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Is Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs category of the market, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 07/10/2017.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
IBD is managed by Inspire, and this fund has amassed over $474.88 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs. IBD, before fees and expenses, 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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.43% for IBD, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.18%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. 4.9 12/15/30 accounts for about 2.14% of total assets, followed by Trimble Inc 4.9 06/15/28 and Amphenol Corp. 4.35 06/01/29.
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 21.06% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 0.04% so far this year and was up about 6.74% in the last one year (as of 02/02/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $23.33 and $24.37
The fund has a beta of 0.21 and standard deviation of 5.65% 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 $11.91 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $15.82 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?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs category of the market, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 07/10/2017.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
IBD is managed by Inspire, and this fund has amassed over $474.88 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFs. IBD, before fees and expenses, 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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.43% for IBD, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.18%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. 4.9 12/15/30 accounts for about 2.14% of total assets, followed by Trimble Inc 4.9 06/15/28 and Amphenol Corp. 4.35 06/01/29.
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 21.06% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 0.04% so far this year and was up about 6.74% in the last one year (as of 02/02/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $23.33 and $24.37
The fund has a beta of 0.21 and standard deviation of 5.65% 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 $11.91 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $15.82 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.