Horizons ETFs Reduces Effective Management Fee for HXT to 0.03%

HXT celebrates its fifth anniversary and again becomes the lowest cost ETF in Canada

TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2015 /CNW/ - Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") is pleased to announce that the Horizons S&P/TSX 60™ Index ETF ("HXT") reached its fifth anniversary this month. To celebrate this achievement, effective October 1, 2015, Horizons ETFs will be increasing the rebate on the annual management fee of HXT to four basis points (0.04%) so that the effective annual management fee on HXT will be reduced to three basis points (0.03%), again making it the lowest cost investment fund in Canada. With this new rebate, HXT also becomes the lowest cost Canadian equity ETF in the world.

The increased rebate, which begins on October 1, 2015, will remain in effect until at least September 30, 2016. During this time, the effective annual management fee investors will pay on HXT will be reduced to three basis points (0.03%) plus applicable sales taxes, down from the current effective annual management fee of five basis points (0.05%) plus applicable sales taxes. 

"When HXT launched five years ago as the lowest cost equity ETF in the country, it set the trend for a new wave of management fee cuts in the industry," said Howard Atkinson, President of Horizons ETFs. "HXT has become our largest ETF in terms of assets and has been an industry leader for low-cost exposure to Canadian equities. We felt it was necessary to lower its net management fee and allow it to reclaim its title as Canada's lowest cost ETF."

HXT is Horizons ETFs' oldest and largest ETF (in terms of assets under management) that uses a total return swap (TRS) structure. This structure involves an agreement with one or more Canadian bank counterparties which requires them to deliver to the applicable ETF the total return of its underlying index, which in HXT's case is the S&P/TSX 60™ Index.

Since the TRS structure does not require the purchasing of the underlying securities in the index, there are fewer portfolio management costs than a physically replicated ETF. Also, the swap provides the total return of the index and, as a result, no physical dividend or income distributions are expected to be paid by the ETF, which provides greater tax efficiency for investors that hold the ETF in non-registered investment accounts.

"Since their inception, none of our TRS ETFs have paid a single taxable distribution. Investors who hold HXT in non-registered accounts have arguably seen an even greater benefit from the tax savings provided by the total return structure than from the cost benefits of its low management fee," said Mr. Atkinson. "When you combine HXT's dual benefits of low fees and tax efficiency, it is in our view, the most innovative Canadian equity index ETF available."

Horizons ETFs offers six TRS ETFs, including two fixed income products, the Horizons CDN Select Universe Bond ETF ("HBB") and the Horizons US 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF ("HTB").

Ticker	ETF Name	Annual Management Fee (%) †
HXT	Horizons S&P/TSX 60™ Index ETF	0.03 ††
HXS	Horizons S&P 500® Index ETF	0.15
HXE	Horizons S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index ETF	0.35
HXF	Horizons S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index ETF	0.35
HBB	Horizons Cdn Select Universe Bond ETF	0.15
HTB	Horizons US 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF	0.15

^†Plus Applicable Sales taxes. 
^††Annual management fee rebated by 4bps (0.04%) to an effective management fee of 3bps, or 0.03%.

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

Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and its affiliate AlphaPro Management Inc. are innovative financial services companies, which combined make up one of the largest families of exchange traded funds in Canada. The Horizons ETFs' product suite 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 currently has more than $5.1 billion of assets under management and has 70 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and AlphaPro Management Inc. are members of the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group.

Commissions, management fees and applicable sales taxes all may be associated with an investment in the exchange traded funds managed by Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (the "ETFs"). 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.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to a future outlook and anticipated distributions, events or results and may include statements regarding future financial performance. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "intend" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Horizons ETFs undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

SOURCE Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.

Copyright 2015 Canada NewsWire