Florida-based investment company Timothy Plan has expanded its range of biblically responsible funds with the launch of two new ETFs.
Timothy Plan now offers four equity ETFs providing biblically responsible exposure.
The Timothy Plan US Small Cap Core ETF (TPSC US) and Timothy Plan International ETF (TPIF US) provide passive exposure to US small-cap and international developed equities, respectively, while screening out firms that do not comply with Christian principles.
The ETFs have listed on NYSE Arca and come with expense ratios of 0.52%.
Methodology
The Timothy Plan US Small Cap Core ETF is linked to the Victory US Small Cap Volatility Weighted BRI Index. The index selects its constituents from a universe of the 500 largest US-listed companies with market capitalizations below $3 billion and positive earnings in each of the four most recent quarters.
The methodology eliminates companies that do not satisfy the eVALUEator proprietary Biblically Responsible Investing screening criteria. According to the fund’s prospectus, this screening process eliminates firms with alcohol, tobacco, gambling, abortion, and pornography business activities as well as those involved, either directly or indirectly, in “promoting anti-family entertainment or alternative lifestyles”.
The remaining constituents are weighted by the inverse of their average price volatility over the past 180 trading days with sector weights capped at 25%.
The Timothy Plan International ETF is linked to the Victory International 500 Volatility Weighted BRI Index. The index undergoes a similar methodology as described above but starts with a universe of the 500 largest companies listed on developed market stock exchanges excluding the US. Sector weights are capped at 25% while country weights are limited to 20%.
Both funds’ underlying indices reconstitute and rebalance on a semi-annual basis in April and October.
The funds complement Timothy Plan’s debut ETFs – the Timothy Plan US Large Cap Core ETF (TPLC US) and Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock ETF (TPHD US) – which launched in May 2019. These funds, which provide biblically responsible exposure to US large-caps and US large-caps with high dividend yields, have collectively accumulated $200 million in assets under management since launch. They also come with expense ratios of 0.52%.
Investors seeking ETFs aligned with Christian principles may also wish to consider the suite of funds offered by Inspire Investing. Inspire currently has five ETFs that cover the US large-cap, US mid- and small-cap, international equity, global equity, and US corporate bond markets. The range houses approximately $500m in assets under management with the largest fund being the $160m Inspire Global Hope ETF (BLES US).