESG performance data from an affiliated research provider, which could be incomplete or erroneous, which in turn could cause the Index Provider to assess a company’s ESG characteristics incorrectly.

Financial Services Sector Risk—The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the financial services sector, although this may change over time. Financial services companies are particularly sensitive to the adverse effects of economic recession; changes in government regulation; the availability of capital; volatile interest rates; and the health of the commercial and residential real estate markets.

Index Provider Risk—There is no assurance that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Investment Style Risk—The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets or in response to changing market conditions. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Large-Cap Company Risk—Because it invests primarily in securities of large-capitalization companies, the Fund may underperform funds that invest primarily in securities of smaller capitalization companies during periods when the securities of such companies are in favor.

Market Trading Risks—The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading of the Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). In times of market stress, the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more significant differences between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for the Fund’s shares. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s shares or authorized participants stop submitting creation or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to NAV.

   

4

Section 1 Fund Summary


Mid-Cap Company Risk—Securities of mid-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or broader market averages in general.

Service Provider Operational Risk—The Fund’s service providers, such as the Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Tracking Error Risk—Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.

Fund Performance

The Fund is new and therefore does not have performance history for a full calendar year. When this prospectus is updated after a full calendar year of operations, a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the variability of the Fund’s returns based on net assets and comparing the Fund’s performance to a broad measure of market performance. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling (800) 257-8787.

Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Teachers Advisors, LLC

Portfolio Managers

     

Name

Title

Portfolio Manager of Fund Since

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA

Managing Director

September 2021

Lei Liao, CFA

Managing Director

September 2021

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An investor may also incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

Section 1 Fund Summary

5


Nuveen ESG Large-Cap ETF

Investment Objective

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

Management Fees

0.20%

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.20%

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect brokerage commissions that you may pay when you purchase and sell Fund shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   

1 Year

$20

3 Years

$64

5 Years

$113

10 Years

$255

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 49% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of equity securities issued by large capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The Index selects from the securities included in the MSCI USA Index (the “Base Index”), which generally consists of the large-and mid-capitalization segments of the U.S. market. Securities in the Base Index are weighted based on market capitalization. MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) is the index provider for the Index and the Base Index. The Index and the Base Index are owned, calculated and controlled by MSCI, in its sole discretion. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-adviser, nor their affiliates has any discretion to select Index components or change the Index methodology.

The Index identifies equity securities from the Base Index that satisfy certain ESG criteria, based on ESG performance data collected by MSCI ESG Research, Inc. ESG performance is measured on an industry-specific basis, with assessment categories varying by industry. Environmental assessment categories can include how a company is addressing climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management. Social evaluation categories can include a company’s relations with employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance assessment categories can include governance practices and business ethics. The ESG criteria also consider how well a company adheres to national and international laws and regulations as well as commonly accepted global norms related to ESG matters. Index rules generally exclude companies with significant activities in certain controversial businesses, including those involving alcohol, tobacco, nuclear power, gambling, and firearms and other

   

6

Section 1 Fund Summaries


weapons, among others. Companies otherwise eligible for inclusion in the Index that exceed certain carbon-based ownership and emissions thresholds are excluded from the Index.

Companies that meet the ESG criteria are then ranked within their respective sectors based on their ESG performance score. The highest ranked companies in each sector are identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index until such point that the aggregate weight of companies in the sector reaches 50% of the market cap of such sector in the Base Index. For example, if the market capitalization of all consumer discretionary sector companies included in the Base Index totals $200 billion, then the Index would screen these consumer discretionary sector companies, rank them based on ESG performance scores, and add the highest scoring companies to the Index until such point that their combined total market capitalization reaches $100 billion. Those companies identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index are market capitalization weighted within their respective sectors. Once the universe of eligible Index components is established, the Index optimizes the market cap weightings of its individual components so that the sector weightings of the Index approximate the sector weightings of the Base Index, within certain constraints established by the Index. As of the date of this prospectus, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the information technology sector.

In seeking to track the investment results of the Index, the Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index. The Index is normally rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The Index may also remove a security at any time in response to a corporate event such as bankruptcy, delisting, merger or acquisition that causes the security to become ineligible for inclusion in the Index. The Fund makes changes to its portfolio shortly after any Index changes are made public. As of December 31, 2021, the Index was comprised of 277 securities.

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. In addition, 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 the securities of large-capitalization companies. Large-capitalization companies are defined as companies that fall in the range of companies included in the MSCI USA Large Cap Index as of the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed. As of December 31, 2021, the MSCI USA Large Cap Index had a float-adjusted market capitalization range from $3.2 billion to $2.94 trillion, with an average market capitalization of $124.56 billion. “Float-adjusted” means that the share amounts used in calculating the Index reflect only shares available to investors, with shares held by control groups, public companies and government agencies excluded.

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

Concentration Risk—To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries or sector, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries or sector.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders. Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

7


significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

ESG Strategy Risk—Because the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause the Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues or they will not exhibit positive ESG characteristics as intended. Further, in selecting companies for inclusion in the Index, the Index Provider relies on information and ESG performance data from an affiliated research provider, which could be incomplete or erroneous, which in turn could cause the Index Provider to assess a company’s ESG characteristics incorrectly.

Index Provider Risk—There is no assurance that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Information Technology Sector Risk—The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the information technology sector, although this may change over time. The information technology sector can be significantly affected by changes in, among other things, the supply and demand for specific products and services, the pace of technological development and product obsolescence, market competition, government regulation, and patent and intellectual property rights.

Investment Style Risk—The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets or in response to changing market conditions. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Large-Cap Company Risk—Because it invests primarily in securities of large-capitalization companies, the Fund may underperform funds that invest primarily in securities of smaller capitalization companies during periods when the securities of such companies are in favor.

Market Trading Risks—The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading of the Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). In times of market stress, the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more significant differences between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for the Fund’s shares. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s shares or authorized participants stop submitting creation or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to NAV.

Service Provider Operational Risk—The Fund’s service providers, such as the Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service

   

8

Section 1 Fund Summaries


providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Tracking Error Risk—Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.

Fund Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling (800) 257-8787.

During the period reflected in the bar chart above, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 23.02% and -19.82%, respectively, for the quarters ended June 30, 2020 and March 31, 2020.

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

       
   

Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended
December 31, 2021

 

Inception
Date

1 Year

Since
Inception

NULC (return before taxes)

06/03/19

25.80%

26.78%

NULC (return after taxes on distributions)

 

23.34%

25.05%

NULC (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares)

 

15.80%

20.60%

MSCI USA Index (reflects no deduction for taxes or sales loads)

 

26.97%

26.51%

TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

26.11%

27.09%

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

9


Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Teachers Advisors, LLC

Portfolio Managers

     

Name

Title

Portfolio Manager of Fund Since

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA

Managing Director

June 2019

Lei Liao, CFA

Managing Director

June 2019

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An investor may also incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

10

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF

Investment Objective

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Growth Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

Management Fees

0.25%1

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.25%1


1  Restated to reflect a reduction in the Fund’s contractual management fee effective September 28, 2021.

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect brokerage commissions that you may pay when you purchase and sell Fund shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   

1 Year

$26

3 Years

$80

5 Years

$141

10 Years

$318

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 66% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of equity securities with growth characteristics issued by large capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The Index selects from the securities included in the MSCI USA Growth Index (the “Base Index”), which generally consists of large-and mid-capitalization U.S. equity securities that exhibit overall growth style characteristics based on five variables: long-term forward earnings per share (“EPS”) growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend, and long-term historical sales per share growth trend. Securities in the Base Index are weighted based on market capitalization. MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) is the index provider for the Index and the Base Index. The Index and the Base Index are owned, calculated and controlled by MSCI, in its sole discretion. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-adviser nor their affiliates has any discretion to select Index components or change the Index methodology.

The Index identifies equity securities from the Base Index that satisfy certain ESG criteria, based on ESG performance data collected by MSCI ESG Research, Inc. ESG performance is measured on an industry-specific basis, with assessment categories varying by industry. Environmental assessment categories can include how a company is addressing climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management. Social evaluation categories can include a company’s relations with employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance assessment categories can include governance practices and business ethics. The ESG criteria also

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

11


consider how well a company adheres to national and international laws and regulations as well as commonly accepted global norms related to ESG matters. Index rules generally exclude companies with significant activities in certain controversial businesses, including those involving alcohol, tobacco, nuclear power, gambling, and firearms and other weapons, among others. Companies otherwise eligible for inclusion in the Index that exceed certain carbon-based ownership and emissions thresholds are excluded from the Index.

Companies that meet the ESG criteria are then ranked within their respective sectors based on their ESG performance score. The highest ranked companies in each sector are identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index until such point that the aggregate weight of companies in the sector reaches 50% of the market cap of such sector in the Base Index. For example, if the market capitalization of all consumer discretionary sector companies included in the Base Index totals $200 billion, then the Index would screen these consumer discretionary sector companies, rank them based on ESG performance scores, and add the highest scoring companies to the Index until such point that their combined total market capitalization reaches $100 billion. Those companies identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index are market capitalization weighted within their respective sectors. Once the universe of eligible Index components is established, the Index optimizes the market cap weightings of individual components to approximate the sector weightings of the Base Index, within certain constraints established by the Index. As of the date of this prospectus, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the information technology sector.

In seeking to track the investment results of the Index, the Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index. The Index is normally rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The Index may also remove a security at any time in response to a corporate event such as bankruptcy, delisting, merger or acquisition that causes the security to become ineligible for inclusion in the Index. The Fund makes changes to its portfolio shortly after any Index changes are made public. As of December 31, 2021, the Index was comprised of 98 securities.

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. In addition, 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 the securities of large-capitalization companies. Large-capitalization companies are defined as companies that fall in the range of companies included in the MSCI USA Large Cap Index as of the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed. As of December 31, 2021, the MSCI USA Large Cap Index had a float-adjusted market capitalization range from $1.42 billion to $2.94 trillion, with an average market capitalization of $78.78 billion. “Float-adjusted” means that the share amounts used in calculating the Index reflect only shares available to investors, with shares held by control groups, public companies and government agencies excluded.

