News

When we move our dollars, the world notices.

Press coverage

Your Retirement Investments Are Probably Fueling Climate Change

Discover how your retirement savings might be supporting the fossil fuel industry—and what you can do about it.

September 14, 2024

11 Steps to Making Your 401(k) Plan Greener

What you can learn from one Alphabet employee’s fight to lower climate risks in his retirement plan.

August 14, 2024

Forbes: Climate Fund Seeks To Satisfy Investors Frustrated By ESG Funds

ESG investing, the latest incarnation of socially-responsible investing, has gotten a bad rap, and at least half of it is deserved. But one fund is trying to be authentic to this thematic form of investing. The Sphere 500 Climate Fund

June 30, 2024

Announcements

State of Maine Invests in the Sphere 500 Climate Fund

“We’re excited at this opportunity to be ahead of the curve in supporting a woman led climate strategy fund,” said Maine State Treasurer Henry Beck.

September 25, 2024

Sphere is now on TIAA, Saturna, MoneyIntel, LeafHouse, Expand Financial, and July

401(k) advisor demand has been growing as more employees ask for climate-friendly options

July 30, 2024

Sphere is now on ADP and Empower

Adding Sphere to your 401(k) can be as simple as asking your company’s 401(k) advisor

July 2, 2024

Blog

The markets are volatile: what to do?

August 5, 2024

We made our money march

Over the past two weeks, we joined with over 50 different organizations and celebrities, and with you, our community, to get everyone the option to stop investing in fossil fuels. We were a part of the Virtual March to Retire Big Oil, and w

February 16, 2024

Working to maximize our impact in 2024

As I reflect on 2023 and plan for 2024, a theme that keeps coming to mind is the immense climate impact that we can have when we pay attention to where we invest our retirement savings.

January 19, 2024

Historic update to the GHG Protocol likely to shine a spotlight on the 401(k) emissions problem

Why do sustainability managers not feel that it is their job to reduce the emissions from their 401(k)s?

November 3, 2023

How did you vote on big banks’ shareholder ballots about financing fossil fuel projects?

Bank of America, Citibank, and Wells Fargo faced shareholder proposals to stop financing fossil fuel development projects.

May 26, 2023

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As with all investments, there are risks involved with investing in SPFFX. Climate Investing Consideration Risk-Considerations related to climate risk, such as environmental criteria (e.g., fossil fuel screens), applied to the Index’s construction may limit the number of investment opportunities available to the Fund, and as a result, at times, the Fund may underperform funds that are not subject to similar investment restrictions. For example, the Index may exclude certain securities due to climate-focused considerations when other investment considerations would suggest that investing in such securities would be advantageous. The Fund may also underperform funds that invest in the energy and utilities sectors, particularly in times of rising oil, gas and energy prices. Other risks include, but are not limited to general market risk, small fund risk, large cap risk, common stock risk, sector risk, industry concentration risk, passive investment risk, index calculation risk, limited operating history risk, cybersecurity risk, tracking error risk, operation risk, and third-party data risks as it relates to the composition of the Index. For a detailed explanation of the risks associated with SPFFX and the underlying Index, please read the prospectus.

The Sphere 500 Climate Fund tracks the Sphere 500 Fossil-Free Index (SPFFXI). The Index is constructed beginning with the largest 500 U.S. companies that trade on regulated U.S. exchanges by market capitalization. The index administrator, BITA GmbH, then eliminates companies from this investable universe using data obtained from As You Sow, an unaffiliated non-profit organization that promotes environmental responsibility through shareholder advocacy. As You Sow eliminates companies from the Index based primarily on their risk profile of being exposed to the fossil fuel industry and secondarily, by other exclusionary screens, including companies engaged in deforestation activities, civilian and military firearms manufacturing and related guns/arms sales, prison and border security operations, and tobacco and e-cigarette manufacturing. The elimination of these companies from the Index is intended to foster and support the climate-focused, social investing goals of the Fund. The fund may invest in companies that use fossil fuels as a part of their business or have used fossil fuels in the past. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Index returns do not reflect the effects of fees or expenses. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted above. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. For performance information current to the most recent month-end, please call toll-free 844-2-SPHERE.

Index performance is discussed for illustrative purposes only as a benchmark for each strategy’s performance and does not predict or depict performance of that strategy. While index comparisons may be useful to provide a benchmark for a strategy’s performance, it must be noted that investments are not limited to the investments comprising the indices. Each of the strategy benchmark indices are unmanaged and cannot be purchased directly by investors. Past performance does not guarantee future results. No portion of the content should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell shares of the fund in any jurisdiction where the solicitation or offer would be deemed unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The Sphere 500 Climate Fund is distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC, member of FINRA and SIPC, which is not affiliated with Sphere or SPFFX. NOT FDIC INSURED NOT BANK GUARANTEED. MAY LOSE VALUE.