Topic: How To Invest

Q; Hi Pat: What are your thoughts on The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF, $8.50, symbol HMMJ on Toronto (Units outstanding: 13.7 million; Market cap: $116.5 million; www.horizonsetfs.com), holds the stocks in Horizon’s North American Medical Marijuana Index. Horizon designed the index to provide exposure to the performance of a group of North American publicly listed companies with significant business activities in the marijuana industry. The index’s 10 highest-weighted stocks are Aurora Cannabis at 11.8%; Canopy Growth, 11.3%; Aphria, 11.0%; Scotts Miracle Gro, 10.0%; GW Pharmaceuticals plc, 9.6%; Insys Therapeutics, 6.8%; Cronos Group, 5.0%; Organigram Holdings, 4.4%; Cannimed Therapeutics, 3.7%; and Supreme Pharmaceuticals, 3.2%. The ETF started up recently, on April 4, 2017. Its MER is 0.75%. Share prices for many Canadian marijuana stocks have soared since mid-2016, although most have now given back some of those gains. The speculative appeal of Canadian marijuana stocks continues to attract investors looking for a “ground-floor opportunity.” However, the pioneers in an industry are not always the ones who survive. Longer term, the Canadian…