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

Concentration Risk—To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries or sector, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries or sector.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders. Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

   

12

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

ESG Strategy Risk—Because the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause the Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues or they will not exhibit positive ESG characteristics as intended. Further, in selecting companies for inclusion in the Index, the Index Provider relies on information and ESG performance data from an affiliated research provider, which could be incomplete or erroneous, which in turn could cause the Index Provider to assess a company’s ESG characteristics incorrectly.

Growth Stock Risk—Growth stocks tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. A stock with growth characteristics can have sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividends that can help cushion its share price in a declining market.

Index Provider Risk—There is no assurance that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Information Technology Sector Risk—The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the information technology sector, although this may change over time. The information technology sector can be significantly affected by changes in, among other things, the supply and demand for specific products and services, the pace of technological development and product obsolescence, market competition, government regulation, and patent and intellectual property rights.

Investment Style Risk—The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets or in response to changing market conditions. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Large-Cap Company Risk—Because it invests primarily in securities of large-capitalization companies, the Fund may underperform funds that invest primarily in securities of smaller capitalization companies during periods when the securities of such companies are in favor.

Market Trading Risks—The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading of the Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). In times of market stress, the Fund’s underlying

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

13


portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more significant differences between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for the Fund’s shares. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s shares or authorized participants stop submitting creation or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to NAV.

Service Provider Operational Risk—The Fund’s service providers, such as the Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Tracking Error Risk—Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.

Fund Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling (800) 257-8787.

During the period reflected in the bar chart above, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 30.36% and -16.37%, respectively, for the quarters ended June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2018.

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

           
   

Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended
December 31, 2021

 
 

Inception
Date

1 Year

5 Year

Since
Inception

NULG (return before taxes)

12/13/16

28.12%

25.73%

25.15%

NULG (return after taxes on distributions)

 

25.90%

24.59%

24.03%

NULG (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares)

 

16.98%

20.77%

20.29%

MSCI USA Growth Index (reflects no deduction for taxes or sales loads)

 

26.23%

25.69%

25.01%

TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

28.61%

26.22%

25.64%

   

14

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Teachers Advisors, LLC

Portfolio Managers

     

Name

Title

Portfolio Manager of Fund Since

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Lei Liao, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An investor may also incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

15


Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF

Investment Objective

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Value Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

Management Fees

0.25%1

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.25%1


1  Restated to reflect a reduction in the Fund’s contractual management fee effective September 28, 2021.

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect brokerage commissions that you may pay when you purchase and sell Fund shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   

1 Year

$26

3 Years

$80

5 Years

$141

10 Years

$318

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 59% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of equity securities with value characteristics issued by large capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The Index selects from the securities included in the MSCI USA Value Index (the “Base Index”), which generally consists of large-and mid-capitalization U.S. equity securities that exhibit overall value style characteristics based on three variables: book value to price, 12-month forward earnings to price, and dividend yield. Securities in the Base Index are weighted based on market capitalization. MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”), is the index provider for the Index and the Base Index. The Index and the Base Index are owned, calculated and controlled by MSCI, in its sole discretion. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-adviser nor their affiliates has any discretion to select Index components or change the Index methodology.

The Index identifies equity securities from the Base Index that satisfy certain ESG criteria, based on ESG performance data collected by MSCI ESG Research, Inc. ESG performance is measured on an industry-specific basis, with assessment categories varying by industry. Environmental assessment categories can include how a company is addressing climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management. Social evaluation categories can include a company’s relations with employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance assessment categories can include governance practices and business ethics. The ESG criteria also

   

16

Section 1 Fund Summaries


consider how well a company adheres to national and international laws and regulations as well as commonly accepted global norms related to ESG matters. Index rules generally exclude companies with significant activities in certain controversial businesses, including those involving alcohol, tobacco, nuclear power, gambling, and firearms and other weapons, among others. Companies otherwise eligible for inclusion in the Index that exceed certain carbon-based ownership and emissions thresholds are excluded from the Index.

Companies that meet the ESG criteria are then ranked within their respective sectors based on their ESG performance score. The highest ranked companies in each sector are identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index until such point that the aggregate weight of companies in the sector reaches 50% of the market cap of such sector in the Base Index. For example, if the market capitalization of all consumer discretionary sector companies included in the Base Index totals $200 billion, then the Index would screen these consumer discretionary sector companies, rank them based on ESG performance scores, and add the highest scoring companies to the Index until such point that their combined total market capitalization reaches $100 billion. Those companies identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index are market capitalization weighted within their respective sectors. Once the universe of eligible Index components is established, the Index optimizes the market cap weightings of individual components to approximate the sector weightings of the Base Index, within certain constraints established by the Index. As of the date of this prospectus, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the financial services sector.

In seeking to track the investment results of the Index, the Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index. The Index is normally rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The Index may also remove a security at any time in response to a corporate event such as bankruptcy, delisting, merger or acquisition that causes the security to become ineligible for inclusion in the Index. The Fund makes changes to its portfolio shortly after any Index changes are made public. As of December 31, 2021, the Index was comprised of 116 securities.

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. In addition, 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 the securities of large-capitalization companies. Large-capitalization companies are defined as companies that fall in the range of companies included in the MSCI USA Large Cap Index as of the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed. As of December 31, 2021, the MSCI USA Large Cap Index had a float-adjusted market capitalization range from $1.74 billion to $473.48 billion, with an average market capitalization of $48.62 billion. “Float-adjusted” means that the share amounts used in calculating the Index reflect only shares available to investors, with shares held by control groups, public companies and government agencies excluded.

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

Concentration Risk—To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries or sector, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries or sector.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders. Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

17


Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

ESG Strategy Risk—Because the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause the Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues or they will not exhibit positive ESG characteristics as intended. Further, in selecting companies for inclusion in the Index, the Index Provider relies on information and ESG performance data from an affiliated research provider, which could be incomplete or erroneous, which in turn could cause the Index Provider to assess a company’s ESG characteristics incorrectly.

Financial Services Sector Risk—The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the financial services sector, although this may change over time. Financial services companies are particularly sensitive to the adverse effects of economic recession; changes in government regulation; the availability of capital; volatile interest rates; and the health of the commercial and residential real estate markets.

Index Provider Risk—There is no assurance that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Investment Style Risk—The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets or in response to changing market conditions. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Large-Cap Company Risk—Because it invests primarily in securities of large-capitalization companies, the Fund may underperform funds that invest primarily in securities of smaller capitalization companies during periods when the securities of such companies are in favor.

Market Trading Risks—The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading of the Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). In times of market stress, the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more significant differences between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for the Fund’s shares. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s shares or authorized participants stop submitting creation or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to NAV.

   

18

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Service Provider Operational Risk—The Fund’s service providers, such as the Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Tracking Error Risk—Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.

Value Stock RiskValue stocks are securities of companies that typically trade at a perceived discount to their intrinsic value and at valuation discounts relative to companies in the same industry. Value stocks often times are also in sectors that trade at a discount to the broader market. The reasons for their discount may vary greatly, but some examples may include adverse business, industry or other developments that may cause the company to be subject to special risks. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may be difficult to identify and may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock identified to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.

Fund Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling (800) 257-8787.

During the period reflected in the bar chart above, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 15.04% and -25.41%, respectively, for the quarters ended December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020.

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

19


           
   

Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended
December 31, 2021

 
 

Inception
Date

1 Year

5 Year

Since
Inception

NULV (return before taxes)

12/13/16

23.36%

12.14%

11.73%

NULV (return after taxes on distributions)

 

21.58%

11.33%

10.94%

NULV (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares)

 

14.24%

9.43%

9.10%

MSCI USA Value Index (reflects no deduction for taxes or sales loads)

 

27.17%

11.57%

11.19%

TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

23.82%

12.54%

12.14%

Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Teachers Advisors, LLC

Portfolio Managers

     

Name

Title

Portfolio Manager of Fund Since

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Lei Liao, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An investor may also incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

20

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF

Investment Objective

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

Management Fees

0.30%1

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.30%1


1  Restated to reflect a reduction in the Fund’s contractual management fee effective September 28, 2021.

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect brokerage commissions that you may pay when you purchase and sell Fund shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   

1 Year

$31

3 Years

$97

5 Years

$169

10 Years

$381

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 83% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of equity securities with growth characteristics issued by mid-capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The Index selects from the securities included in the MSCI USA Mid-Cap Growth Index (the “Base Index”), which generally consists of mid-capitalization U.S. equity securities that exhibit overall growth style characteristics based on five variables: long-term forward earnings per share (“EPS”) growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend, and long-term historical sales per share growth trend. Securities in the Base Index are weighted based on market capitalization. MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) is the index provider for the Index and the Base Index. The Index and the Base Index are owned, calculated and controlled by MSCI, in its sole discretion. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-adviser nor their affiliates has any discretion to select Index components or change the Index methodology.

The Index identifies equity securities from the Base Index that satisfy certain ESG criteria, based on ESG performance data collected by MSCI Research Inc. ESG performance is measured on an industry-specific basis, with assessment categories varying by industry. Environmental assessment categories can include how a company is addressing climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management. Social evaluation categories can include a company’s relations with employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

21


assessment categories can include governance practices and business ethics. The ESG criteria also consider how well a company adheres to national and international laws and regulations as well as commonly accepted global norms related to ESG matters. Index rules generally exclude companies with significant activities in certain controversial businesses, including those involving alcohol, tobacco, nuclear power, gambling, and firearms and other weapons, among others. Companies otherwise eligible for inclusion in the Index that exceed certain carbon-based ownership and emissions thresholds are excluded from the Index.

Companies that meet the ESG criteria are then ranked within their respective sectors based on their ESG performance score. The highest ranked companies in each sector are identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index until such point that the aggregate weight of companies in the sector reaches 50% of the market cap of such sector in the Base Index. For example, if the market capitalization of all consumer discretionary sector companies included in the Base Index totals $20 billion, then the Index would screen these consumer discretionary sector companies, rank them based on ESG performance scores, and add the highest scoring companies to the Index until such point that their combined total market capitalization reaches $10 billion. Those companies identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index are market capitalization weighted within their respective sectors. Once the universe of eligible Index components is established, the Index optimizes the market cap weightings of individual components to approximate the sector weightings of the Base Index, within certain constraints established by the Index. As of the date of this prospectus, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the information technology sector.

