April 5th, 2017 – Toronto, Canada – Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (“Horizons ETFs”) announces the launch of the Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (“HMMJ”). Units of the exchange traded fund (“ETF”) begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) today under the ticker symbol HMMJ.
HMMJ is the first ETF in the world that offers direct exposure to North American-listed stocks that are involved with medical marijuana bioengineering and production.
“Canada is the birthplace of ETFs and has been home to many firsts in the industry. The Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF is another made-in-Canada ETF milestone, the world’s first marijuana ETF,” said Steve Hawkins, President and Co-CEO of Horizons ETFs. “At Horizons, we take pride in our innovation, so we’re very happy that for the first time, investors will be able to access a low-cost, diversified portfolio of companies that are directly involved in the rapidly growing medical marijuana industry.”
HMMJ is an index (or passively managed) ETF, which seeks to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of Solactive’s North American Medical Marijuana Index (“the Index”), net of expenses. The Index provides exposure to the performance of a basket of North American publicly listed life sciences companies, and other firms, with significant business activities in the marijuana industry. The Index selects from a current universe of companies that have operations that may include one or more of biopharmaceuticals, medical manufacturing, distribution, bioproducts and other ancillary businesses, related to the marijuana industry.
Only stocks that meet minimum asset and liquidity thresholds are eligible for inclusion in the Index. Stocks are rebalanced quarterly on a market-capitalization basis, and capped so that no single stock can exceed 10% of the weight of the Index when rebalanced.
The following table of securities shows the current weights of the Index as at March 17, 2017. HMMJ may not necessarily hold all of the securities in the Index. If Horizons ETFs becomes aware that one or more constituent issuers of HMMJ’s Index conduct activities in violation of applicable laws, including state or federal legislation in the United States, HMMJ will not hold the securities of those constituent issuers, notwithstanding their inclusion in the Index.
“The rapid growth of the medical marijuana industry, which includes the growth in the size of companies and the number of companies that are publicly listed on North American stock exchanges, has created enough market depth and liquidity to make launching an ETF with this unique theme possible,” said Mr. Hawkins. “It’s rare that investors get an opportunity to invest in what is essentially an entirely new sector of stocks. Despite the recently strong performance of many of these companies, we do think that we’re still in the early stages of what could be a unique long-term growth opportunity.”
HMMJ has closed its initial offering of units and will begin trading on the TSX when the market opens this morning.
About Solactive (www.solactive.com)
Solactive AG is an innovative index provider that focuses on the development, calculation and distribution of tailor-made indices over all asset classes. As of January 2017, Solactive AG served approximately 350 clients in Europe, America and Asia, with approximately USD $100 billion invested in products linked to indices calculated by the Company globally, primarily via 250 exchange traded funds from a number of well-known providers. Solactive AG was established in 2007 and is headquartered in Frankfurt.
About Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.
Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and its affiliate AlphaPro Management Inc. are innovative financial services companies offering the Horizons ETFs family of exchange traded funds. The Horizons ETFs family includes a broadly diversified range of investment tools with solutions for investors of all experience levels to meet their investment objectives in a variety of market conditions. Horizons ETFs has more than $7 billion of assets under management. With 77 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Horizons ETFs family makes up one of the largest families of ETFs in Canada. Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and AlphaPro Management Inc. are members of the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group.
For investor inquiries:
1-866-641-5739 (toll-free) or (416) 933-5745
info@horizonsetfs.com
For press or other inquiries:
Mark Noble, Head of Sales Strategy
Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (416) 640-8254
mnoble@horizonsetfs.com