January 9, 2025
Tim Schwarzenberger

Tractor Supply, Lowe’s Added to Inspire 500 ETF After LGBT Activism Policy Changes

We are pleased to report that both Tractor Supply and Lowe’s now have positive Inspire Impact Scores and are holdings in the Inspire 500 ETF (NYSE: PTL) as of the most recent rebalance.

Boise, Idaho, January 9, 2025 — Given the companies’ recent commitments to end their LGBT Activism (as defined by the proprietary Inspire Impact Score(TM) screening methodology), we are pleased to report that both Tractor Supply and Lowe’s now have positive Inspire Impact Scores and are holdings in the Inspire 500 ETF (NYSE: PTL) as of the most recent rebalance.

Why weren’t Tractor Supply and Lowe’s in PTL before?

Tractor Supply and Lowe’s had been excluded from Inspire Investing’s ETFs due to their involvement in LGBT Activism. In 2023, both companies earned an above-average rating according to an annual self-reported survey conducted by a national LGBT advocacy organization, which rates companies based on their corporate LGBT Activism across several areas, including philanthropy, corporate policy, marketing efforts, and legislative support.

Inspire’s LGBT Activism definition: Companies earning an above-average rating according to an annual self-reported survey conducted by a national LGBT advocacy organization, which rates companies based on their corporate LGBT Activism across several areas, including philanthropy, corporate policy, marketing efforts, and legislative support. The average score is calculated from the scores of the Fortune 500 companies that participated in the annual survey.

Customer backlash and Robby Starbuck

Last year, Tractor Supply faced strong customer backlash for their LGBT Activism and DEI efforts after social media influencer Robby Starbuck publicized the company’s policies. Tractor Supply was the first of several prominent companies targeted by Starbuck. Initially, Tractor Supply ignored the social media firestorm, but after several weeks of prolonged negative public press, the company eventually came out with a powerful statement announcing it is rolling back its LGBT Activism and DEI commitments.

Figure 1:Tractor Supply Inspire Impact Score. Source:InspireInsight.com as of 12/12/24

Companies like John Deere, Harley Davidson, and Jack Daniels followed suit in the subsequent weeks, so by the time Lowe’s was being targeted by Starbuck, the company was already committing to dial back its LGBT Activism and DEI policies. An internal memo by Lowe’s to its employees announcing this fact has been reported widely by major news outlets.

Because of the recent announcements from Tractor Supply and Lowe's, their scores on the previously mentioned self-reported survey have been docked, so we have removed their LGBT Activism violations from their Inspire Impact Scores.

Figure 2: Lowe's Inspire Impact Score. Source: InspireInsight.com as of 12/12/24

Inspire continues to ask companies to de-politicize

Inspire Investing has been calling on companies to de-politicize their business and avoid hot-button issues like LGBT Activism. In 2023, we filed three shareholder resolutions on DEI and joined an investor lawsuit against Target. We have also been meeting with companies throughout 2024 to share our concerns and praise companies that have decided to de-politicize their businesses.

In August 2024, Inspire Investing met with the SVP of Investor Relations at Tractor Supply to thank the company and get more clarity around its commitments. More recently, we mobilized a coalition of investors with $65 billion in assets under management to send letters to Fortune 1000 companies urging them to avoid dangerous DEI policies and political activism. In the case of Tractor Supply, they recently confirmed that there has been no negative impact on their business from the decision to drop their support of LGBT Activism.

Walmart, the largest employer in the U.S., recently announced its decision to step back from its LGBT Activism and DEI policies. Read about Inspire’s efforts with Walmart and why this is a victory for faith-based investors.

Inspiring Transformation at Work

When companies respond positively to shareholder engagement and drop their support of problematic activities like LGBT Activism, it showcases the transformative power at play. They position themselves to refocus on their core products and services and avoid distractions from divisive political issues that could potentially put shareholder value at risk.  

We greatly appreciate our investors for entrusting their assets to our firm and our coalition partners for their unwavering support. Your contributions are vital to our engagement successes. Let’s continue to drive positive change together!

Investment advisory services offered through Inspire Investing, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC.

There is no guarantee that the funds will achieve their objective, generate positive returns, or avoid losses. Before investing, consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. To obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information, visit www.inspireetf.com. Read it carefully.

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Inspire and Foreside Financial Services LLC are not affiliated.

Important Risk Information: Inspire, the adviser, provides the index for the Inspire Funds to track. The indexes use software that analyzes publicly available data relating to the primary business activities, products and services, philanthropy, legal activities, policies, and practices when assigning Inspire Impact Scores to a company. The securities with the highest Inspire Impact Scores are included in the Indexes and are equally weighted.  As the Fund may not fully replicate the Index, it is subject to the risk that the investment management strategy may not produce the intended results.

Securities in the Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes. The Fund may focus its investments in securities of a particular industry to the extent the Index does. This may cause the Fund’s net asset value to fluctuate more than that of a fund that does not focus in a particular industry. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities held by the Fund will cause the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund to fluctuate.

The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser will not sell shares of an equity security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a rebalancing of the Index as addressed in the Index methodology. Tracking error may occur because of imperfect correlation between the Fund’s holdings of portfolio securities and those in the Index. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach, if used, could result in its holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.

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