In seeking to track the investment results of the Index, the Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index. The Index is normally rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The Index may also remove a security at any time in response to a corporate event such as bankruptcy, delisting, merger or acquisition that causes the security to become ineligible for inclusion in the Index. The Fund makes changes to its portfolio shortly after any Index changes are made public. As of December 31, 2021, the Index was comprised of 58 securities.

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. In addition, 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 the securities of mid-capitalization companies. Mid-capitalization companies are defined as companies that fall in the range of companies included in the Base Index as of the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed. As of December 31, 2021, the Base Index had a float-adjusted market capitalization range from $1.71 billion to $51.58 billion, with an average market capitalization of $15.73 billion. “Float-adjusted” means that the share amounts used in calculating the Index reflect only shares available to investors, with shares held by control groups, public companies and government agencies excluded.

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

Concentration Risk—To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries or sector, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries or sector.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders.

   

22

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

ESG Strategy Risk—Because the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause the Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues or they will not exhibit positive ESG characteristics as intended. Further, in selecting companies for inclusion in the Index, the Index Provider relies on information and ESG performance data from an affiliated research provider, which could be incomplete or erroneous, which in turn could cause the Index Provider to assess a company’s ESG characteristics incorrectly.

Growth Stock Risk—Growth stocks tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. A stock with growth characteristics can have sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividends that can help cushion its share price in a declining market.

Index Provider Risk—There is no assurance that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Information Technology Sector Risk—The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the information technology sector, although this may change over time. The information technology sector can be significantly affected by changes in, among other things, the supply and demand for specific products and services, the pace of technological development and product obsolescence, market competition, government regulation, and patent and intellectual property rights.

Investment Style Risk—The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets or in response to changing market conditions. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Market Trading Risks—The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading of the Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). In times of market stress, the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

23


significant differences between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for the Fund’s shares. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s shares or authorized participants stop submitting creation or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to NAV.

Mid-Cap Company Risk—Securities of mid-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or broader market averages in general.

Service Provider Operational Risk—The Fund’s service providers, such as the Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Tracking Error Risk—Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.

Fund Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling (800) 257-8787.

During the period reflected in the bar chart above, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 33.29% and -19.12%, respectively, for the quarters ended June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2018.

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

   

24

Section 1 Fund Summaries


         
   

Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended
December 31, 2021

 

Inception
Date

1 Year

5 Year

Since
Inception

NUMG (return before taxes)

12/13/16

12.67%

20.12%

19.36%

NUMG (return after taxes on distributions)

 

8.08%

18.30%

17.58%

NUMG (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares)

 

8.15%

15.63%

15.01%

MSCI USA Mid-Cap Growth Index (reflects no deduction for taxes or sales loads)

 

17.47%

20.36%

19.57%

TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

13.14%

20.64%

19.88%

Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Teachers Advisors, LLC

Portfolio Managers

     

Name

Title

Portfolio Manager of Fund Since

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Lei Liao, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An investor may also incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

25


Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF

Investment Objective

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Value Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

Management Fees

0.30%1

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.30%1


1  Restated to reflect a reduction in the Fund’s contractual management fee effective September 28, 2021.

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect brokerage commissions that you may pay when you purchase and sell Fund shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   

1 Year

$31

3 Years

$97

5 Years

$169

10 Years

$381

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 67% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of equity securities with value characteristics issued by mid-capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The Index selects from the securities included in the MSCI USA Mid-Cap Value Index (the “Base Index”), which generally consists of mid-capitalization U.S. equity securities that exhibit overall value style characteristics based on three variables: book value to price, 12-month forward earnings to price, and dividend yield. Securities in the Base Index are weighted based on market capitalization. MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) is the index provider for the Index and the Base Index. The Index and the Base Index are owned, calculated and controlled by MSCI, in its sole discretion. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-adviser nor their affiliates has any discretion to select Index components or change the Index methodology.

The Index identifies equity securities from the Base Index that satisfy certain ESG criteria, based on ESG performance data collected by MSCI ESG Research, Inc. ESG performance is measured on an industry-specific basis, with assessment categories varying by industry. Environmental assessment categories can include how a company is addressing climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management. Social evaluation categories can include a company’s relations with employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance assessment categories can include governance practices and business ethics. The ESG criteria also

   

26

Section 1 Fund Summaries


consider how well a company adheres to national and international laws and regulations as well as commonly accepted global norms related to ESG matters. Index rules generally exclude companies with significant activities in certain controversial businesses, including those involving alcohol, tobacco, nuclear power, gambling, and firearms and other weapons, among others. Companies otherwise eligible for inclusion in the Index that exceed certain carbon-based ownership and emissions thresholds are excluded from the Index.

Companies that meet the ESG criteria are then ranked within their respective sectors based on their ESG performance score. The highest ranked companies in each sector are identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index until such point that the aggregate weight of companies in the sector reaches 50% of the market cap of such sector in the Base Index. For example, if the market capitalization of all consumer discretionary sector companies included in the Base Index totals $20 billion, then the Index would screen these consumer discretionary sector companies, rank them based on ESG performance scores, and add the highest scoring companies to the Index until such point that their combined total market capitalization reaches $10 billion. Those companies identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index are market capitalization weighted within their respective sectors. Once the universe of eligible Index components is established, the Index optimizes the market cap weightings of individual components to approximate the sector weightings of the Base Index, within certain constraints established by the Index. As of the date of this prospectus, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the financial services sector.

In seeking to track the investment results of the Index, the Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index. The Index is normally rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The Index may also remove a security at any time in response to a corporate event such as bankruptcy, delisting, merger or acquisition that causes the security to become ineligible for inclusion in the Index. The Fund makes changes to its portfolio shortly after any Index changes are made public. As of December 31, 2021, the Index was comprised of 88 securities.

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. In addition, 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 the securities of mid-capitalization companies. Mid-capitalization companies are defined as companies that fall in the range of companies included in the Base Index as of the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed. As of December 31, 2021, the Base Index had a float-adjusted market capitalization range from $991.76 million to $47.72 billion, with an average market capitalization of $10.3 billion. “Float-adjusted” means that the share amounts used in calculating the Index reflect only shares available to investors, with shares held by control groups, public companies and government agencies excluded.

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

Concentration Risk—To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries or sector, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries or sector.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders. Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

27


Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

ESG Strategy Risk—Because the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause the Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues or they will not exhibit positive ESG characteristics as intended. Further, in selecting companies for inclusion in the Index, the Index Provider relies on information and ESG performance data from an affiliated research provider, which could be incomplete or erroneous, which in turn could cause the Index Provider to assess a company’s ESG characteristics incorrectly.

Financial Services Sector Risk—The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the financial services sector, although this may change over time. Financial services companies are particularly sensitive to the adverse effects of economic recession; changes in government regulation; the availability of capital; volatile interest rates; and the health of the commercial and residential real estate markets.

Index Provider Risk—There is no assurance that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Investment Style Risk—The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets or in response to changing market conditions. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Market Trading Risks—The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading of the Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). In times of market stress, the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more significant differences between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for the Fund’s shares. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s shares or authorized participants stop submitting creation or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to NAV.

Mid-Cap Company Risk—Securities of mid-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or broader market averages in general.

   

28

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Service Provider Operational Risk—The Fund’s service providers, such as the Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Tracking Error Risk—Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.

Value Stock RiskValue stocks are securities of companies that typically trade at a perceived discount to their intrinsic value and at valuation discounts relative to companies in the same industry. Value stocks often times are also in sectors that trade at a discount to the broader market. The reasons for their discount may vary greatly, but some examples may include adverse business, industry or other developments that may cause the company to be subject to special risks. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may be difficult to identify and may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock identified to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.

Fund Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling (800) 257-8787.

During the period reflected in the bar chart above, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 19.71% and -33.26%, respectively, for the quarters ended December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020.

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

29


         
   

Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended
December 31, 2021

 

Inception
Date

1 Year

5 Year

Since
Inception

NUMV (return before taxes)

12/13/16

31.20%

11.79%

11.29%

NUMV (return after taxes on distributions)

 

28.38%

10.76%

10.27%

NUMV (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares)

 

18.99%

9.03%

8.63%

MSCI USA Mid-Cap Value Index (reflects no deduction for taxes or sales loads)

 

30.94%

11.70%

11.16%

TIAA ESG USA Mid-Cap Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

31.75%

12.25%

11.75%

Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Teachers Advisors, LLC

Portfolio Managers

     

Name

Title

Portfolio Manager of Fund Since

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Lei Liao, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An investor may also incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

30

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF

Investment Objective

Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the TIAA ESG USA Small-Cap Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

Management Fees

0.30%1

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.30%1


1  Restated to reflect a reduction in the Fund’s contractual management fee effective September 28, 2021.

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect brokerage commissions that you may pay when you purchase and sell Fund shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   

1 Year

$31

3 Years

$97

5 Years

$169

10 Years

$381

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 60% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of equity securities issued by small-capitalization companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The Index selects from the securities included in the MSCI USA Small Cap Index (the “Base Index”), which generally consists of equity securities that comprise the small-cap segment of the U.S. market. MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”), is the index provider for the Index and the Base Index. The Index and the Base Index are owned, calculated and controlled by Securities in the Base Index are weighted based on market capitalization. MSCI, in its sole discretion. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-adviser nor their affiliates has any discretion to select Index components or change the Index methodology.

The Index identifies equity securities from the Base Index that satisfy certain ESG criteria, based on ESG performance data collected by MSCI ESG Research, Inc. ESG performance is measured on an industry-specific basis, with assessment categories varying by industry. Environmental assessment categories can include how a company is addressing climate change, natural resource use, and waste management and emission management. Social evaluation categories can include a company’s relations with employees and suppliers, product safety and sourcing practices. Governance assessment categories can include governance practices and business ethics. The ESG criteria also consider how well a company adheres to national and international laws and regulations as well as commonly accepted

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

31


global norms related to ESG matters. Index rules generally exclude companies with significant activities in certain controversial businesses, including those involving alcohol, tobacco, nuclear power, gambling, firearms and other weapons, among others. Companies otherwise eligible for inclusion in the Index that exceed certain carbon-based ownership and emissions thresholds are excluded from the Index.

