TORONTO, May 10, 2016 — Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (“Horizons ETFs”) is pleased to announce the launch of the Horizons Canadian Dollar Currency ETF (“CAN”), which will provide investors with low cost, long exposure to the Canadian dollar, relative to the U.S. dollar.
Units of the exchange traded fund (“ETF”) will begin trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) in Canadian dollars under the ticker symbol “CAN”.
CAN seeks to reflect, in Canadian dollars and net of expenses, the performance of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar, by primarily investing in Canadian dollar denominated cash and cash equivalents, and using forward currency agreements and/or futures contracts.
CAN is the only ETF in Canada to provide investors with the opportunity to directly profit from a strong Canadian dollar, relative to the U.S. dollar. For example, when the Canadian dollar appreciates relative to the U.S. dollar (i.e. the Canadian dollar/U.S. dollar exchange rate increases), the value of CAN is expected to increase. Conversely, when the Canadian dollar depreciates against the U.S. dollar (i.e. the Canadian dollar/U.S. dollar exchange rate decreases), the value of CAN is expected to decrease.
“We’ve launched CAN in response to the demand we’ve been receiving for a product that would enable investors to easily capture the appreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar,” said Steve Hawkins, Co-CEO, Horizons ETFs. “Alternately, CAN may also be used as a tool to hedge U.S. dollar denominated assets in international investment portfolios, especially as the Canadian dollar appreciates relative to the U.S. dollar.”
CAN is the second currency ETF in Horizons ETFs’ benchmark lineup, which also includes the Horizons US Dollar Currency ETF (“DLR” and “DLR.U”). DLR seeks to reflect the price of the U.S. dollar in Canadian dollars, net of expenses by investing primarily in cash and cash equivalents that are denominated in the U.S. dollar.
“CAN is designed to deliver returns that should approximate the opposite performance exposure to DLR,” added Mr. Hawkins. “With CAN now part of our ETF lineup, Canadian investors have two ways of trading the U.S. and Canadian dollar relationship: DLR to go long the U.S. dollar or CAN to go long the Canadian dollar.”
CAN has closed the offering of its initial units and it will begin trading on the TSX when the market opens this morning.
