What Is the Inspire Global Hope ETF?

It is a faith-based ETF that tracks global large-cap stocks aligned with biblical values. It broadly includes US and developed-market international large-caps but excludes specific industries based on its proprietary impact score, holding the remaining names at equal weight.

It is well suited for long-term investors who want diversified exposure to global large-caps while prioritizing value alignment.

The ETF is managed by Inspire Investing using a passive (index-tracking) approach.

It screens US and international large-caps that meet its proprietary impact score and holds them at equal weight, providing broad diversification across global large-caps. Industries that conflict with its values, such as alcohol, gambling, and tobacco, are excluded from the portfolio. Because of the equal-weight methodology, allocations are spread evenly across holdings, and quarterly rebalancing is used to readjust weights.

• Industry exclusions based on biblical value criteria
• Global equal-weight diversification spanning the US and international markets

Assets under management (AUM) stand at $166.9M, and the total expense ratio is 0.60% annually.

Equal-weighting combined with values-based screening results in relatively even diversification across holdings, while the expense ratio is somewhat higher than that of broad market-cap-weighted global ETFs.

Performance moves broadly in line with global large-cap stocks and is also affected by currency movements and international market volatility. Because of the equal-weight methodology, short-term performance can diverge from market-cap-weighted indices, and the recent trend is driven by global economic conditions and risk appetite.

Investor demand that prioritizes value alignment underpins fund flows, and as a globally diversified asset, inflows and outflows fluctuate with the market environment. Given its specialized faith-based theme, it tends to be smaller in assets than core large-cap ETFs.

Values-based screening and global equal-weight diversification are strengths, while the somewhat higher expense ratio and the smaller asset base associated with its specialized theme are weaknesses.

As shown in the table, FNDF and GSIE are international equity ETFs that diversify across developed-market large-caps at a lower expense ratio, making them useful global comparison points. Meanwhile, IGF focuses on global infrastructure, while GUNR and GNR are sector-specific alternatives focused on global natural resources. Within the same faith-based theme, BIBL, which concentrates on US large-caps, can be reviewed as a direct substitute alongside BLES.

This is what to check before investing in BLES. Alongside its specialized nature as a values-based fund, it is advisable to review costs, asset size, and currency exposure in advance. Investors should also examine how equal weighting and global diversification affect performance.

As a niche-theme ETF, the small asset base may limit liquidity, and the large international weighting means currency movements and global market volatility are the main drivers of short-term volatility. Because of equal weighting, performance can diverge from that of market-cap-weighted indices.

It is a suitable choice for investors who prioritize value alignment and want diversified exposure to global large-caps. Those who prioritize costs and liquidity may consider a low-expense broad international ETF, while those who emphasize faith-based values screening can consider BLES.