Companies that meet the ESG criteria are then ranked within their respective sectors based on their ESG performance score. The highest ranked companies in each sector are identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index until such point that the aggregate weight of companies in the sector reaches 50% of the market cap of such sector in the Base Index. For example, if the market capitalization of all consumer discretionary sector companies included in the Base Index totals $2 billion, then the Index would screen these consumer discretionary sector companies, rank them based on ESG performance scores, and add the highest scoring companies to the Index until such point that their combined total market capitalization reaches $1 billion. Those companies identified as eligible for inclusion in the Index are market capitalization weighted within their respective sectors. Once the universe of eligible Index components is established, the Index optimizes the market cap weightings of individual components to approximate the sector weightings of the Base Index, within certain constraints established by the Index.

In seeking to track the investment results of the Index, the Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index. The Index is normally rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly in February, May, August, and November. The Index may also remove a security at any time in response to a corporate event such as bankruptcy, delisting, merger or acquisition that causes the security to become ineligible for inclusion in the Index. The Fund makes changes to its portfolio shortly after any Index changes are made public. As of December 31, 2021, the Index was comprised of 604 securities.

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. In addition, 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 the securities of small-capitalization companies. Small-capitalization companies are defined as companies that fall in the range of companies included in the Base Index as of the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed. The Base Index is designed to measure the performance of the small cap segments of the U.S. market. As of December 31, 2021, the Base Index had a float-adjusted market capitalization range from $63.80 million to $16.87 billion, with an average market capitalization of $2.62 billion. “Float-adjusted” means that the share amounts used in calculating the Index reflect only shares available to investors, with shares held by control groups, public companies and government agencies excluded.

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

Concentration Risk—To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries or sector, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries or sector.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders. Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

   

32

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

ESG Strategy Risk—Because the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause the Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by the Fund’s ESG investment strategy will not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues or they will not exhibit positive ESG characteristics as intended. Further, in selecting companies for inclusion in the Index, the Index Provider relies on information and ESG performance data from an affiliated research provider, which could be incomplete or erroneous, which in turn could cause the Index Provider to assess a company’s ESG characteristics incorrectly.

Index Provider Risk—There is no assurance that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Investment Style Risk—The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets or in response to changing market conditions. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Market Trading Risks—The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading of the Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). In times of market stress, the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more significant differences between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for the Fund’s shares. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s shares or authorized participants stop submitting creation or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to NAV.

Service Provider Operational Risk—The Fund’s service providers, such as the Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Small-Cap Company Risk—Securities of small-cap companies involve substantial risk. Prices of small-cap securities may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements, and to wider fluctuations, than security prices of larger, more

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

33


established companies or broader market averages in general. It may be difficult to sell small-cap securities at the desired time and price.

Tracking Error Risk—Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.

Fund Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling (800) 257-8787.

During the period reflected in the bar chart above, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 29.98% and -30.76%, respectively, for the quarters ended December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020.

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

         
   

Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended
December 31, 2021

 

Inception
Date

1 Year

5 Year

Since
Inception

NUSC (return before taxes)

12/13/16

17.83%

14.32%

13.80%

NUSC (return after taxes on distributions)

 

15.04%

13.30%

12.80%

NUSC (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares)

 

10.97%

11.08%

10.66%

MSCI USA Small-Cap Index (reflects no deduction for taxes or sales loads)

 

19.56%

13.84%

13.41%

TIAA ESG USA Small-Cap Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

18.26%

14.79%

14.28%

   

34

Section 1 Fund Summaries


Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Teachers Advisors, LLC

Portfolio Managers

     

Name

Title

Portfolio Manager of Fund Since

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Lei Liao, CFA

Managing Director

December 2016

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An investor may also incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

Section 1 Fund Summaries

35


Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds’ Strategies, Holdings and Risks

This prospectus contains important information about investing in the Funds. Please read this prospectus carefully before you make any investment decisions. Additional information regarding the Funds is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling Nuveen Investor Services at (888) 290-9881.

Each Fund is designed to track an index that is not representative of the market as a whole. Each Fund is designed to be used as part of a broader asset allocation strategy, and thus an investment in a Fund should not be considered a complete investment program.

Each Index is a theoretical financial calculation, whereas a Fund is an actual investment portfolio. The performance of a Fund and its Index may vary for a number of reasons, including transaction costs, asset valuations, corporate actions (such as mergers and spin-offs), and differences between a Fund’s portfolio and its Index resulting from legal restrictions (such as tax diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not to the Index. On an annual basis, each Fund’s tracking error (i.e., the divergence of a Fund’s performance from that of its Index) is generally expected to be less than 5%.

 

  Investment Objectives and Principal
Investment Strategies

Each Fund’s investment objective, which is described in the “Fund Summaries” section, may be changed by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) without shareholder approval.

Each Fund’s investment policies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval unless otherwise noted in this prospectus or the statement of additional information.

Each Fund has adopted policies whereby, under normal market conditions, it will invest at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in both companies with market capitalizations suggested by the Fund’s name, if applicable, and component securities of its Index (the “Name Policy”). If the Name Policy changes, you will be notified at least 60 days in advance. Each Fund may consider both direct investments and indirect investments (e.g., investments in other investment companies, derivatives and synthetic instruments with economic characteristics similar to the direct investments that meet the Name Policy) when determining compliance with the Name Policy. For purposes of the Name Policy, the Funds will value eligible derivatives at fair value or market value and not notional value.

Each Fund’s principal investment strategies are discussed in the “Fund Summaries” section. These are the strategies that each Fund’s investment adviser and sub-adviser believe are most likely to be important in trying to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. This section provides more information about these strategies, as well as information about some additional strategies that the Funds’ sub-adviser uses, or may use, to achieve each Fund’s objective. You should be aware that each Fund may also use strategies and invest in securities that are not described in this prospectus, but that are described in the statement of additional information. For a copy of the statement of

   

36

Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds' Strategies, Holdings and Risks


additional information, call Nuveen Investor Services at (888) 290-9881 or visit the Funds’ website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

The IndexNuveen ESG Dividend ETF

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of high dividend paying equity securities issued by companies listed on U.S. exchanges that meet certain ESG criteria. Companies with significant involvement in certain controversial business activities, including alcohol production, tobacco production, nuclear power, gambling, and weapons and firearms production, are ineligible to be included in the Index. For purposes of this policy, as of the date of this prospectus, all companies that earn either 10% or more of their revenue or more than $1 billion in revenue ($3 billion in revenue for all conventional weapons manufacturers) from the production of alcohol-, tobacco- and/or gambling-related products, gambling operations, and/or manufacturing conventional weapons, conventional weapon components or weapons systems are excluded from the Index. In addition, all civilian firearm companies classified as “producers” that earn more than 0% of revenue from civilian firearms are excluded from the Index. These percentage and dollar amount thresholds are subject to change in accordance with updates to the rules-based Index methodology. All companies with any tie to controversial weapons, such as cluster munitions, landmines, depleted uranium weapons, nuclear weapons, and biological/chemical weapons, blinding lasers, non-detectable fragments and incendiary weapons are also excluded. All companies involved in nuclear power generation, including nuclear fuel enrichment, uranium mining, and/or nuclear reactor design or construction, are also excluded from the Index. In addition, companies that surpass certain thresholds of installed capacity attributed to nuclear sources are also excluded. Securities with any ownership of fossil fuel reserves are ineligible for inclusion in the Index. Securities eligible for inclusion in the Index are then screened to remove those companies with the highest absolute emissions and the highest carbon emission intensity, relative to the other eligible securities, in accordance with the Index methodology and greenhouse gas emissions data provided by MSCI ESG Research, Inc.

 

  Portfolio Holdings

Under normal market conditions, each Fund invests at least 80% of its assets, exclusive of collateral held from securities lending, in component securities of its Index. Each Index draws from the universe defined by its Base Index, which generally consists of equity securities listed on U.S. exchanges. Each Fund may also, as a non-principal strategy, invest up to 20% of its assets in securities and other instruments that the Fund’s sub-adviser believes will help it track its Index, such as shares of other investment companies (including other ETFs), derivative instruments (including forward contracts, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, options and swaps), and cash and cash equivalents. Additional information about each Fund’s portfolio holdings can be found below.

Equity Securities

The Funds invest in equity securities. Equity securities generally include common stocks; preferred securities; warrants to purchase common stocks and preferred securities; convertible debt securities that are either in the money or immediately convertible into common stocks or preferred securities; common and preferred securities issued by master limited partnerships and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”); depositary receipts; and other securities with equity characteristics.

   

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REITs

As a non-principal investment strategy, each Fund may invest in REITs. REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types:

· Equity REITs, which invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains or real estate appreciation.

· Mortgage REITs, which invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgage loans and derive their income primarily from interest payments.

· Hybrid REITs, which combine the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs.

The only REITs included in the Index are equity REITs. The Fund can invest in common stock, preferred securities and convertible securities issued by equity REITs.

Derivatives

As a non-principal investment strategy, each Fund may invest in derivatives. Generally, a derivative is a financial contract the value of which depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivatives generally take the form of contracts under which the parties agree to payments between them based upon the performance of a wide variety of underlying references, such as stocks, bonds, loans, commodities, interest rates, currency exchange rates, and various domestic and foreign indices. Examples of derivative instruments include forward currency contracts, currency and interest rate swaps, currency options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and swap agreements.

Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives could have a large impact on a Fund’s performance.

Investment Companies and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles

As a non-principal investment strategy, each Fund may invest in securities of other open-end or closed-end investment companies, including ETFs. As a shareholder in an investment company or other pooled investment vehicle, each Fund will bear its ratable share of that vehicle’s expenses, and would remain subject to payment of the Fund’s management fees with respect to assets so invested. Shareholders would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent a Fund invests in an investment company or other pooled investment vehicle. In addition, each Fund will incur brokerage costs when purchasing and selling shares of ETFs. Securities of investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles may be leveraged, in which case the value and/or yield of such securities will tend to be more volatile than securities of unleveraged vehicles.

