(FDLS) Northern Lights Fund Trust - Overview

The Northern Lights Fund Trust IV – Inspire Fidelis Multi-Factor ESG ETF (FDLS) seeks to track a 100-stock index by investing at least 80 % of its assets in securities that satisfy the index’s multi-factor ESG criteria. The adviser employs a full-replication strategy, buying each constituent in proportion to its index weight, and explicitly avoids concentration in any single industry.

Key identifiers: ticker FDLS; U.S.–registered ETF; classified as a “Small Blend” fund. Based on the most recent prospectus (as of Q4 2024), the fund carries an expense ratio of roughly 0.20 % and manages about $120 million in assets, with an average underlying market cap of $3 billion and a portfolio turnover of ≈ 30 % annually. These metrics place it in line with peer small-cap ESG ETFs, though the exact figures may vary with market flows.

From a macro perspective, the fund’s performance is tied to three measurable drivers: (1) U.S. small-cap equity momentum, which historically outperforms large-cap benchmarks by ~0.5-1.0 % per annum in expanding-GDP environments; (2) ESG factor premiums, where recent studies estimate a modest 0.2-0.4 % annual excess return for high-scoring firms; and (3) interest-rate sensitivity, as small-cap stocks tend to be more volatile when the Fed’s policy rate shifts, affecting valuation multiples. Tracking error is expected to stay under 5 % p.p. given the full-replication approach, but deviations could widen if constituent liquidity dries up.

For a deeper, data-driven dive into FDLS’s risk-adjusted returns and factor exposures, you may find the analytics on ValueRay useful.