The Canadian cannabis sector is one I have been downright bearish on for the past two years. My view has not changed. While it appears the overall financial market and investing community now sees things the way I do, risks still remain around liquidity and solvency in this sector. These are being driven by continuing headwinds related to a significant supply-demand imbalance.
As such, one Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) I’d encouraged investors to use to trade this space is the Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (TSX:HMMJ). This ETF holds a broad portfolio of cannabis producers and cannabis related companies, allowing investors to trade the broad sector as a whole.
As investors may have already noticed, this ETF and the sector it represents has been among the worst-performing ETFs in recent years for many reasons I’ve discussed on this site.
I’d encourage bold investors looking for a sector to short outright or as part of a long-term, long-short portfolio to consider HMMJ as a short position. I do not see a realistic scenario in which this sector will recover.
I see more pain on the horizon as more pot producers go bankrupt. Pot stocks will also experience more pain as volatility picks up again in financial markets. If you’re not going to short the sector, I’d advise steering clear of any investment in this space altogether right now.
Invest wisely, my friends.
