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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.

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September 25, 2024

Photo by Chris Henry

Sept 25, 2024 – Portland, Maine: The State of Maine’s trust fund has invested in the Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX), a climate-friendly large-cap fund that avoids investing in fossil fuel companies and votes its shares in favor of climate-related shareholder proposals. The Sphere 500 Climate Fund seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Sphere 500 Fossil-Free Index.

“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. “After careful consideration by our investment committee, financial advisors, and myself, we were impressed by the investment strategy and the team, and happy to be able to invest the State of Maine’s funds in a cost-effective fund with an expense ratio of 0.07%.”

“Over 99% of people don’t have access to climate-friendly investment options,” said Alexandra Wright-Gladstein, CEO of Sphere. “We created the Sphere 500 Climate Fund to help make it easy for everyone to access them in their retirement savings plans. It turns out the same things that make the Sphere 500 attractive to 401(k) fiduciaries – broad diversification and low fees – can make sense for other types of investors too. We are grateful to the State of Maine for being an early adopter. Every new investment helps us get closer to making climate-friendly investing available to everyone everywhere.”

Fossil fuel industry returns have been the lowest of any industry in the US over the past ten years. With solar, wind, and electric car technology on the rise, even British Petroleum has predicted global demand for oil will start to decrease next year.

The Sphere 500 Climate Fund offers exposure to a diversified large-cap US universe, minus fossil fuel companies and a few other screens. It was designed to check the boxes that 401(k) fiduciaries look to check, while also investing in a climate-friendly way. 401(k) fiduciaries have a responsibility to help ensure their plan participants have access to funds that have good risk-adjusted returns compared to benchmarks, and that are priced competitively.

Sphere offers an index fund that invests in the top 500 US companies by market capitalization and screens out fossil fuel companies, lead contributors to deforestation, tobacco companies, private prison operators, and weapons companies. For the remaining 415 or so companies, Sphere votes its shares in favor of climate-related shareholder proposals, which it believes maximizes shareholder value over the long-term.

About Sphere

Sphere is a registered public benefit corporation that is on a mission to get climate-friendly investment options in every 401(k). The company sponsors climate-friendly financial products that allow retirement plan managers to maintain their commitment to fiduciary duty without having to compromise on climate. Learn more at www.oursphere.org. For more information reach out to hello@oursphere.org. ‍

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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.