Horizons ETFs has announced that its Toronto-listed marijuana life sciences ETF has surpassed C$1 billion in assets under management.
Steve Hawkins, President and CEO of Horizons ETFs.
The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (HMMJ CN) was the first and is the largest ETF in the world to offer passive exposure to North American-listed companies with business activities in the marijuana industry.
“When we launched HMMJ in April of 2017, we knew there would be significant interest in a Marijuana companies ETF – given the tremendous potential of the sector,” said Steve Hawkins, President and CEO of Horizons ETFs. “HMMJ’s growth has far exceeded our expectations as investors have strongly supported the sector in anticipation of Canada’s upcoming recreational marijuana legalization.”
“One of the key drivers of HMMJ’s rapid asset growth speaks to the investor demand and desire for a diversified portfolio of Cannabis companies versus buying individual stocks,” added Hawkins. “While there are clearly leaders in the Marijuana equity sector, nobody knows for sure which companies will truly be successful over the long term or even be swallowed-up. HMMJ’s one-ticket, diversified investment solution has become very popular with investors looking to get broader exposure to the sector while mitigating single-stock risk without being subject to any active management bias.”
Underlying the ETF is the North American Medical Marijuana Index which provides exposure to the performance of a basket of North American publicly listed life sciences companies, and other companies with significant business activities in the marijuana industry. Eligible companies have business activities that include biopharmaceuticals, medical manufacturing, distribution, bio-products, and other businesses ancillary to the marijuana industry.
HMMJ’s investment strategy also permits the ETF to invest in marijuana companies which derive some portion of their revenue from the recreational cannabis industry in certain US states where cannabis use has been legalized by state law.
The fund has generated very strong returns from launch. Since its inception, the ETF has returned 78.5% on an annualized basis and is up more than 162% for the 12-month period ending 31 August 2018.
HMMJ has a management fee of 0.75%. It trades in Canadian dollars on Toronto Stock Exchange but is also available in US dollars under the ticker HMMJ.U CN.