Christians who want to align their investments with biblical values can now look to two new Inspire Investing exchange traded funds to track global companies that provide a positive impact on the world through various environmental, social and governance principles.
Inspire Investing launched the Inspire Global Hope Large Cap ETF (NYSEArca: BLES) and Inspire Small/Mid Cap Impact ETF (NYSEArca: ISMD). BLES and ISMD come with a 0.65% expense ratio.
“At Inspire, we’re dedicated to having a meaningful influence in the lives of people all over the world through investing in inspiring companies, engaging with firms to encourage alignment with positive business practices, and giving generously from our corporate profits,” Robert Netzly, President and CEO of Inspire Investing, said in a note. “Good values and good returns are not mutually exclusive. Inspire ETFs allow you to join the growing movement of impact investors supporting worthy causes while maintaining the potential for above average investment returns.”
The large-cap ETF tries to reflect the performance of the Inspire Global Hope Large Cap Index, which is comprised of emerging and developed market large-cap stocks taken from the Russell 1000 Index, MSCI EAFE Index and MSCI Emerging Markets Index, depending on the Inspire Impact Score, a proprietary selection process designed to score a particular security based on the company’s alignment with biblical values and positive impact that the company has on the world through various ESG criteria. The index is made up of about 50% domestic, 40% developed foreign and 10% emerging market.
The small- and mid-cap ETF selects domestic small- and mid-cap stocks from the Russell 2,000 and the S&P 400 based on the Inspire Impact Score, with an even 50% tilt toward small-caps and 50% to mid-caps.