HORIZONS ETFS RECEIVES EIGHT FUNDATA FUNDGRADE A+® AWARDS

TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") is proud to announce that seven of its exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") have been awarded a total of eight Fundata FundGrade A+® Awards ("Fundata Awards") for 2021 – the most Fundata Awards that Horizons ETFs has won in a single year:

ETF Name	Fundata Category	Category Size
Horizons Global Sustainability Leaders Index ETF ("ETHI")	Global Equity	1127
Horizons Global Sustainability Leaders Index ETF ("ETHI")	RI – Equity	287
Horizons Balanced TRI ETF Portfolio ("HBAL")	Global Equity Balanced	722
Horizons Conservative TRI ETF Portfolio ("HCON")	Global Neutral Balanced	893
Horizons NASDAQ-100® Index ETF ("HXQ")	U.S. Equity	833
Horizons S&P/TSX 60™ Index ETF ("HXT")	Canadian Equity	379
Horizons Pipelines & Energy Services Index ETF ("HOG")	Energy Equity	33
Horizons Active Cdn Municipal Bond ETF ("HMP")	Canadian Short Term Fixed Income	169

Created by Fundata Canada Inc., the FundGrade rating system uses risk-adjusted performance figures to rank and grade Canadian investment funds, which include ETFs. Based on up to 10 years of performance data, the 'A+ Grade' is strictly a quantitative calculation conducted on an annual basis, which results in a grade score ranking, according to the fund classification standards defined by the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee ("CIFSC").

"I'm happy to announce that from our family of ETFs we've won eight Fundata Awards for 2021, which exceeds our previous record of seven ETF awards in 2020," said Steve Hawkins, President and CEO of Horizons ETFs. "As our list of ETFs with established track records continues to grow, they are earning an increasing amount of recognition for excellence in their respective Fundata categories, and we hope this trend will continue."

Launched in 2018, ETHI, Horizons ETFs' first fund focused on the rapidly expanding responsible investing ("RI") trend, has won its first-ever Fundata Awards. In addition to its FundGrade A+® Award recognition within the Global Equity category, ETHI has also received an RI FundGrade A+® Award within the RI Equity category. The RI FundGrade A+® Award recognizes the top-performing RI funds, which are drawn from a universe that consists only of funds identified as RI funds by the Responsible Investment Association.

For the first time ever, HBAL and HCON, two of Horizons ETFs' portfolio ETFs, have been recognized by the Fundata Awards for their respective achievements in the Global Equity Balanced and Global Neutral Balanced categories. HBAL seeks to provide long-term capital growth using a balanced portfolio of exchange traded funds while targeting an asset allocation of approximately 70% equity securities and 30% fixed income securities.  HCON also seeks long-term capital growth but targets an asset allocation of approximately 50% equity securities and 50% fixed income securities.

HXT and HXQ also earned Fundata Awards for their respective achievements in the Canadian and U.S. Equity categories. Both ETFs are a part of Horizons ETFs' corporate class ETF family, a structure which can help provide minimal tracking error, and is potentially more tax-efficient for taxable Canadian investors. HXT has been recognized with a Fundata Award for four consecutive years now, while HXQ has now been recognized for three years in a row.

For a fifth year in a row, Horizons ETFs' HOG has secured a Fundata Award in the Energy Equity category. HOG is the first Canadian-listed ETF focused exclusively on providing exposure to midstream oil and gas companies, comprised of pipeline and energy services companies with significant operations in Canada.

HMP, another first-of-its-kind ETF in Canada that provides exposure to a portfolio of Canadian municipal bonds actively managed by sub-advisor Fiera Capital Corporation, marks its second year of recognition by the Fundata Awards in the Canadian Short Term Fixed Income category. 

For more information on any of our Fundata Award winning ETFs, please visit us at www.HorizonsETFs.com.

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 more than $20 billion of assets under management and 104 ETFs listed on major Canadian stock exchanges.

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

FundGrade A+® is used with permission from Fundata Canada Inc., all rights reserved. The annual FundGrade A+® Awards are presented by Fundata Canada Inc. to recognize the "best of the best" among Canadian investment funds. The FundGrade A+® calculation is supplemental to the monthly FundGrade ratings and is calculated at the end of each calendar year. The FundGrade rating system evaluates funds based on their risk-adjusted performance, measured by Sharpe Ratio, Sortino Ratio, and Information Ratio. The score for each ratio is calculated individually, covering all time periods from 2 to 10 years. The scores are then weighted equally in calculating a monthly FundGrade. The top 10% of funds earn an A Grade; the next 20% of funds earn a B Grade; the next 40% of funds earn a C Grade; the next 20% of funds receive a D Grade; and the lowest 10% of funds receive an E Grade. To be eligible, a fund must have received a FundGrade rating every month in the previous year. The FundGrade A+® uses a GPA-style calculation, where each monthly FundGrade from "A" to "E" receives a score from 4 to 0, respectively. A fund's average score for the year determines its GPA. Any fund with a GPA of 3.5 or greater is awarded a FundGrade A+® Award. For more information, see www.FundGradeAwards.com. Although Fundata makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Fundata.

