Investors rush to bring weed to the masses
Low-cost ETFs are being rolled out at a furious pace, but returns have been abysmal
Monday, January 13, 2020
Europe's first cannabis exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Medical Cannabis and Wellness ETF, dubbed CBSX, launched in Germany. A joint project of Purpose Investments, a Canadian asset manager, and HANetf, a British ETF platform, the fund will invest in businesses that grow, make and distribute medical cannabis products. One of the goals of the new venture is to democratise cannabis investments, which have been inaccessible (because companies are still private) or expensive (because investors must buy stocks individually). The rise of ETFs—pooled portfolios designed to replicate the performance of an asset class—has made investing cheap and easy. Marijuana ETFs have proved popular in America. And yet anyone betting on cannabis ETFs last year would have seen their money go up in smoke.
