Debra BorchardtDecember 26, 2017
ETF Managers Group LLC announced that MJX, the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF is live and available for trading on the NYSE Arca. This fund claims to be one of the first of its kind available to U.S. investors, the other marijuana ETF is the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences and it is traded on the Toronto Exchange under the ticker HMMJ.
The ETF’s investment objective changed on December 26, 2017. Prior to December 26, 2017, the ETF was based upon the total return of an entirely different index, the Solactive Latin America Real Estate Index (previously the Tierra XP Latin America Real Estate ETF, ticker symbol: LARE).
Sam Masucci, Founder & CEO of ETF Managers Group said, “As an ETF issuer we are excited about opportunities for innovation, the chance to give investors exposure to new markets and doing our part to impact the continued evolution of the ETF industry by meeting the appetite of investor interest.”
MJX is designed to replicate the Prime Alternative Harvest Index, which tracks companies likely to benefit from the increasing global acceptance of various uses of the cannabis plant. The ETF has 31 holdings, has $5.7 million in assets and is rebalanced quarterly. As of September 30, the fund has returned a 20.23% increase in the NAV and an 18.15% increase in market value, yet these performance figures are based on the returns of the Latin America Real Estate Index, not the new marijuana holdings.
The top ten holdings are as follows:
| CRONOS GROUP INC | 6.22% | MJN CN |
| CANOPY GROWTH CORP | 5.89% | WEED CN |
| GW PHARMACEUTICALS PLC | 5.38% | GWPH |
| MEDRELEAF CORP | 5.22% | LEAF CN |
| AURORA CANNABIS INC COM | 5.03% | ACB CN |
| CANNTRUST HOLDINGS INC | 4.16% | TRST CN |
| CANNIMED THERAPEUTICS INC | 3.56% | CMED CN |
| INSYS THERAPEUTICS INC NEW | 3.31% | INSY |
| HUABAO INTL HLDG | 3.13% | 336 HK |
| EMERALD HEALTH THERAPEUTICS IN COM | 3.13% | EMH CN |
As of December 18, 2017, the Index had 30 constituents, 17 of which were foreign companies, and the three largest stocks and their weightings in the Index were Cronos Group, CannTrust Holdings, and Canopy Growth. Timothy J. Collins and Travis E. Trampe, each a Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, have been the Fund’s portfolio managers since 2017
