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Is Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) was launched on 07/10/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Inspire. IBD has been able to amass assets over $391.96 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs. Before fees and expenses, IBD seeks to match the performance of the Inspire Corporate Bond Impact Equal Weight Index.
The Inspire Corporate Bond Impact Equal Weight Index is comprised of 250 investment grade, intermediate term corporate bonds issued by some of the most inspiring large cap blue chip companies in the United States.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.43% for IBD, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
IBD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Trimble Inc (896239AC4) accounts for about 1.86% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (015271AU3) and Amphenol Corp. (032095AH4).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 18.24% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, IBD has added about 4.14%, and is up about 5.9% in the last one year (as of 07/29/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $23.28 and $24.29.
The fund has a beta of 0.19 and standard deviation of 6.13% for the trailing three-year period. With about 251 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Inspire Corporate Bond ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV) tracks FTSE US ALL CAP CHOICE INDEX and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF has $10.96 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $14.04 billion. ESGV has an expense ratio of 0.09% and ESGU changes 0.15%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Is Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) was launched on 07/10/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Inspire. IBD has been able to amass assets over $391.96 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs. Before fees and expenses, IBD seeks to match the performance of the Inspire Corporate Bond Impact Equal Weight Index.
The Inspire Corporate Bond Impact Equal Weight Index is comprised of 250 investment grade, intermediate term corporate bonds issued by some of the most inspiring large cap blue chip companies in the United States.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.43% for IBD, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
IBD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Trimble Inc (896239AC4) accounts for about 1.86% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (015271AU3) and Amphenol Corp. (032095AH4).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 18.24% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, IBD has added about 4.14%, and is up about 5.9% in the last one year (as of 07/29/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $23.28 and $24.29.
The fund has a beta of 0.19 and standard deviation of 6.13% for the trailing three-year period. With about 251 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Inspire Corporate Bond ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV) tracks FTSE US ALL CAP CHOICE INDEX and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF has $10.96 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $14.04 billion. ESGV has an expense ratio of 0.09% and ESGU changes 0.15%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.