San Jose, CA, August 2, 2018 (Newswire.com) – The Inspire Global Hope ETF [NYSE: BLES], the largest exchange traded fund (ETF) from biblically responsible asset management firm Inspire Investing, has outperformed its benchmark in its debut year of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
“We are thrilled with the performance of BLES, which bolsters our belief that good values and good returns are not mutually exclusive,” said Robert Netzly, CEO of Inspire Investing.
BLES returned 10.64% annualized since its inception on February 28th, 2017 through the end of the second quarter on June 30th, 2018, and returned 9.29% over the 12 months prior to the end of the quarter. With those returns, BLES outperformed the benchmark MSCI ACWI Equal Weighted Index by 2.48% over the past 12 month time frame and beat the benchmark by 0.30% annualized since inception.1
(Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The performance data quoted here represents past performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted above. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Inspire Funds are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.)
The Inspire Global Hope ETF [NYSE: BLES] seeks to replicate investment results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Inspire Global Hope Large Cap Index. BLES invests on a global scale, searching out inspiring, biblically aligned large companies ($5B+ market cap) from both the U.S. and around the world. BLES targets a geographic composition of 50% United States, 40% developed international and 10% emerging markets. BLES is equally-weighted, rebalanced quarterly and designed as a core equity holding.
BLES was nominated as a finalist for “Best New ESG ETF – 2017” in the ETF.com & Inside ETFs Industry Awards and registered net assets over $82M as of June 30th, 2018.
BLES launched on February 28th, 2017, sparking global media attention for Inspire Investing and the biblically responsible investing movement. Two days after launch, The New York Times ran an article on page B1, the front page of their print business section, with the headline “Funds Invoke Bible Values, Others See Intolerance” and discussed the rising trend of biblically responsible investing and the opposing views of socially conservative faith-based investors and socially liberal investors.
Numerous other articles and feature stories soon came to print and television from The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, FOX News with Brett Baer and other major media outlets. Some of these pundits praised the growth of faith-based investment options while others decried the biblical values that Inspire and other biblically responsible investment managers advocate for.
Despite the controversial launch, BLES has grown rapidly along with Inspire’s other biblically responsible ETFs, helping Inspire gain recognition as the #5 fastest growing registered investment advisor (RIA) firm in the nation in 2017, according to Financial Advisor Magazine’s “Top 50 Fastest Growing RIAs” annual report.
“That a biblically responsible investing firm such as Inspire Investing was ranked as the fifth-fastest growing RIA in the country is evidence that the biblically responsible investing movement is accelerating at a rapid pace. At Inspire we are committed to furthering that movement by providing investors with quality investment options that support biblical values and seek to make meaningful impact in the lives of people around the world,” commented Netzly.
Inspire Investing not only invests in inspiring, impactful companies — they also strive to be one. Inspire donates 50% or more of their corporate profits to Christian ministry every year with a goal of donating $1 billion over their first 10 years. Last year alone Inspire built a clean water well for impoverished villagers in Nepal, provided relief for Syrian refugees and Hurricane Harvey victims, sent Bibles into North Korea and shared the hope of Christ with thousands of youth in America.
And this year Inspire has begun work transforming an entire village in the mountains of Guatemala with clean water, schooling, a medical clinic, vocational training, child sponsorship and a church building. That is just one more way Inspire is striving to help investors work towards their financial goals while also making an impact in the lives of people across the globe.
1Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The performance data quoted here represents past performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted above. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Inspire Funds are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. (Fund operating expenses are 0.75% gross/0.61% net.)