Generally, investments in other investment companies (including ETFs) are subject to statutory limitations prescribed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act"). These limitations include a prohibition on a Fund acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any other investment company, and a prohibition on investing more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets in the securities of any one investment company or more than 10% of its total assets, in the aggregate, in investment company securities. Subject to certain conditions, a Fund also may invest in money market funds beyond the statutory limits described above.

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

As a non-principal investment strategy, each Fund may invest in cash and in U.S. dollar-denominated high-quality money market instruments and other short-term securities,

   

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Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds' Strategies, Holdings and Risks


including money market funds, in such proportions as warranted by prevailing market conditions and the Funds’ principal investment strategies. The Funds may temporarily invest without limit in such holdings for liquidity purposes. Being invested in these securities may keep a Fund from participating in a market upswing and prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective.

Temporary Defensive Positions

In certain situations or market conditions, such as in the case of liquidity concerns and/or unusually large cash inflows or redemptions, a Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies, provided that the alternative is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and is in the best interest of the Fund’s shareholders.

 

  Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

A description of each Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s statement of additional information. In addition, the identities and quantities of the securities held by each Fund are disclosed on the Fund’s website.

 

  Risks

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Funds involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment or even that you may lose part or all of your investment. Therefore, before investing you should consider carefully the principal risks and certain other risks that you assume when you invest in the Funds. Descriptions of these risks listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Funds, regardless of the order in which it appears. Because of these risks, you should consider an investment in a Fund to be a long-term investment.

Principal Risks

Concentration risk: To the extent that a Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class, a Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Concentrated exposure to an industry or group of industries may cause a Fund to experience increased market price volatility compared to funds that invest more broadly in the overall market.

Cybersecurity risk: Intentional cybersecurity breaches include: unauthorized access to systems, networks or devices (such as through “hacking” activity); infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. In addition, unintentional incidents can occur, such as the inadvertent release of confidential information (possibly resulting in the violation of applicable privacy laws).

A cybersecurity breach could result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, the inability to access electronic systems (“denial of services”), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or costs associated with system repairs. Such incidents could cause a Fund, a Fund’s adviser or sub-adviser, a financial intermediary, or other service providers to incur

   

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regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs or financial loss. Negative impacts on a Fund could include the inability to calculate net asset value, transact business, process transactions on behalf of shareholders or safeguard data. In addition, such incidents could affect issuers in which a Fund invests, and thereby cause a Fund’s investments to lose value.

Dividend-paying security risk (Nuveen ESG Dividend Value ETF ("NUDV") only): The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying stocks could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of a company’s track record of paying dividends. Stocks of companies with a history of paying dividends may not participate in a broad market advance to the same degree as most other stocks, and a sharp rise in interest rates or economic downturn could cause a company to unexpectedly reduce or eliminate its dividend. There is no guarantee that the issuers of the stocks held by the Fund will declare dividends in the future or that, if declared, they will remain at their current levels or increase over time. The Fund may also be harmed by changes to the favorable federal income tax treatment generally afforded to dividends.

Equity security risk: Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time. Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Price changes may occur in the market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries. Adverse events in any part of the U.S. and global financial markets may have unexpected negative effects on equity markets. These events may at times result in unusually high market volatility, including short-term volatility, which could negatively affect Fund performance.

A variety of factors can negatively affect the price of a particular company's equity securities. These factors may include, but are not limited to: poor earnings reports, a loss of customers, litigation against the company, general unfavorable performance of the company's sector or industry, or changes in government regulations affecting the company or its industry. In addition, the types of securities in which a particular fund invests, such as value stocks, growth stocks, large-, mid- and/or small-capitalization stocks, may underperform the market as a whole.

ESG strategy risk: Because a Fund's ESG investment strategy will exclude securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons (i.e., companies that do not demonstrate sustainable ESG characteristics or are involved in certain prohibited activities), a Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy or may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so. This may cause a Fund to underperform the stock market as a whole or other funds that do not use an ESG investment strategy. In addition, there is a risk that the companies identified by a Fund’s ESG investment strategy do not operate as expected when addressing ESG issues. A company’s ESG performance or practices or the sub-adviser’s assessment of those actions could vary over time, which could cause a Fund to be temporarily invested in companies that do not comply with a Fund’s approach towards considering ESG characteristics. There are significant differences in interpretations of what it means for a company to have positive ESG characteristics. While the sub-adviser believes its evaluation of ESG characteristics is reasonable, the portfolio decisions it makes may differ with other investors’ or advisers’ views. As a result, a Fund may invest in securities that do not reflect the beliefs of any particular investor. In making investment decisions, the sub-adviser relies on information and data that could be incomplete or erroneous, which could cause the sub-adviser to incorrectly

   

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Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds' Strategies, Holdings and Risks


assess a company’s ESG characteristics. The third-party data providers may differ in the data they provide for a given security or between industries, or may only take into account one of many ESG-related components of a company. Furthermore, data availability and reporting with respect to ESG criteria may not always be available or may become unreliable.

Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG characteristics could have a material adverse effect on a Fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds, such as the Funds, whose strategies include ESG factors.

Financial services sector risk (NUDV, Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF (“NULV”) and Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF (“NUMV”) only): The Funds currently invest a significant portion of their assets in the financial services sector, although this may change over time. Securities of companies in the financial services sector can be significantly affected by changes in, among other things, interest rates, currency exchange rates, government regulation, the rate of defaults on corporate, consumer and government debt, the availability and cost of capital, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans) and competition from new entrants.

Growth stock risk (Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (“NULG”) and Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF (“NUMG”) only): The growth stocks in which a Fund invests tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. Growth stocks may be more expensive relative to their earnings or assets compared to other types of equity securities. Accordingly, a stock with growth characteristics can have sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividends that can help cushion its share price in a declining market. In addition, growth stocks, at times, may not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general, and may be out of favor with investors for varying periods of time. Growth companies may be newer or smaller companies and may retain a large part of their earnings for research, development or investments in capital assets.

Index provider risk: There is no assurance that an Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, an index provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of an Index constituents or weightings, which may increase a Fund’s costs. Unusual market conditions may cause an index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. Such a postponement in a time of market volatility could mean a constituent that would otherwise be removed at rebalance may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Index providers generally do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the indexes in which they license, and generally do not guarantee that an index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Information technology sector risk (Nuveen ESG Large-Cap ETF ("NULC"), NULG and NUMG only): The Funds currently invest a significant portion of their assets in the information technology sector, although this may change over time. Securities of companies in the information technology sector can be significantly affected by changes in, among other things, the supply and demand for specific products and services, the

   

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pace of technological development and product obsolescence, market competition, government regulation, and patent and intellectual property rights.

Investment style risk: Each Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of their investment merit. Each Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, a Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to its Index. In addition, because the Index selects securities for inclusion based on ESG criteria, a Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.

Large-cap company risk (NUDV, NULC, NULG and NULV only): While large-cap companies may be less volatile than those of mid-and small-cap companies, they still involve risk. To the extent a Fund invests in large capitalization companies, the Fund may underperform funds that invest primarily in securities of smaller capitalization companies during periods when the securities of such companies are in favor. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond as quickly as smaller capitalization companies to competitive challenges or to changes in business, product, financial or other market conditions.

Market trading risks: As with all ETFs, a Fund’s shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund’s share typically will approximate its NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy a Fund’s shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. In times of market stress, a Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Fund’s shares and/or lead to more significant differences between a Fund’s market price and its NAV.

Only certain institutional investors are eligible to purchase and redeem shares directly from a Fund at NAV. In addition, efficient trading in a Fund’s shares on the secondary market depends on the participation of firms acting as market makers and/or liquidity providers in the market place. To the extent these market maker and authorized participant firms exit the ETF business or otherwise significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform these functions, a Fund’s shares may trade at a material discount to NAV.

During periods of high market volatility, a Fund’s share may trade at a significant discount to its NAV, and in these circumstances certain types of brokerage orders may expose an investor to an increased risk of loss. A “stop order,” sometimes called a “stop-loss order,” may cause a Fund’s share to be sold at the next prevailing market price once the “stop” level is reached, which during a period of high volatility can be at a price that is substantially below NAV. By including a “limit” criteria with your brokerage order, you may be able to limit the size of the loss resulting from the execution of an ill-timed stop order.

Although each Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads (discussed in further detail below). Trading of a Fund’s shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage).

   

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Buying or selling a Fund’s shares on an exchange involves two types of costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of a Fund through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission and other charges. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread;” that is, the difference between what investors are willing to pay for a Fund’s shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which they are willing to sell a Fund’s shares (the “ask” price). The spread, which varies over time based on trading volume and market liquidity, is generally narrower if a Fund has more trading volume and market liquidity and wider if a Fund has less trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). A Fund’s spread may also be impacted by market volatility generally and the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the Fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds. Because of the costs inherent in buying or selling a Fund’s shares, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment results, and an investment in a Fund’s shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments through a brokerage account.

Mid-cap company risk (NUDV, NUMG and NUMV only): While securities of mid-cap companies may be slightly less volatile than those of small-cap companies, they still involve substantial risk. Mid-cap companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, and they may be dependent on a limited management group. Securities of mid-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or broader market averages in general.

Service provider operational risk: A Fund’s service providers, such as a Fund’s administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact a Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect a Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Small-cap company risk (Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF ("NUSC") only): Securities of small-cap companies involve substantial risk. These companies, which can include start-up companies offering emerging products or services, may lack the management expertise, financial resources, product diversification, and competitive strengths of larger companies. They may have limited access to financial resources and may not have the financial strength to sustain them through business downturns or adverse market conditions. Since small-cap companies typically reinvest a high proportion of their earnings in their business, they may not pay dividends for some time, particularly if they are newer companies. Prices of small-cap securities may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements than security prices of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. In addition, the frequency and volume of their trading may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling the securities of small-cap companies at the desired time and price, especially in situations of increased market volatility where a Fund may experience high levels of shareholder redemptions. Securities at the bottom end of the capitalization range of small-cap companies sometimes are referred to as “micro-cap” securities. These securities may be subject to extreme price volatility, as well as limited liquidity and limited research.

Tracking error risk: Tracking error is the divergence of a Fund’s performance from that of its Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences,

   

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transaction costs, a Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to its Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because a Fund incurs fees and expenses, but its Index does not.

