Trillions Freedom Has Paid Off For this Indie ETF
Feb 26, 2026
Perth Tolle, founder of Life + Liberty Indexes and creator of the Freedom 100 ETF, built a rules-based index that favors countries with higher personal and economic freedom. She discusses the ETF’s surprising 5-year surge, the disciplined index methodology, how markets move in and out, and how her background shaped her stance on authoritarianism and investing.
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Unchanged Rules Boost Credibility And Consistency
- Perth preserved strict, unchanged methodology relying solely on third-party freedom metrics and on-time rebalances.
- The index uses 87 variables from the Cato and Fraser Institutes, equally weighted with committee oversight and passive implementation.
Active Country Weights Outperform Cap Weighted Benchmarks
- Country selection explains ~83–84% of FRDM's outperformance, not just excluding China.
- Smaller countries like Chile and Poland (<1% in cap-weighted indices) were overweighted and captured growth missed by cap-weighted benchmarks.
Knocking On Doors At ETF Conferences Built FRDM's Foundation
- Perth recalls early grassroots selling at ETF conferences and repeated rejections before getting a launch partner.
- She networked persistently, met people like Joel and other issuers, and finally found someone to back the product.