The RI FundGrade A+® was designed to recognize the top performing Responsible Investing (RI) funds not just based solely on returns, but using the same risk-adjusted performance measures that make the FundGrade so effective. First, the universe consists only of funds that are identified as RI funds by the Responsible Investing Association (RIA). Second, the funds are split into three categories: 1) Equity, 2) Balanced, and 3) Fixed Income. These categories are based on the high-level CIFSC groupings whereby all the equity categories are combined, all the balanced categories are combined, and all the fixed income categories are combined. This provides a sufficient number of funds in each of the three categories to allow for meaningful comparisons. Only Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds are eligible for the RI FundGrade A+® Award. The RI FundGrade A+® calculation is exactly the same as the monthly FundGrade calculation above, wherein funds are ranked based on Sharpe, Information, and Sortino ratios using up to 10 years of history. The funds with the top overall rankings in each of the Equity, Balanced, and Fixed Income categories at the end of the year are awarded the RI FundGrade A+®.

Horizons Global Sustainability Leaders Index ETF (ETHI)

Horizons ETHI seeks to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Nasdaq Future Global Sustainability Leaders Index, net of expenses. The Nasdaq Future Global Sustainability Leaders Index is designed to provide exposure to the performance of a basket of large-cap equity securities of companies that are global climate change leaders (as measured by their relative carbon efficiency), and are not materially engaged in activities deemed inconsistent with responsible investment considerations. Horizons ETHI seeks to hedge the U.S. dollar value of its portfolio to the Canadian dollar at all times.

Performance for ETHI for the period ending December 31, 2021 is as follows: 21.97% (1 year), 29.91% (3 years), and 26.06% (since inception on October 31, 2018). ETHI was awarded its FundGrade A+® Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2021. In the Global Equity award category, ETHI was in competition with 1127 other investment funds. In the RI Equity award category, ETHI was in competition with 287 other investment funds.

Horizons Balanced TRI ETF Portfolio (HBAL)

HBAL seeks long-term capital growth using a balanced portfolio of exchange traded funds. HBAL primarily invests in Horizons' Total Return Index ETFs. The portfolio targets a long-term asset allocation of approximately 70% equity securities and 30% fixed income securities, and rebalances semi-annually to ensure the composition of HBAL reflects a consistent level of balanced risk. HBAL will use currency forwards to hedge its non-Canadian dollar currency exposure to the Canadian dollar at all times.

Performance for HBAL for the period ending December 31, 2021 is as follows: 14.63% (1 year), 16.79% (3 years), and 12.01% (since inception on August 1, 2018). HBAL was awarded its FundGrade A+® Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2021. In its award category – Global Equity Balanced – HBAL was in competition with 722 other investment funds.

Horizons Conservative TRI ETF Portfolio (HCON)

HCON seeks moderate long-term capital growth using a conservative portfolio of exchange traded funds. HCON invests primarily in Horizons' Total Return Index ETFs. The portfolio targets a long-term asset allocation of approximately 50% equity securities and 50% fixed income securities at the time of any rebalance. The portfolio will be rebalanced semi-annually in order to seek a consistent level of conservative risk. HCON will use currency forwards to hedge its non-Canadian dollar currency exposure to the Canadian dollar at all times.

Performance for HCON for the period ending December 31, 2021 is as follows: 9.66% (1 year), 13.34% (3 years), and 10.06% (since inception on August 1, 2018). HCON was awarded its FundGrade A+® Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2021. In its award category – Global Neutral Balanced – HCON was in competition with 893 other investment funds.

Horizons NASDAQ-100® Index ETF (HXQ)

HXQ seeks to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the NASDAQ 100® Index (Total Return), net of expenses. The NASDAQ 100® Index (Total Return) includes 100 of the largest U.S. and international non-financial companies listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market.

Performance for HXQ for the period ending December 31, 2021 is as follows: 26.19% (1 year), 34.20% (3 years), 26.40% (5 years) and 25.72% (since inception on April 19, 2016). HXQ was awarded its FundGrade A+® Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2021. In its award category – U.S. Equity – HXQ was in competition with 833 other investment funds.

Horizons S&P/TSX 60™ Index ETF (HXT)

HXT seeks to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the S&P/TSX 60™ Index (Total Return), net of expenses. The S&P/TSX 60™ Index (Total Return) is designed to measure the performance of the large-cap market segment of the Canadian equity market.

Performance for HXT for the period ending December 31, 2021 is as follows: 27.99% (1 year), 18.08% (3 years), 10.79% (5 years) and 8.62% (since inception on September 14, 2010). HXT was awarded its FundGrade A+® Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2021. In its award category – Canadian Equity – HXT was in competition with 379 other investment funds.

Horizons Pipelines & Energy Services Index ETF (HOG)

HOG seeks to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Solactive Pipelines & Energy Services Index, net of expenses. The Solactive Pipelines & Energy Services Index is designed to provide exposure to equity securities of certain Canadian oil and gas companies in the midstream sector.

Performance for HOG for the period ending December 31, 2021 is as follows: 34.59% (1 year), 9.98% (3 years), 2.73% (5 years) and 2.73% (since inception on July 14, 2014). HOG was awarded its FundGrade A+® Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2021. In its award category – Energy Equity – HOG was in competition with 33 other investment funds.

Horizons Active Cdn Municipal Bond ETF (HMP)

The investment objective of HMP is to seek to provide unitholders with a high level of income by investing primarily in a portfolio of Canadian municipal bonds denominated in Canadian dollars.

Performance for HMP for the period ending December 31, 2021 is as follows: -1.01% (1 year), 2.53% (3 years), 2.12% (5 years) and 1.92% (since inception on August 12, 2015). HMP was awarded its FundGrade A+® Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2021. In its award category – Canadian Short Term Fixed Income – HMP was in competition with 169 other investment funds.

For more information on the rating system, visit www.Fundata.com/ProductsServices/FundGrade.aspx.

SOURCE Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.

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