Value stock risk (NULV and NUMV only): Value stocks are securities of companies that typically trade at a perceived discount to their intrinsic value and at valuation discounts relative to companies in the same industry. Value stocks often times are also in sectors that trade at a discount to the broader market. The reasons for their discount may vary greatly, but some examples may include adverse business, industry or other developments that may cause the company to be subject to special risks. Finding undervalued stocks requires considerable research to identify the particular company, analyze its financial condition and prospects, and assess the likelihood that the stock’s underlying value will be recognized by the market and reflected in its price. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics in which a Fund invests may be difficult to identify and may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock identified to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level. Value investing has gone in and out of favor during past market cycles and when value investing is out of favor the securities of value companies may underperform the securities of other companies.

Non-Principal Risks

Derivatives risk: The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that changes in the value of a derivative held by a Fund will not correlate with the asset, index or rate underlying the derivative contract.

The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the contract. A derivative transaction also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the contract to make required payments. These risks are heightened when the management team uses derivatives to enhance a Fund’s return or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by a Fund.

In addition, when a Fund engages in certain derivative transactions, it is effectively leveraging its investments, which could result in exaggerated changes in the NAV of the Fund’s shares and can result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested. The success of a Fund’s derivatives strategies will depend on the sub-adviser’s ability to assess and predict the impact of market or economic developments on the underlying asset, index or rate and the derivative itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the derivative under all possible market conditions.

Each Fund may also enter into over-the-counter (“OTC”) transactions in derivatives. Transactions in the OTC markets generally are conducted on a principal-to-principal basis. The terms and conditions of these instruments generally are not standardized and tend to be more specialized or complex, and the instruments may be harder to value. In general, there is less governmental regulation and supervision of transactions in the OTC markets than of transactions entered into on organized exchanges. In addition, certain derivative instruments and markets may not be liquid, which means a Fund may not be able to close out a derivatives transaction in a cost-efficient manner.

   

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Short positions in derivatives may involve greater risks than long positions, as the risk of loss on short positions is theoretically unlimited (unlike a long position, in which the risk of loss may be limited to the notional amount of the instrument).

Swap agreements may involve fees, commissions or other costs that may reduce a Fund’s gains from a swap agreement or may cause the Fund to lose money.

Futures contracts are subject to the risk that an exchange may impose price fluctuation limits, which may make it difficult or impossible for a Fund to close out a position when desired.

Options contracts may expire unexercised, which may cause a fund to realize a capital loss equal to the premium paid on a purchased option or a capital gain equal to the premium received on a written option.

Global economic risk: National and regional economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country, region or market might adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or market. Changes in legal, political, regulatory, tax and economic conditions may cause fluctuations in markets and securities prices around the world, which could negatively impact the value of a Fund’s investments. Major economic or political disruptions, particularly in large economies like China’s, may have global negative economic and market repercussions. Additionally, events such as war, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters and the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health emergencies may adversely affect the global economy and the markets and issuers in which a Fund invests. Recent examples of such events include the outbreak of a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 that was first detected in China in December 2019 and heightened concerns regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile programs. These events could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closure, travel restrictions or quarantines, and generally have a significant impact on the global economy. These events could also impair the information technology and other operational systems upon which a Fund’s service providers, including the investment adviser and sub-adviser, rely, and could otherwise disrupt the ability of employees of a Fund’s service providers to perform essential tasks on behalf of a Fund. Governmental and quasi-governmental authorities and regulators throughout the world have in the past responded to major economic disruptions with a variety of significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. An unexpected or quick reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which could adversely affect a Fund’s investments.

Other investment companies risk: When a Fund invests in other investment companies, such as ETFs, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of Fund expenses and, indirectly, the expenses of the other investment companies. Furthermore, a Fund is exposed to the risks to which the other investment companies may be subject. For Funds that invest in index-based ETFs, while such ETFs seek to achieve the same returns as a particular market index, the performance of an ETF may diverge from the performance of such index (commonly known as tracking error).

   

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Section 3 Fund Management

 

  Who Manages the Funds

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”), each Fund’s investment adviser, offers advisory and investment management services to a broad range of clients, including investment companies and other pooled investment vehicles. The Adviser has overall responsibility for management of the Funds, oversees the management of each Fund’s portfolio, manages each Fund’s business affairs and provides certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services. In addition, the Adviser arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration and all other non-distribution related services necessary for each Fund to operate. The Adviser is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuveen, LLC (“Nuveen”), the investment management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”). TIAA is a life insurance company founded in 1918 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is the companion organization of College Retirement Equities Fund (“CREF”). As of December 31, 2021, Nuveen managed approximately $1.3 trillion in assets, of which approximately $194.4 billion was managed by the Adviser. The Adviser is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.

The Adviser has selected its affiliate, Teachers Advisors, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”), to serve as sub-adviser to the Funds, responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund’s portfolio. As of December 31, 2021, the Sub-Adviser, a subsidiary of Nuveen, managed approximately $403.4 billion in assets. The Sub-Adviser is located at 730 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017-3206.

The portfolio managers for the Funds are Jim Campagna and Lei Liao.

         
     

Total Experience
(since dates
specified below)


Name & Title

Experience Over Past Five Years

At TIAA

Total

Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA
Managing Director

Teachers Advisors, LLC, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC and other advisory affiliates of TIAA – 2005 to Present (portfolio management of domestic and international large-, mid- and small-cap equity index portfolios)

2005

1991

Lei Liao, CFA
Managing Director

Teachers Advisors, LLC, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC and other advisory affiliates of TIAA – 2012 to Present (portfolio management of domestic and international large-, mid- and small-cap equity index portfolios)

2012

2005

Additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the Funds is provided in the statement of additional information.

   

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  Management Fees

As compensation for the services it provided to each Fund during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021, the Adviser received a management fee from the Fund based on a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets, in the amounts set forth below:

   

Fund Name

Management Fee

Nuveen ESG Dividend ETF

0.24%1

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap ETF

0.20%

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF

0.34%2

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Value ETF

0.34%2

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Growth ETF

0.39%3

Nuveen ESG Mid-Cap Value ETF

0.39%3

Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF

0.39%3


1 Management fee is annualized for the period September 27, 2021 (commencement of operations) through October 31, 2021.

2 The Fund’s Board of Trustees reduced the Fund’s contractual management fee to 0.25% effective September 28, 2021.

3 The Fund’s Board of Trustees reduced the Fund’s contractual management fee to 0.30% effective September 28, 2021.

The Adviser is responsible for substantially all other expenses of each Fund, except any future distribution and/or service fees, interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities, fees and expenses of the independent trustees (including any trustees’ counsel fees), certain compensation expenses of the Funds’ chief compliance officer, litigation expenses and extraordinary expenses.

Information regarding the Board’s approval of the investment management agreements is available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021.

   

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Section 4 Investing in the Funds

 

  Purchase and Sale of Shares

Each Fund is an ETF, which differs from a mutual fund in important ways. Shares of a mutual fund are purchased and redeemed by all shareholders directly from the issuing fund at NAV. By contrast, most investors will buy and sell shares of the Funds through a broker on a national securities exchange, where each Fund’s shares are listed and trade throughout the day at market prices like shares of other publicly traded securities. The Funds do not impose any minimum investment for shares of a Fund purchased on an exchange or otherwise in the secondary market. Each Fund’s shares trade under the trading symbol listed on the cover of this prospectus.

Purchasing or selling shares of a Fund on an exchange or other secondary market typically involves two types of costs. When purchasing or selling shares of a Fund through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission. The commission is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread,” that is, any difference on the exchange between the bid price and the ask price for a share of a Fund. The spread will vary over time based on a Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity.

Each Fund’s primary listing exchange is the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the “Listing Exchange”). The Listing Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth Holiday, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Book Entry

Shares of the Funds are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Funds and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Investors owning shares of a Fund are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for shares of the Funds. DTC participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.

Share Trading Prices

The trading prices of a Fund’s shares on the Listing Exchange generally differ from the Fund’s NAV and are affected by market forces such as the supply of and demand for the Fund’s shares as well as the securities held by the Fund, economic conditions and other factors. The price you pay or receive when you buy or sell your shares in the secondary market is based on the market price of a Fund’s shares, which may be more or less than the NAV of such shares.

   

48

Section 4 Investing in the Funds


Householding

Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Please contact your broker-dealer if you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, or if you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status.

Investments by Registered Investment Companies

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of the Funds. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Funds beyond the limits set forth in Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Funds.

 

  Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Only certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) who have entered into agreements with Nuveen Securities, LLC, the Funds’ distributor (the “Distributor”) (“Authorized Participants”), may purchase and redeem shares directly from the Funds at NAV and only in large blocks of shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”). Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable by a Fund. An Authorized Participant must be either a DTC participant or a member of the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”).

The Funds generally issue and redeem Creation Units in exchange for a designated in-kind basket of Fund securities and/or a designated amount of cash (together, the “Basket”). Each day the Listing Exchange is open for trading (a “Business Day”), prior to the opening of trading, each Fund publishes that day’s Basket through NSCC or another method of public dissemination.

Orders from Authorized Participants to create or redeem Creation Units may only be placed on a Business Day and are subject to approval by the Distributor. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after an order is received and deemed acceptable by the Distributor.

Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of Creation Units (including the cut-off times for receipt of creation and redemption orders) is included in the Funds’ statement of additional information.

 

  Distributor

Nuveen Securities, LLC, the Funds’ distributor, distributes Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the Funds. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.

   

Section 4 Investing in the Funds

49


 

  Distribution and Service Payments

Distribution and Service Plan

Each Fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act pursuant to which the Fund is authorized to pay fees at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for the sale and distribution of the Fund’s shares. No distribution fees are currently charged to the Funds; there are no plans to impose distribution fees, and no such fees will be charged for at least twelve months from the date of this prospectus. Additionally, the implementation of any such fees would require approval by the Board prior to implementation. Because these fees would be paid out of a Fund’s assets on an on-going basis, if such fees are charged in the future, they would increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more over time than paying other types of sales charges.

