Is Inspire International ETF (WWJD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Inspire International ETF (WWJD) was launched on 09/30/2019, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
WWJD is managed by Inspire, and this fund has amassed over $200.79 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the World ETFs. WWJD, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the INSPIRE GLOBAL HOPE EX-US INDEX .
The Inspire Global Hope ex-US Index selects foreign and domestic equity securities from all publicly traded international and emerging market large cap companies that is designed to assign a score to a particular security based on the alignment with biblical values and the positive impact that company has on the world through various environmental, social and governance criterion.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.80%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.05%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Stmicroelectroni (STMPA) accounts for about 0.67% of the fund's total assets, followed by Gotogojektokop (BQ3R601) and Prada.
WWJD's top 10 holdings account for about 6.11% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 8.88% so far this year and is up about 14.33% in the last one year (as of 06/15/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $22 and $28.62.
The ETF has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 18.57% for the trailing three-year period. With about 216 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Inspire International ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
IShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF (ESGD) tracks MSCI EAFE ESG Focus Index and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. IShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF has $7.44 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $14.20 billion. ESGD has an expense ratio of 0.20% and ESGU charges 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 World 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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Inspire International ETF (WWJD): ETF Research Reports
iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF (ESGD): ETF Research Reports
iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU): ETF Research Reports
