Designed to provide broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market, the Inspire International ETF (WWJD) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 09/30/2019.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as 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
Managed by Inspire, WWJD has amassed assets over $311.68 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the INSPIRE INTERNATIONAL INDEX .
The Inspire International Index selects foreign equity securities from a global universe of publicly traded equity securities of large capitalization foreign and emerging market companies which have an Inspire Impact Score of zero or higher.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.73% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.65%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Orlen Sa (PKN) accounts for about 0.66% of total assets, followed by Mtn Group Ltd (MTN) and Essilorluxottica (EL).
WWJD's top 10 holdings account for about 6.01% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Inspire International ETF has gained about 7.79% so far, and it's up approximately 6.84% over the last 12 months (as of 03/28/2025). WWJD has traded between $28.66 and $32.56 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 16.46% 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 USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index and the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) tracks ----------------------------------------. IShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $13.07 billion in assets, JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF has $23.06 billion. ESGU has an expense ratio of 0.15% and JEPQ charges 0.35%.
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 The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL): Free Stock Analysis Report Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN): Free Stock Analysis Report iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU): ETF Research Reports JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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