US-Focused Cannabis ETF Debuts

As of Wednesday, the universe of cannabis-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has grown by one. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (NYSEARCA: MSOS) began trading on September 2 at a per-share price of $25.00 and 100,000 shares outstanding.

The fund includes only U.S.-based companies that participate directly in the legal production and distribution of cannabis in states where it has been approved for medicinal or recreational use. In April of last year, the firm launched the AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF (NYSEARCA: YOLO), which includes companies based in Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel as well as the United States. The Pure Cannabis ETF also includes 7.9% of its assets in cash.

The US Pure Cannabis fund includes multi-state operators, both senior and junior, that account for 56.4% of the fund’s assets. The fund’s four largest holdings account for approximately 34% of its total investment.

The top four holdings are over-the-counter traded Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CURLF), Green Thumb Industries Inc. (GTIBF) and Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (TCNNF), as well as Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (NYSE: IIPR).

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Portfolio manager Dan Ahrens, who also manages the YOLO fund, said that AdvisorShares believes that the United States “clearly represents the most attractive opportunity for cannabis investment and remains an exponentially larger market than the Canadian cannabis market.” Ahrens, who is the company’s chief operating officer, also manages the AdviserShares Vice ETF (NYSEARCA: ACT), which invests at least 80% of its assets in companies that derive at least half of their net revenue from tobacco, alcoholic beverages, hemp and marijuana, or at have at least half their assets dedicated to legal R&D in cannabis or cannabinoid (CBD) products.

The Pure US Cannabis ETF’s net expense ratio is 0.74%, the same as the expense ratio for the Pure Cannabis ETF. The Vice ETF has a net expense ratio of 0.99%.

In the noon hour Wednesday, the Pure US fund traded at $25.22, and 133,071 shares had changed hands.

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