Horizons ETFs Launches Canada's First Family of Commodity Yield ETFs

TORONTO, March 1, 2012 /CNW/ - Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") and its affiliate AlphaPro Management Inc. ("AlphaPro") are pleased to announce the launch of three new commodity exchange traded funds which will allow investors to earn a tax-efficient monthly income from exposure to crude oil, natural gas and silver.

Horizons ETFs is the first ETF provider in Canada to offer exchange traded funds that utilize an innovative covered call strategy on commodities.  The three new Horizons commodity yield exchange traded funds (the "Commodity Yield ETFs" or "ETFs") allow investors to gain exposure to a commodity asset class while earning a tax-efficient monthly income.

The ETFs will begin trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the below ticker symbols with both Class E units and Advisor Class units.

Name of ETF	TSX Ticker Symbol
	Class E Units	Advisor Class Units
Horizons Silver Yield ETF	HZY	HZY.A
Horizons Crude Oil Yield ETF	HOY	HOY.A
Horizons Natural Gas Yield ETF	HNY	HNY.A

Horizons Silver Yield ETF ("HZY") will seek is to provide its unitholders with: (i) exposure to the price of silver bullion hedged to the Canadian dollar, less the ETF's fees and expenses; (ii) tax-efficient monthly distributions; and (iii) in order to mitigate downside risk and generate income, exposure to a covered call option writing strategy on 33% of the invested portfolio.

The Horizons Crude Oil Yield ETF ("HOY") will provide its unitholders with: (i) exposure to the price of crude oil futures hedged to the Canadian dollar, less the ETF's fees and expenses; (ii) tax-efficient monthly distributions; and (iii) in order to mitigate downside risk and generate income, exposure to a covered call option writing strategy on 33% of the invested portfolio.

The Horizons Natural Gas Yield ETF ("HNY") will provide its unitholders with: (i) exposure to the price of natural gas futures hedged to the Canadian dollar, less the ETF's fees and expenses; (ii) tax-efficient monthly distributions; and (iii) in order to mitigate downside risk and generate income, exposure to a covered call option writing strategy on 33% of the invested portfolio.

"Investing in commodities such as oil, gas and precious metals can offer several advantages to a portfolio. Among them are diversification, growth potential and inflation protection. However, commodities by their nature have never been able to offer one investing staple … income," said Howard Atkinson, CEO of Horizons ETFs. "These new ETFs will give investors the best of both worlds: exposure to each underlying commodity and tax-efficient income."

These new ETFs increase the number of commodity yield exchange traded funds offered by Horizons ETFs to four. The Horizons Gold Yield ETF converted from a closed-end fund on February 27, 2012 and began trading under the ticker symbols HGY and HGY.A on February 28, 2012.

The Horizons Gold Yield ETF seeks to provide its unitholders with: (i) exposure to the price of gold bullion hedged to the Canadian dollar, less fees and expenses; (ii) tax-efficient monthly distributions; and (iii) in order to mitigate downside risk and generate income, exposure to a covered call option writing strategy on 33% of the invested portfolio.

Horizons Investment Management Inc. ("HIMI"), an affiliate of AlphaPro, the manager of the ETFs, will act as investment advisor. Eden Rahim, Vice-President and Options Strategist forms part of the HIMI investment team providing the portfolio management services to the ETFs.

"Eden and his team have done a great job running our Covered Call ETFs which have raised more than $500 million of new assets in the last year," said Mr. Atkinson. "In our view, Eden has established himself as one of Canada's preeminent covered call experts."

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in the ETFs. The ETFs are not guaranteed, their value will change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Please read the prospectus before investing.

The Commodity Yield ETFs have closed the offering of their initial Class E units and Advisor Class units and will begin trading today on the TSX when the market opens this morning.

About Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc. (www.horizonsetfs.com)

Horizons ETFs is an innovative financial services company offering the Horizons ETFs family of ETFs. The Horizons ETFs family includes a broadly diversified range of investment tools with solutions for investors of all experience levels to meet their investment objectives in a variety of market conditions. With more than $3.3 billion in assets under management and 81 ETFs listed on the TSX, the Horizons ETFs family makes up the largest selection of ETFs in Canada. Horizons ETFs is a subsidiary of Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and a member of the Mirae Asset Financial Group.

 

 

Howard Atkinson, CEO, Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc., [phone] 
[email protected].