Canada’s very first blockchain exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been given the green light by the Ontario Securities Commission and is set to launch on the Toronto Stock Exchange next week.
Harvest Portfolios, an independent Canadian investment management company, registered the initial paperwork for its Blockchain Technologies ETF (ticker: HBLK) last month, looking to provide Canadian investors with the chance to buy into the technology sector, according to reports from the Globe and Mail.
According to an official statement from Harvest Portfolios, the fund would invest “in equity securities of issuers exposed, directly or indirectly to the development and implementation of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.”
The company seeks for the ETF to track technology projects, mirroring its Harvest Blockchain Technologies Index.
The statement read:
“Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. (“Harvest”) is pleased to announce that a final prospectus has been filed with the Canadian securities regulators for Canada’s first blockchain ETF, Blockchain Technologies ETF (“HBLK”).
“This innovative ETF is designed to provide Canadian investors access to the developing blockchain technology sector. Upon fulfilling all the listing requirements, HBLK will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“HBLK seeks to replicate, to the extent reasonably possible and before fees and expenses, the performance of the Harvest Blockchain Technologies Index.
“HBLK invests in equity securities of issuers exposed, directly or indirectly, to the development and implementation of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.
Two other Canadian companies, First Trust Portfolios Canada and Evolve Funds Group Inc., are also looking to initiate funds based on the technology, and filed their first prospectuses with regulators this week.
First Trust has already established a presence in the United States market, offering its ETF under the ticker LEGR.
The introduction in Canada of its First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (ticker: BLCK), is patterned after the Indxx Index, and is the product of client demand, the company announced.
Evolve Funds Inc. on the other hand, claims that its projected ETF, known as LINK, would be the first “actively managed” that would be made available to Canadian investors. The product will put the company in a position to “capitalize on emerging opportunities in the industry.”
Its fund will invest in “equity securities of issuers that are involved in the research, development, or utilization of technologies, or involved in the supply chain for blockchain applications including technology hardware,” the company said in a statement.
