Inspire Investing this week rolled out its fifth exchange-traded fund that invests in companies deemed to operate in a biblically responsible way.
The Inspire International ESG ETF (WWJD) tracks an index composed of 150 companies that have a minimum market capitalization of $5 billion and are described in fund literature as “the most inspiring, biblically aligned large cap companies outside of the United States.” (Inspire Investing defines large cap as having a minimum market cap of $5 billion, though the large-cap category is generally defined as starting at $10 billion.)
Portfolio holdings are screened via the Inspire Impact Score methodology developed by Inspire Investing, a Hollister, Calif. firm that exists to create biblically responsible investment opportunities.
Inspire Investing says the impact score is a rules-based system using artificial intelligence that parses millions of data points to find biblically aligned companies considered to be “a blessing to their customers, communities, workforce and the world.” Companies are scored on a scale from minus-100 to plus-100. Those involved with abortion, pornography, human rights violations, LGBT activism, alcohol, tobacco and gambling don’t make the cut and are excluded from all five Inspire ETFs.
Regarding the new product, WWJD’s underlying index typically will have a portfolio mix that’s 80% international developed and 20% emerging markets.
Its net expense ratio of 0.80% is by far the most expensive within Inspire’s overall ETF lineup.
Inspire entered the ETF game in 2017 with four index-based products focused on biblically responsible investing. Three invest in equities, the other in fixed income. In aggregate, these funds have gathered a respectable $439 million in assets.
The Inspire Global Hope ETF (BLES) invests in U.S. and international companies with market caps of at least $5 billion, while the Inspire 100 ETF (BIBL) holds U.S.-listed companies with market caps north of $20 billion. The Inspire Small/Mid Cap Impact ETF (ISMD) invests in U.S equities in the stated market-cap ranges, and the Inspire Corporate Bond Impact ETF (IBD) focuses on U.S. investment-grade bonds.
Three of these ETFs each have a net expense ratio of 0.61%. The large-cap BIBL fund is the cheapest in the group at 0.35%.