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Is Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 07/10/2017, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by Inspire, IBD has amassed assets over $422.1 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Inspire Corporate Bond Impact Equal Weight Index before fees and expenses.
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
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
With one of the most expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.43%.
IBD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.19%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. 4.9 12/15/30 (015271AU3) accounts for about 1.97% of the fund's total assets, followed by Trimble Inc 4.9 06/15/28 (896239AC4) and Amphenol Corp. 4.35 06/01/29 (032095AH4).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.45% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF return is roughly 5.67% so far, and it's up approximately 4.14% over the last 12 months (as of 09/29/2025). IBD has traded between $23.28 $24.29 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.20 and standard deviation of 5.95% for the trailing three-year period. With about 249 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 $11.46 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $14.88 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?
Launched on 07/10/2017, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by Inspire, IBD has amassed assets over $422.1 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Inspire Corporate Bond Impact Equal Weight Index before fees and expenses.
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
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
With one of the most expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.43%.
IBD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.19%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. 4.9 12/15/30 (015271AU3) accounts for about 1.97% of the fund's total assets, followed by Trimble Inc 4.9 06/15/28 (896239AC4) and Amphenol Corp. 4.35 06/01/29 (032095AH4).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.45% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF return is roughly 5.67% so far, and it's up approximately 4.14% over the last 12 months (as of 09/29/2025). IBD has traded between $23.28 $24.29 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.20 and standard deviation of 5.95% for the trailing three-year period. With about 249 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 $11.46 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $14.88 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.