Last month YOLO, or the AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF, began trading, making it the first active exchange-traded fund (ETF) domiciled in the United States to deliver dedicated, fully-invested cannabis exposure.
Because of its active management component, YOLO can perform the necessary adjustments to its portfolio in quicker order versus a passive index-based strategy. According to AdvisorShares, this is of particular benefit given that the cannabis marketplace rapidly evolves, which can make way for a number of market fluctuations that can occur with investing in this niche space.
“We feel cannabis stands poised to become a market disruptor and long-term emerging growth opportunity, especially as societal, business and regulatory landscapes evolve,” said Dan Ahrens, managing director of AdvisorShares and portfolio manager of YOLO. “We believe YOLO may provide a compelling case to investors seeking emerging growth and dedicated cannabis exposure for their portfolios.”
YOLO seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in both domestic and foreign cannabis equity securities. This active ETF allocates across a universe of primarily U.S. and Canadian cannabis companies engaging in legal business which span different industries, including those specializing in consumer products. YOLO’s portfolio management team carries deep experience in the capital markets and a well-established expertise of investing in highly-regulated areas of the markets including cannabis.
Some of the top holdings in the YOLO portfolio come from a wide swath of marijuana participants, including marijuana growers, processors, suppliers, retailers, and drug makers. The list is comprised of more than 20 companies such as Village Farms International, Inc., HEXO Corp., Canopy Growth Corporation, Aurora Cannabis Inc., Neptune Wellness Solutions, Inc., Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc., Aleafia Health, Inc., WeedMD, Inc., Greenlane Holdings, Inc. Class A, and Khiron Life Sciences Corp.
YOLO cannot invest in U.S.-based companies unless those companies businesses are legal at the federal level. Even with the many regulatory barriers faced by potential issuers of cannabis ETFs, MJ’s success indicates there is appetite for these products, and YOLO aims to capitalize on that boom.
“Until now, the Nasdaq has not been willing to list companies that have U.S. ‘plant touching’ cannabis operations,” said cannabis lawyer David Feldman, a partner at Duane Morris. “What’s interesting is that they didn’t tie this to Nasdaq, they tied it to legalization.”
Here is the current YOLO ETF Holdings as of May 23, 2019:
| Stock Ticker | Security Number | Security Description | Shares/Par (Full) | Price (Base) | Traded Market Value (Base) |
Portfolio Weight %
|
| OGI | BQ963P6 | ORGANIGRAM HOLDINGS INC | 701,155.00 | 7.22 | 5,064,388.80 | 8.88% |
| IIPR | 45781V101 | INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIAL PROPER | 47,000.00 | 86.61 | 4,070,670.00 | 7.14% |
| TGOD | BG0DCR1 | GREEN ORGANIC DUTCHMAN HOLDI | 1,315,531.00 | 3.01 | 3,955,089.12 | 6.94% |
| APHA | 03765K104 | APHRIA INC | 582,933.00 | 6.41 | 3,736,600.53 | 6.55% |
| CTST | 137800207 | CANNTRUST HOLDINGS INC | 654,517.00 | 5.69 | 3,724,201.73 | 6.53% |
| VFF | 92707Y108 | VILLAGE FARMS INTERNATIONAL | 237,359.00 | 13.51 | 3,206,720.09 | 5.62% |
| HEXO | 428304109 | HEXO CORP | 437,095.00 | 6.65 | 2,906,681.75 | 5.10% |
| CARA | 140755109 | CARA THERAPEUTICS INC | 155,103.00 | 18.43 | 2,858,548.29 | 5.01% |
| CGC | 138035100 | CANOPY GROWTH CORP | 61,100.00 | 44.56 | 2,722,616.00 | 4.78% |
| ACB | 05156X108 | AURORA CANNABIS INC | 319,595.00 | 8.25 | 2,636,658.75 | 4.62% |
| NEPT | 64079L105 | NEPTUNE WELLNESS SOLUTIONS I | 576,682.00 | 4.09 | 2,358,629.38 | 4.14% |
| EMH | BYQ0XN5 | EMERALD HEALTH THERAPEUTICS | 841,388.00 | 2.73 | 2,298,498.88 | 4.03% |
| CRBP | 21833P103 | CORBUS PHARMACEUTICALS HOLDI | 296,095.00 | 7.27 | 2,152,610.65 | 3.78% |
| ALEF | BDRXWQ2 | ALEAFIA HEALTH INC | 1,651,236.00 | 1.14 | 1,887,687.21 | 3.31% |
| TLRY | 88688T100 | TILRAY INC-CLASS 2 COMMON | 39,000.00 | 44.79 | 1,746,810.00 | 3.06% |
| FIRE | BFN2HL7 | SUPREME CANNABIS CO INC/THE | 1,154,878.00 | 1.34 | 1,543,152.25 | 2.71% |
| NTEC | M53644106 | INTEC PHARMA LTD | 289,845.00 | 5.14 | 1,489,803.30 | 2.61% |
| WMD | BDH43N9 | WEEDMD INC | 1,146,767.00 | 1.25 | 1,438,672.88 | 2.52% |
| ARNA | 40047607 | ARENA PHARMACEUTICALS INC | 25,850.00 | 53.2 | 1,375,220.00 | 2.41% |
| RIV | BF5HVC9 | CANOPY RIVERS INC | 392,480.00 | 3.27 | 1,284,861.41 | 2.25% |
| KHRN | BDGH0L6 | KHIRON LIFE SCIENCES CORP | 512,350.00 | 2.32 | 1,190,450.23 | 2.09% |
| GNLN | 395330103 | GREENLANE HOLDINGS INC – A | 76,254.00 | 15.17 | 1,156,773.18 | 2.03% |
| ZYNE | 98986X109 | ZYNERBA PHARMACEUTICALS INC | 83,275.00 | 13.53 | 1,126,710.75 | 1.98% |
| PYX | 74737V106 | PYXUS INTERNATIONAL INC | 57,340.00 | 17.84 | 1,022,945.60 | 1.79% |
| X9USDBLYT | BLACKROCK TREASURY TRUST INSTL 62 | 193,097.67 | 1 | 193,097.67 | 0.34% | |
| CASH | -132,480.86 | 100 | -132,480.86 | -0.23% |
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