
The NYLI Candriam U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF, trading under the symbol IQSM, strives to replicate the overall financial performance—both capital appreciation and income generation—of the NYLI Candriam U.S. Mid Cap Equity Index, prior to accounting for fees and operating costs. This fund passively tracks an index designed to offer investors access to shares of U.S. companies with medium market capitalizations, specifically those that fulfill environmental, social, and governance (ESG) benchmarks originally developed by Candriam.
Is IQSM's expense ratio expensive, average, or a steal for its category?
Pro reveals the verdict on a 5-tier spectrum calibrated against ICI 2025 industry averages, with strategy-aware bands so the comparison is meaningful.

IQSM offers exposure to 220 mid-cap stocks that have passed a proprietary ESG screening system. Its expense ratio is 0.15% and the ETF has $234 million in assets under management. IQSM has a slight growth lean, evidenced by higher estimated sales and earnings growth rates and higher valuation ratios. The ETF currently trades at 17.75x forward earnings. However, IQSM has consistently experienced larger drawdowns than SPMD, a broad-based ETF tracking the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

Good news for the fund industry: Investors are willing to incur higher expense ratios when it comes to accessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) products. Good news for investors: They don't have to do that.

Equity, debt funds tap into rising demand for sustainable investments.

IndexIQ has launched two new ESG-focused exchange-traded funds on the NYSE Arca today: the IQ MacKay ESG High Income ETF (NYSE Arca: IQHI) and the IQ Candriam ESG U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (IQSM).