Other Payments by the Adviser

The Adviser and/or its affiliates may make payments to broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks or other intermediaries (together, “intermediaries”) related to marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, data provision services, or their making shares of the Funds and certain other Nuveen ETFs available to their customers generally and in certain investment programs. Such payments, which may be significant to the intermediary, are not made by the Funds. Rather, such payments are made by the Adviser and/or its affiliates from their own resources, which come directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the Nuveen ETFs complex. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. A financial intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it recommends or makes available, or the level of services provided, to its customers based on the payments it is eligible to receive. Therefore, such payments to an intermediary create conflicts of interest between the intermediary and its customers and may cause the intermediary to recommend the Funds or other Nuveen ETFs over another investment. More information regarding these payments is contained in the Funds’ statement of additional information.

   

50

Section 4 Investing in the Funds


 

  Frequent Trading

The Funds do not impose any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions (“frequent trading”); however, the Funds reserve the right to reject or limit purchases at any time as described in the statement of additional information. In determining that no restrictions on frequent trading were necessary, the Board evaluated the risks of frequent trading to the Funds and their shareholders. The Board considered that a Fund’s shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by Authorized Participants, and that the vast majority of trading in the Funds’ shares occurs on the secondary market. Because secondary market trades do not involve the Funds directly, the Board concluded that such trades were unlikely to cause many of the harmful effects of frequent trading, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in a Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With respect to purchases and redemptions by Authorized Participants directly from the Funds that are effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), the Board concluded that those trades do not have the potential to cause the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that a Fund may effect the purchase or redemption of Creation Units in exchange wholly or partially for cash, the Board recognized that such trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by Authorized Participants is critical to ensuring that a Fund’s shares trade at or close to NAV. In addition, the Board recognized that the Funds impose fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Funds in effecting trades.

   

Section 4 Investing in the Funds

51


Section 5 General Information

 

  Dividends and Distributions

As a Fund shareholder, you are entitled to your share of the Fund’s income and net realized gains on its investments. Each Fund pays out substantially all of its net earnings to its shareholders as dividends and distributions.

Each Fund may earn interest from its investments in common stocks. These amounts, net of expenses and taxes (if applicable), are passed along to Fund shareholders as dividends. Dividends, if any, are declared and paid annually for each Fund except NUDV. Dividends, if any, are declared and paid quarterly with respect to NUDV.

Each Fund will generally realize short-term capital gains or losses whenever it sells assets held for one year or less. Net short-term capital gains will generally be treated as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders. Each Fund will generally realize long-term capital gains or losses whenever it sells assets held for more than one year. Net capital gains (the excess of a Fund’s net long-term capital gains over its net short-term capital losses) are distributed to shareholders once a year at year end.

Each Fund reserves the right to declare special distributions if such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a regulated investment company or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains.

Your broker is responsible for distributing any dividends and capital gain distributions to you.

Dividend Reinvestment Service

No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Funds. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by beneficial owners of a Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Funds purchased in the secondary market.

 

  Taxes

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in shares of the Funds will be taxed. The tax information in this prospectus is provided as general information, based on current laws, which may be changed by legislative, judicial or administrative action. You should not consider this summary to be a comprehensive explanation of the tax treatment of the Funds, or the tax consequences of an investment in the Funds. There is no guarantee that shares of the Funds will receive certain regulatory or accounting treatment. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Funds. Unless your investment in Fund shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Funds make distributions, you sell Fund shares, or (for Authorized Participants only) you purchase or redeem Creation Units.

   

52

Section 5 General Information


Taxes and Tax Reporting

Each Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a regulated investment company is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, a Fund’s failure to qualify as a regulated investment company or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.

Each Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions of a Fund’s net capital gain are taxable as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares. For non-corporate shareholders, long-term capital gains are generally taxable at tax rates up to 20% (lower tax rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets), while distributions from short-term capital gains and net investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income. The tax you pay on a given capital gains distribution depends generally on how long the Fund has held the portfolio securities it sold and not on how long you have owned your Fund shares.

Dividends that are reported by a Fund as qualified dividend income are generally taxable to non-corporate shareholders at tax rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends paid to a Fund by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that a Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. For dividends to be taxed as qualified dividend income to a non-corporate shareholder, a Fund must satisfy certain holding period requirements with respect to the underlying stock and the non-corporate shareholder must satisfy holding period requirements with respect to his or her ownership of Fund shares. Holding periods may be suspended for these purposes for stock that is hedged.

Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from a Fund that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations.

The sale of shares in your account may produce a gain or loss, and is a taxable event. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term gain or loss if you held the shares you sold for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares held for one year or less is generally treated as a short-term gain or loss, except that any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of long-term capital gain dividends paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited depending on your circumstances.

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Distributions paid in January, but declared and payable to shareholders of record in October, November or December of the prior year, however, may be taxable to you in the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the price you paid for your shares).

REITs in which a Fund may invest often do not provide complete and final tax information to a Fund until after the time that a Fund issues a tax reporting statement. As

   

Section 5 General Information

53


a result, a Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions after it issues a tax reporting statement. If this were to occur, the financial intermediary with whom you hold your shares will send you a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information.

Early in each year, you will receive a statement from the firm through which you hold your Fund shares detailing the amount and nature of all distributions that you were paid during the prior year. The tax status of your distributions is the same whether you reinvest them or elect to receive them in cash. 

Dividends and distributions from the Funds and capital gain on the sale of Fund shares are generally taken into account in determining a shareholder’s “net investment income” for purposes of the Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.

When seeking to satisfy redemption requests in whole or in part on a cash basis, a Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause a Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, a Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment than if the in-kind redemption process were used.  

Distributions (other than capital gain dividends) paid to individual shareholders that are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S. or to foreign entities will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. Gains realized by foreign shareholders from the sale or other disposition of shares of a Fund generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. A Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Different tax consequences may result if you are a foreign shareholder engaged in a trade or business within the United States or if you are a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty.

Please note that if you do not furnish the Fund with your correct Social Security number or employer identification number, you fail to provide certain certifications to the Fund, you fail to certify whether you are a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien, or the Internal Revenue Service notifies the Fund to withhold, federal law requires the Fund to withhold federal income tax from your distributions and redemption proceeds at the applicable withholding rate.

Qualified Business Income

A portion of the Fund’s portfolio holdings may consist of REITs. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act generally would allow a non-corporate taxpayer a deduction equal to the investor’s combined qualified business income, which would include 20% of the investor’s qualified REIT dividends. Treasury has issued regulations that allow regulated investment companies (“RICs”) such as a Fund to report a portion of their distributions that relate to dividends received from REITs as qualified REIT dividends eligible for the 20% deduction. The total amount of Fund distributions that qualify for this deduction is disclosed to investors on their Forms 1099-DIV, which are made available in February after the close of a calendar year.

   

54

Section 5 General Information


Buying or Selling Shares Close to a Record Date

Buying Fund shares shortly before the record date for a taxable dividend or capital gain distribution is commonly known as “buying the dividend” and generally should be avoided by taxable investors. The entire distribution may be taxable to you even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of your purchase price.

Cost Basis Method

You may elect a cost basis method to apply to shares held in your account with your financial intermediary. The cost basis method you select will determine the order in which such shares are sold and how your cost basis information is calculated and subsequently reported to you and to the Internal Revenue Service. Please consult your tax advisor to determine which cost basis method best suits your specific situation. Please contact your financial intermediary for instructions on how to make your election. If you do not make an election, your financial intermediary will choose its own default cost basis method.

Taxes on Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes that exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and any amount of cash received by the Authorized Participant in the exchange and (ii) the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and any amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for a person who does not mark-to-market its holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Gain or loss recognized by an Authorized Participant upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities, or upon a redemption of Creation Units, may be capital or ordinary gain or loss depending on the circumstances. Any capital gain or loss realized upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of a Creation Unit will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses are treated as short-term capital gains or losses.

Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rules apply and when a loss might be deductible. If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Fund shares you purchased or redeemed and at what price.

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current U.S. federal tax law of an investment in the Funds. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You may also be subject to state and local taxation on Fund distributions and sales of shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Funds under all applicable tax laws.

   

Section 5 General Information

55


 

  Net Asset Value

Each Fund’s NAV is determined as of the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time) on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on each Business Day. Each Fund’s NAV per share is calculated by taking the value of the Fund’s total assets, including interest or dividends accrued but not yet collected, less all liabilities, and dividing by the total number of shares outstanding. Each Fund’s latest NAV per share is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

In determining NAV, exchange-traded instruments generally are valued at the last reported sales price or official closing price on an exchange, if available. Independent pricing services typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions, including readily available market quotations obtained from broker-dealers making markets in such instruments, cash flows, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, the pricing services may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity provided by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser.

If a price cannot be obtained from a pricing service or other pre-approved source, or if, in the judgment of the Adviser, a price is unreliable, a portfolio instrument will be valued at its fair value as determined in good faith by the Board or its appointee. The Adviser may determine that a price is unreliable in various circumstances. For example, a price may be deemed unreliable if it has not changed for an identified period of time, or has changed from the previous day’s price by more than a threshold amount, and recent transactions and/or broker dealer price quotations differ materially from the price in question.

The Board has adopted valuation procedures for the Funds and has appointed the Adviser’s Valuation Committee with the day-to-day responsibility for fair value determinations. All fair value determinations made by the Valuation Committee are subject to review and ratification by the Board. As a general principle, the fair value of a portfolio instrument is the amount that an owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the instrument’s current sale. A range of factors and analysis may be considered when determining fair value, including relevant market data, interest rates, credit considerations and/or issuer specific news. However, fair valuation involves subjective judgments, and it is possible that the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument.

 

  Premium/Discount Information

Information showing the number of days the market price of each Fund’s shares was greater than the Fund’s NAV per share (i.e., at a premium) and the number of days it was less than the Fund’s NAV per share (i.e., at a discount) are made available on the Funds’ website at www.nuveen.com/etf.

 

  Fund Service Providers

Brown Brothers Harriman (“BBH”) is the administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Funds.

