Inspire Investing advertises its ETF as “biblically responsible investing.” The obvious problem is how you define what is biblical. If it were so easy to define would we would not have so many sects and theologies of Christianity and Judaism.
Inspire came up with its own methodology for excluding companies. A company is automatically given a negative score for having any “exposure” to fourteen categories. Alcohol is on the list, but weapons are not. Other factors are used to develop a positive score.
Inspire touts a scientific approach in its marketing. It looks like Inspire was not able to prove that it was actually using this approach.
10. For example, certain companies were excluded from Inspire’s investment universe for donating to certain advocacy organizations or sponsoring certain events that Inspire considered to be Prohibited Activities. At the same time, multiple companies held within the Inspire ETF portfolios donated to organizations or sponsored events that were the same or similar.
I suppose these Inspire ETFs would be prohibited investments by some of the 35 states that prohibit ESG investing. The Inspire ETFs take into account factors other than pecuniary factors, which is prohibited by many of those anti-ESG laws. Its “positive score” factors are typical of ESG funds.
The Inspire BIBL ETF also consistently underperforms the market.
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