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Is Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) debuted on 07/10/2017, and offers 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Inspire, and has been able to amass over $465.21 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 Index selects domestic corporate bonds issued by companies that are large capitalization companies, which have an Inspire Impact Score of zero or higher.
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.
Annual operating expenses for IBD are 0.41%, which makes it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.25%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. 4.9 12/15/30 accounts for about 2.28% of total assets, followed by Amphenol Corp. 4.35 06/01/29 and Trimble Inc 4.9 06/15/28.
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 22.49% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF has lost about -0.1% so far, and was up about 4.47% over the last 12 months (as of 06/09/2026). IBD has traded between $23.67 $24.37 in this past 52-week period.
IBD has a beta of 0.20 and standard deviation of 5.47% 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 Shares (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 Shares has $13 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.27 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?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD - Free Report) debuted on 07/10/2017, and offers 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Inspire, and has been able to amass over $465.21 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 Index selects domestic corporate bonds issued by companies that are large capitalization companies, which have an Inspire Impact Score of zero or higher.
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.
Annual operating expenses for IBD are 0.41%, which makes it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.25%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. 4.9 12/15/30 accounts for about 2.28% of total assets, followed by Amphenol Corp. 4.35 06/01/29 and Trimble Inc 4.9 06/15/28.
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 22.49% of IBD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Inspire Corporate Bond ETF has lost about -0.1% so far, and was up about 4.47% over the last 12 months (as of 06/09/2026). IBD has traded between $23.67 $24.37 in this past 52-week period.
IBD has a beta of 0.20 and standard deviation of 5.47% 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 Shares (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 Shares has $13 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.27 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.