   

56

Section 5 General Information


 

  Index Provider

The Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by MSCI or any affiliate of MSCI. Neither MSCI nor any other party makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in funds generally or in the Funds particularly or the ability of the Indexes to track general stock market performance. MSCI is the licensor of certain trademarks, service marks and trade names of MSCI and of the Indexes, each of which is determined, composed and calculated by MSCI without regard to the issuer of the Funds or the Funds. MSCI has no obligation to take the needs of the issuer of the Funds or the owners of the Funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indexes. MSCI is not responsible for, and has not participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Funds to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Funds are redeemable for cash. Neither MSCI nor any other party has any obligation or liability to owners of the Funds in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Funds.

ALTHOUGH MSCI SHALL OBTAIN INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION IN OR FOR USE IN THE CALCULATION OF THE INDEXES FROM SOURCES WHICH MSCI CONSIDERS RELIABLE, NEITHER MSCI NOR ANY OTHER PARTY GUARANTEES THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NEITHER MSCI NOR ANY OTHER PARTY MAKES ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY LICENSEE, LICENSEE’S CUSTOMERS AND COUNTERPARTIES, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN IN CONNECTION WITH THE RIGHTS LICENSED HEREUNDER OR FOR ANY OTHER USE. NEITHER MSCI NOR ANY OTHER PARTY MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND MSCI HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL MSCI OR ANY OTHER PARTY HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS) EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The Index, which is owned, calculated and controlled by MSCI, incorporates ESG criteria initially established by the Sub-Adviser. TIAA has licensed its name to MSCI for use in the name of each Index.

   

Section 5 General Information

57


 

  Listing Exchange

Shares of the Funds are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by the Listing Exchange. The Listing Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the ability of a Fund to track the total return performance of its Index or the ability of the Index to track the total return performance. The Listing Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of the Indexes, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of or quantities of shares of the Funds to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Listing Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of shares of the Funds in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of shares of the Funds. The Listing Exchange does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Indexes or any data included therein. The Listing Exchange makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Trust, on behalf of the Funds as licensees, licensees’ customers and counterparties, owners of shares of the Funds or any other person or entity, from the use of the Indexes or any data included therein in connection with the rights licensed as described herein or for any other use.

The Listing Exchange makes no express or implied warranties and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Indexes or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Listing Exchange have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

   

58

Section 5 General Information


Section 6 Financial Highlights

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand each Fund’s financial performance for the period of operations for the Fund. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in a Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions).

This has been derived from information that has been audited by KPMG LLP, whose report for the most recent fiscal year, along with each Fund’s financial statements, are included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the period:

                       
   

Investment Operations

 

Less Distributions

   

Year Ended
October 31,

Beginning
NAV

Net
Investment
Income
(Loss)(a)

Net
Realized/
Unrealized
Gain (Loss)

Total

 

From
Net
Investment
Income

From
Accumulated
Net Realized
Gains

Total

Ending
NAV

Ending
Market
Price

NUDV

                   

2021(d)

$25.00

$0.05

$0.64

$0.69

$ -

$ -

$ -

$25.69

$25.71

NULC

                   

2021

31.05

0.46

13.25

13.71

(0.48)

(0.94)

(1.42)

43.34

43.39

2020

28.01

0.53

2.74

3.27

(0.21)

(0.02)

(0.23)

31.05

30.95

2019(e)

24.96

0.19

2.86

3.05

-

-

-

28.01

27.99

NULG

                   

2021

49.60

0.07

23.82

23.89

(0.11)

(1.40)

(1.51)

71.98

72.01

2020

38.97

0.18

10.91

11.09

(0.20)

(0.26)

(0.46)

49.60

49.54

2019

33.84

0.29

5.96

6.25

(0.24)

(0.88)

(1.12)

38.97

39.00

2018

30.47

0.25

3.31

3.56

(0.09)

(0.10)

(0.19)

33.84

33.87

2017(f)

25.21

0.24

5.02

5.26

-

-

-

30.47

30.53

NULV

                   

2021

28.62

0.77

10.50

11.27

(0.47)

-

(0.47)

39.42

39.44

2020

31.52

0.77

(3.19)

(2.42)

(0.48)

-

(0.48)

28.62

28.65

2019

28.75

0.74

3.00

3.74

(0.57)

(0.40)

(0.97)

31.52

31.52

2018

27.83

0.71

0.56

1.27

(0.27)

(0.08)

(0.35)

28.75

28.80

2017(f)

25.09

0.53

2.21

2.74

-

-

-

27.83

27.88

NUMG

                   

2021

42.94

(0.03)

16.66

16.63

(0.02)

(1.87)

(1.89)

57.68

57.71

2020

33.26

0.03

9.75

9.78

(0.10)

-

(0.10)

42.94

42.83

2019

29.93

0.06

4.62

4.68

(0.06)

(1.29)

(1.35)

33.26

33.32

2018

28.44

0.07

1.58

1.65

(0.04)

(0.12)

(0.16)

29.93

30.12

2017(f)

25.10

0.09

3.25

3.34

-

-

-

28.44

28.46

NUMV

                   

2021

25.64

0.54

12.68

13.22

(0.42)

-

(0.42)

38.44

38.50

2020

29.50

0.57

(3.71)

(3.14)

(0.72)

-

(0.72)

25.64

25.67

2019

27.04

0.64

2.78

3.42

(0.62)

(0.34)

(0.96)

29.50

29.57

2018

27.00

0.65

(0.38)

0.27

(0.19)

(0.04)

(0.23)

27.04

27.09

2017(f)

25.04

0.48

1.48

1.96

-

-

-

27.00

27.01

NUSC

                   

2021

30.68

0.36

14.41

14.77

(0.20)

-

(0.20)

45.25

45.27

2020

29.65

0.28

1.03

1.31

(0.28)

-

(0.28)

30.68

30.74

2019

28.23

0.34

2.06

2.40

(0.27)

(0.71)

(0.98)

29.65

29.70

2018

27.84

0.35

0.30

0.65

(0.18)

(0.08)

(0.26)

28.23

28.27

2017(f)

25.01

0.27

2.56

2.83

-

-

-

27.84

27.89

   

Section 6 Financial Highlights

59


               
   

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

Total Return

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets

 
 

Based
on
NAV(b)

Based
on
Market
Price(b)

Ending
Net
Assets
(000)

Expenses

Net
Investment
Income (Loss)

Portfolio
Turnover
Rate(c)

               
 

2.74%

2.85%

$5,137

0.25%*

2.04

%*

0%

               
 

45.28

45.91

30,335

0.20

1.20

 

49

 

11.71

11.43

17,079

0.20

1.81

 

61

 

12.22

12.14

8,403

0.20*

1.75

*

9

               
 

49.04

49.29

942,876

0.34

0.11

 

66

 

28.66

28.42

344,703

0.35

0.39

 

86

 

19.57

19.53

83,789

0.35

0.82

 

61

 

11.70

11.61

59,212

0.35

0.73

 

65

 

20.88

21.10

24,380

0.35*

0.98

*

30

               
 

39.68

39.63

1,176,613

0.34

2.13

 

59

 

(7.87)

(7.78)

535,228

0.35

2.63

 

38

 

13.80

13.59

94,569

0.35

2.51

 

66

 

4.57

4.56

45,995

0.35

2.46

 

59

 

10.90

11.11

27,828

0.35*

2.30

*

33

               
 

39.51

39.92

400,877

0.39

(0.06

)

83

 

29.43

28.90

193,216

0.40

0.08

 

94

 

16.93

16.41

53,222

0.40

0.19

 

67

 

5.84

6.41

49,388

0.40

0.23

 

60

 

13.30

13.38

21,330

0.40*

0.38

*

53

               
 

51.97

52.06

276,751

0.39

1.57

 

67

 

(10.98)

(11.11)

119,241

0.40

2.25

 

72

 

13.51

13.57

54,573

0.40

2.31

 

70

 

0.97

1.13

47,318

0.40

2.30

 

69

 

7.82

7.86

22,951

0.40*

2.12

*

46

               
 

48.28

48.03

1,106,366

0.39

0.85

 

60

 

4.40

4.44

369,634

0.40

0.98

 

54

 

9.24

9.26

167,515

0.40

1.17

 

32

 

2.32

2.30

80,447

0.40

1.17

 

54

 

11.34

11.54

30,629

0.40*

1.17

*

36

(a) Per share Net Investment Income (Loss) is calculated using the average daily shares method.

(b) Total Return Based on NAV reflects the change in NAV over the period, including the assumed reinvestment of distributions, if any, at NAV on each ex-dividend payment date during the period. Total Return Based on Market Price reflects the change in the market price per share over the period, including the assumed reinvestment of distributions, if any, at the ending market price per share on each ex-dividend payment date during the period. Total returns are not annualized.

(c) Portfolio Turnover Rate is calculated based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales divided by the average long-term market value during the period. Portfolio Turnover Rate excludes securities received or delivered as a result of processing in-kind creations or redemptions of Fund shares.

(d) For the period September 27, 2021 (commencement of operations) through October 31, 2021.

(e) For the period June 3, 2019 (commencement of operations) through October 31, 2019.

(f) For the period December 13, 2016 (commencement of operations) through October 31, 2017.

* Annualized.

   

60

Section 6 Financial Highlights


Several additional sources of information are available to you, including the codes of ethics adopted by the Funds, Nuveen, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. The statement of additional information, incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains detailed information on the policies and operation of the Funds included in this prospectus. Additional information about the Funds’ investments will be available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Funds’ annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected each Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. The Funds’ most recent statement of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports and certain other information are available, free of charge, by calling Nuveen Investor Services at (888) 290-9881, on the Funds’ website at www.nuveen.com/etf, or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll free number above with any inquiries.

You may also obtain this and other Fund information directly from the SEC. Reports and other information about the Funds are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also request Fund information by sending an e-mail request to [email protected]. The SEC may charge a copying fee for this information.

Distributed by
Nuveen Securities, LLC
333 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606
www.nuveen.com/etf

No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus in connection with the offer of Fund shares, and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the Funds. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale of Fund shares shall under any circumstance imply that the information contained herein is correct as of any date after the date of this prospectus. Please read and keep this prospectus for future reference.

Dealers effecting transactions in Fund shares, whether or not participating in this distribution, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to any obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters.

The Funds are a series of Nushares ETF Trust, whose Investment Company Act file number is 811-23161.

 

NPR-NSESG-0222P