CEO Q&A
HMMJ essentially provides the in-aggregate performance of the entire industry, so while some stocks will outperform the Index, the Index provides benchmark exposure. If you’re bullish on the overall prospects of the marijuana industry, HMMJ is a diversified way to generate that aggregate performance.
Q) They say in business that "location, location, location" is a key to success, and to me that includes timing. Why this industry? Why an ETF and what are the advantages of investing in an ETF? And why now?
A) This ETF wouldn’t really have been possible a year ago. The last 12 to 18 months have allowed enough stocks to reach adequate market capitalization and liquidity to be included in an index ETF strategy.
This is a space we’ve been actively monitoring, but it’s only during the last while where launching an ETF that provided enough depth for investors in our view became a realistic possibility.
Q) With the unit price recently trading under $10, HMMJ is an attractive investment to any retail investor whether it is someone looking for their first investment in this industry OR for an accredited investor. Would you agree?
A) We don’t have price targets for our ETFs. You don’t need to be an accredited investor to buy HMMJ, which may be part of its appeal, but this is a young and volatile sector, so we’ve seen the price of the ETF move around quite a bit. Ultimately, whether its current price is attractive or not is completely a determination the investor must make.
When we launch an ETF like HMMJ, the intention is that over the long term, it will generate positive returns. We want our clients to make money. Over the long term, we think that this is an attractive opportunity, but history has taught us it will most likely have some performance challenges along the way, like all young asset classes.
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