Marijuana ETFs are Moving

Since the elections in early November, marijuana stocks and marijuana ETFs have been moving higher at a healthy clip. Now may be a perfect time for investors who have been waiting to get into this industry but didn’t want to be too early.

The moves come after four States passed the legalization of recreational marijuana use, which now brings the total number of US States to 15 that allow citizens to consume marijuana in essentially the same manner that someone’s consumers alcohol.

Furthermore, 2 more States passed laws allowing marijuana to be used for medical purposes. Now the US has 35 States that allow medical marijuana usage.

Another catalyst is that with Vice President Joe Biden winning the White House, many believe the push for national level decriminalization of marijuana is more likely to occur. This is even though the Republicans still control the Senate.

Finally, as I have mentioned before, with the pandemic and massive budget deficits occurring all around the country, State and local governments, and even perhaps the Federal government may start looking at alternative ways to increase tax revenue. One easy avenue is to allow marijuana use and place a hefty tax on it, as the government already does with alcohol and tobacco sales. As things currently sit in most States, those that have not passed the legalization of recreational use would argue that marijuana is being sold; it’s just not being taxed. Most politicians would probably agree with that to some extent, and some would undoubtedly love to get some more tax money, especially during times like these. Continue reading "Marijuana ETFs are Moving"

Will 2020 Be Different For Marijuana ETFs

At the start of 2019, the marijuana industry was the 'new' hot investment. By the end of the year, no one was bragging about owning shares in the industry. Why did this happen, and is 2020 going to be more of the same, or should you consider buying into the up and coming industry now?

The marijuana industry still showed signs of becoming the next great thing early in 2019. The industry that was going to take the crown away from technology as the 'fastest-growing' sector in the market. In 2019 the 'pumping' of marijuana stocks ended. But that all came to an abrupt halt around July.

At that time, investors stopped believing the narrative that had been pushed for about 3 years prior. Legalized marijuana in a few States and Canada would help pave the way for global legalization and massive profits for all the companies involved. And don't forget about the new 'marijuana-infused beverage category, which spurred investments in all the big marijuana companies by all the big alcohol beverage companies.

No one wanted to miss out on the 'next big thing,' investors and multinational organizations.

Then reality struck when earnings report after earnings report indicated the industry was not profitable and way to segmented. Furthermore, the earnings reports indicated that while most investors and businesses in the marijuana industry wanted more States and countries around the world to legalize the use of marijuana, that the companies operating in the industry couldn't handle their current demand, let alone anything additional. Shortages in Canada plagued the industry in 2019 and highlighted the biggest problem wasn't opening new markets; it was how they would supply them.

Building new grow houses may sound simple. However, the red tape and political maneuvering typically haven't been easy. Also, in most areas that growing marijuana on a large scale is Continue reading "Will 2020 Be Different For Marijuana ETFs"

It May Be Time To Buy Marijuana ETFs

All the hype and excitement surrounding the marijuana industry over the past few years has finally died down. Unfortunately for some investors, who got caught up in the hype and excitement, are now realizing what some knew all along; the marijuana industry has a long way to go before it achieves its full potential.

But, regardless of whether you were an ‘early’ investor in the industry or someone who has been sitting on the sidelines, now is the time to start getting serious about marijuana funds. Over the past three months, the five marijuana ETFs have lost 30% or more of their value. Obviously, this is due to the marijuana industry as a whole, seeing their stock values decline. However, this means some of the stocks in the industry which had been trading at ‘lofty’ valuations have come back down to earth quite a bit.

Over the last three months, Tilray is down 45%, Canopy is down 38%, Aurora is down 42%, Cronos is off by 40%. These are some of the big names in the marijuana industry and stocks held by the marijuana ETFs; ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), AdvisoreShares Pure Cannabis ETF (YOLO) , Cambria Cannabis ETF (TOKE), The Cannabis ETF (THCX), and Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF (CNBS).

But why is now the time to start buying? Continue reading "It May Be Time To Buy Marijuana ETFs"

5 Marijuana ETFs You Can Invest In Today

Until April Exchange Traded Fund investors only had one legitimate option, the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), if they wanted to invest in the marijuana industry. But in April the AdvisoreShares Pure Cannabis ETF (YOLO) began trading. Then in July, the industry saw a marijuana boom when three new ETFs focused on the controversial industry began trading. On July 9th The Cannabis ETF (THCX) began trading, then the 23rd saw the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF (CNBS) begin trading and finally on the 25th the Cambria Cannabis ETF (TOKE) opened for business.

Before we get into the differences of each ETF, I wanted to let everyone know that for the most part, all five of these ETFs are rather easy to buy. In the past when I have written about the marijuana ETFs, I often mentioned the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (HMMJ) which is actually traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Thus for U.S. investors, it can be difficult to purchase this fund unless you have an account which allows trading on foreign exchanges and in my experience, most retail investors don’t have those types of accounts.

I know these five are all easy to buy because I actually bought all five of them. I have two different brokerage accounts, one with Merrill Lynch and one with TD Ameritrade. The TD account allowed me to purchase all five ETFs with absolutely no issues and the Merrill Lynch account allowed me to buy MJ no problem. However, the Merrill Lynch account required that I call in and have a Merrill Lynch representative assist with the purchase of YOLO, THCX, CNBS, and TOKE, but not because they were marijuana ETFs but because they were thinly traded or had small asset bases.

So, let’s take a look at the five US listed marijuana ETFs and see what makes them different. Continue reading "5 Marijuana ETFs You Can Invest In Today"