Canadian firm Horizons ETFs Management Inc. announced that the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (Toronto: HMMJ.TO), the first marijuana ETF, attained the CAD $1 billion mark in total assets under management in just 16 months. In addition to being the first, HMMJ is the largest ETF globally to offer direct exposure to an investable index of North American-listed companies with its primary 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, in a press release. “HMMJ’s growth has far exceeded our expectations as investors have strongly supported the sector in anticipation of Canada’s upcoming recreational marijuana legalization.”
HMMJ is passively-managed ETF that seeks to replicatethe performance of the North American Marijuana Index. To achieve its investment objectives, HMMJ invests and holds the equity securities that comprise its underlying index.
Those securities within the index include those listed on North American stock exchanges with significant business activities in the marijuana industry. HMMJ’s underlying index is ordinarily rebalanced on a quarterly basis at the close of trading on each rebalancing date.
“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,” said Mr. 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.”
Since its inception, HMMJ has generated 78.5% on an annualized basis, and is up more than 162% for the 12-month period ending August 31, 2018.
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