Inspire Investing is the world’s largest provider of faith-based ETFs and creator of the globally recognized Inspire Impact Score™*, which investors worldwide use to measure the alignment of their investments according to Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) principles. In this article, we will examine performance comparisons of Inspire’s ETFs to the S&P 500 for illustrative purposes of BRI performance (as defined by alignment with Inspire Impact Score™ methodology) versus “secular” markets.
The S&P 500 has long been the industry standard for gauging the health of the stock market. Naturally, Inspire ETF investors may compare their portfolios against the S&P 500 to assess their performance relative to the broader market. However, to make a fair comparison, it’s important for Inspire investors to understand the unique composition of the S&P 500 versus BRI portfolios.
According to their website, “The S&P 500® is widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities. The index includes 500 leading companies and covers approximately 80% of available market capitalization.”1 Because the S&P 500 is also a market-cap-weighted index, the largest companies hold the greatest influence over the index’s performance. For instance, a small group of companies — often referred to as the “Magnificent 7” or “Mag 7,” which includes Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla — make up roughly 30%** of the index’s weight. This means that these companies alone drive about 30% of the S&P 500’s performance.
A recent study from LPL2 illustrates how this concentration skews the S&P 500’s performance. In the first half of the year, the Mag 7 gained 50.92%, lifting the S&P 500’s overall return to 18.12%. However, without these companies, the S&P 500’s return was just 8.32%. Even more telling is the performance of the S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index, which returned only 4.60% over the same period.
For Inspire investors, this is a key point: The S&P 500’s heavy reliance on the Mag 7 distorts performance comparisons. Since these companies currently*** have a negative Inspire Impact Score™ due to their involvement in activities such as funding abortion-related travel, LGBT activism, distributing sexually explicit content, sexual exploitation, and the distribution of abortifacients, they are excluded from Inspire ETFs and, therefore, will not contribute to Inspire’s returns in the same way.
To provide further context, consider the Inspire 100 ETF (BIBL), a market-cap-weighted fund comprising 100 large U.S. companies that align with Inspire Impact Score™ methodology. Over the same 6-month period, BIBL returned 9.33%, outperforming the S&P 500 excluding the Mag 7 (8.32%) and the S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index (4.60%), but falling short of the Mag 7-driven S&P 500 (18.12%).
Inspire also recently launched the Inspire 500 ETF (ticker PTL), which tracks the 500 largest U.S. companies with neutral or positive Inspire Impact Scores™. Although PTL’s performance for the first half of the year is not available due to its March inception, its inclusion in the Q3 figures below highlights the value of comparing BRI portfolios to indexes less influenced by the Mag 7.
As shown in the chart below, the performance landscape shifted in Q3. The Mag 7 returned just 1.25%, significantly lowering the S&P 500’s total return to 5.60%. In contrast, the S&P 500 excluding the Mag 7 returned 9.25%, while the S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index delivered 10.45%. During this period, BIBL posted a solid 7.66% gain, and PTL gained 8.22%.
For Inspire investors, these deviations in performance are crucial to understanding how their portfolios stack up against the S&P 500. When the Mag 7 outperform the broader market — as they did in the first half of the year — Inspire portfolios may seem to underperform. However, when these companies underperform — as seen in Q3 — Inspire portfolios seem to outperform this index. This illustrates why it’s important for Inspire investors to take a more nuanced approach when comparing their performance to the S&P 500.
To address the originally posed question, Inspire’s periodic underperformance relative to the S&P 500 is largely inconsequential, given the S&P 500’s disproportionate exposure to companies in violation of BRI values, as determined by the Inspire Impact Score™ methodology.
As a final word of encouragement to Inspire investors, I leave you with this thought: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). In essence, do not allow the recent dominance of the Mag 7 to deter your commitment to investing in alignment with BRI values. While seasons of relative “underperformance” are inevitable, our unwavering dedication to investing for the glory of God must remain steadfast.
Important Risk Information
Inspire, the adviser, provides the index for the Inspire Funds to track. The indexes use software that analyzes publicly available data relating to the primary business activities, products and services, philanthropy, legal activities, policies and practices when assigning Inspire Impact Scores to a company. As the Fund may not fully replicate the Index, it is subject to the risk that investment management strategy may not produce the intended results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Securities in the Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes. The Fund may focus its investments in securities of a particular industry to the extent the Index does. This may cause the Fund's net asset value to fluctuate more than that of a fund that does not focus in a particular industry. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities held by the Fund will cause the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser will not sell shares of an equity security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a rebalancing of the Index as addressed in the Index methodology. Tracking error may occur because of imperfect correlation between the Fund’s holdings of portfolio securities and those in the Index. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach, if used, could result in its holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.
There is no guarantee that the Funds will achieve their objective, generate positive returns, or avoid losses. Before investing, consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. To obtain a prospectus which contains this and other information, call 877.658.9473, or visit www.inspireetf.com. Read it carefully. The Inspire ETFs are distributed by Foreside Financial Services LLC., Member FINRA. Inspire and Foreside Financial Services LLC are not affiliated. Copyright © 2025 Inspire. All rights reserved.
The Fund invests its assets in securities with an Inspire Impact Score® of zero or higher. As a result of its strategy, the Fund's exclusion of securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons may cause the Fund to forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria. The value of investments in larger companies may not rise as much as smaller companies, or larger companies may be unable to respond quickly to competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.
An active secondary market for the Fund’s shares may not exist. Although the Fund’s shares will be listed on an exchange, subject to notice of issuance, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained. There is no guarantee that distributions will be paid.
