An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that offers clients exposure to stocks that produce medicinal cannabis has been launched in the UK.
The product is being brought to market by HAN ETF, the company jointly founded by Hector McNeill, who has also co-founded the Wisdom Tree and Boost ETF businesses.
HAN ETF is a white label service for companies that wish to launch ETFs into the UK market. Its partner in this venture is Purpose Investments, a Canadian firm that runs Cannabis funds in that country.
The ETF will list on the London Stock Exchange and has an annual management fee of 0.8 per cent.
Som Seif, chief executive of Purpose Investments, said: “The medical cannabis industry was pioneered in Canada, and we’re thrilled with the opportunity to partner with HANetf to take what we have learned from our Purpose Marijuana Opportunities Fund to Europe.
"We believe that the cannabis sector is still in the infancy stages of a multi-year growth phase and that there is ample opportunity for innovation and new discoveries.
"We are very excited to embark on this journey with HANetf in a global investor market.”
Neil Liversidge, an adviser at West Riding Personal Financial Planning in Yorkshire, said he would want to perform a lot of due diligence before investing but would consider it "as part of a balanced portfolio for more adventurous clients".
He added: "If I was going to invest though, I’d rather do it via such a specialist fund.
"Cannabis is a much-hyped sector these days. It’s looking a lot like the late 90s dot-com boom. A year or two from now I expect that a lot of companies billing themselves as the next big thing will have vanished, along with a lot of mug money.”
david.thorpe@ft.com
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