Horizons ETFs Rebalances Marijuana-Focused Index ETF Suite

TORONTO, July 10, 2020 /CNW/ - Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") has completed the quarterly rebalance of the constituent holdings of the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF ("HMMJ":TSX) and the Horizons US Marijuana Index ETF ("HMUS":NEO).

ABOUT HMMJ

HMMJ is the world's first ETF that offered direct exposure to businesses with activities in the marijuana industry. This quarter, two constituents were added to HMMJ's portfolio:

Additions

Company Name	Ticker	Exchange
Agraflora Organics International Inc.	AGRA	Canadian Securities Exchange
CBDMD Inc.	YCBD	New York Stock Exchange

HMMJ seeks to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the North American Marijuana Index, net of expenses. This index is designed to provide exposure to the performance of a basket of North American publicly listed life sciences companies with significant business activities in the marijuana industry. The North American Marijuana Index selects from a current universe of companies that have operations that may include one or more offerings of biopharmaceuticals, medical manufacturing, distribution, bio-products and other ancillary businesses related to the marijuana industry. Securities within HMMJ's index generally have a market capitalization of greater than C$75 million.

"Following volatility that impacted nearly all asset classes across global markets in March, marijuana companies saw a strong recovery in the first two months of Q2 2020. HMMJ was up more than 15% for the three months ending at June 30, 2020," said Steve Hawkins, President and CEO of Horizons ETFs. "While there is volatility within the marijuana space again, the investing case remains strong: after Canadian adult-use cannabis sales set new record highs in March they remained consistently strong into April, reaching over $180 million."

Rebalancing of the North American Marijuana Index, and consequently HMMJ, occurs each calendar quarter. At that point, all stocks eligible for inclusion in the index are generally re-weighted by their respective market capitalization.

The holdings of HMMJ and its current portfolio weights are regularly updated and available at https://www.HorizonsETFs.com/HMMJ. It is important to note that HMMJ may not hold all of the constituent names in its index. Horizons ETFs may, through the use of a stratified sampling, invest HMMJ in securities that closely match the investment characteristics of its index, provided they are consistent with the ETF's investment objectives and strategies.

Performance Update as at June 30, 2020*

	1 Month	3 Month	6 Months	YTD	1 Year	3 Year	Annualized Since Inception**
HMMJ	-8.00%	15.59%	-17.19%	-17.19%	-58.16%	0.38%	-4.68%
NAMMAR Index	-8.51%	21.79%	-17.31%	-17.31%	-56.38%	-4.35%	-9.42%
Source: Bloomberg, as at June 30, 2020. **Since HMMJ's inception on April 4, 2017.

 

ABOUT HMUS

HMUS is the world's first U.S.-focused marijuana index ETF. HMUS seeks to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the US Marijuana Companies Index, net of expenses. This index is designed to provide exposure to the performance of a basket of publicly-listed companies having significant business activities in, or significant exposure to, the marijuana or hemp industries in the United States. Constituents of this index are selected from Canadian and U.S. exchanges. While some securities may be listed on major North American exchanges, the majority of the securities currently trade on North American exchanges that include but are not limited to the Canadian Securities Exchange and the Aequitas NEO Exchange.

This rebalance resulted in one addition and one removal from the portfolio:

Additions

Company Name	Ticker	Exchange
CBDMD Inc.	YCBD	New York Stock Exchange

Deletions

Company Name	Ticker	Exchange
Halo Labs Inc.	HALO	Aequitas NEO Exchange

"Similar to what we saw in Canada during Q2 2020, U.S. cannabis companies, as represented by HMUS, saw strong investor conviction in April and May, while June saw the return of volatility," said Mr. Hawkins. "However, with new polls suggesting the likelihood of a Democrat victory in November, there may be a new surge in optimism for reformative political change on the issue of federal illegality of cannabis in the U.S., which could again bolster U.S. marijuana companies."

Rebalancing of the US Marijuana Companies Index, and consequently HMUS, occurs each calendar quarter. At that point, all stocks eligible for inclusion in the index are generally re-weighted by their respective market capitalization.

The holdings of HMUS and its current portfolio weights are regularly updated and available at https://www.HorizonsETFs.com/HMUS. It is important to note that HMUS may not hold all of the constituent names in its index. Horizons ETFs may, through the use of a stratified sampling, invest HMUS in securities that closely match the investment characteristics of its index, provided they are consistent with the ETF's investment objectives and strategies.

Performance Update as at June 30, 2020*

	1 Month	3 Month	6 Months	YTD	1 Year	Annualized Since Inception**
HMUS	-12.08%	23.80%	-27.90%	-27.90%	-57.19%	-60.26%
US Marijuana Companies Index	-12.40%	22.99%	-29.71%	-29.71%	-59.18%	-61.93%
Source: Bloomberg, as at June 30, 2020. **Since HMUS' inception on April 17, 2019.

About Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (www.HorizonsETFs.com)

Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. is an innovative financial services company and offers one of the largest suites of exchange traded funds in Canada. The Horizons ETFs product family includes a broadly diversified range of solutions for investors of all experience levels to meet their investment objectives in a variety of market conditions. Horizons ETFs has over $13.5 billion of assets under management and 92 ETFs listed on major Canadian stock exchanges.

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with an investment in the exchange traded funds (the "ETFs") managed by Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. The ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The prospectus contains important detailed information about the ETFs. Please read the prospectus before investing.

The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns, including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Additionally, index returns do not take into account management, operating or trading expenses that may be incurred in replicating the index. The rates of return above are not indicative of future returns. The indices are not directly investible.

HMUS is expected to invest in the Marijuana industry in certain U.S. states that have legalized marijuana for therapeutic or adult-use, which is currently illegal under U.S. federal law. HMUS will passively invest in companies involved in the marijuana industry in the U.S. where local state law regulates and permits such activities, as well as in companies involved in the Canadian legal Marijuana industry. Neither HMMJ nor HMUS will be directly engaged in the manufacture, importation, possession, use, sale or distribution of marijuana in either Canada or the U.S. Please read the full risk disclosure in the respective prospectus before investing.

SOURCE Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.

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