TORONTO – March 13, 2017 – Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and AlphaPro Management Inc. (collectively, “Horizons ETFs”) are proud to announce that the Horizons Active US Floating Rate Bond (USD) ETF (“HUF.U”) and the Horizons Active Corporate Bond ETF (“HAB”) have both won Fundata FundGrade® A+ Awards for 2016.
Created by Fundata Canada Inc., the FundGrade rating system uses risk-adjusted performance figures to rank and grade Canadian investment funds, which includes exchange traded funds (“ETFs”). Based on up to 10 years of performance data, the ‘A+ Grade’ is strictly a quantitative calculation conducted on an annual basis, which results in a grade score ranking, according to the fund classification standards defined by the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee (“CIFSC”).
“Horizons ETFs is very honoured to have won FundGrade A+® Awards for our HUF.U and HAB fixed income ETFs,” said Steve Hawkins, President and Co-CEO of Horizons ETFs. “Both HUF.U and HAB are actively managed ETFs, and we believe these awards underscore the importance of active management, particularly in the fixed income market.”
HUF.U is an actively managed U.S. corporate bond ETF, sub-advised by Fiera Capital Corporation (“Fiera”). Fiera oversees more than $63 billion in fixed income assets (as at December 31, 2016). HUF.U seeks to generate income that is consistent with prevailing U.S. short-term corporate bond yields while stabilizing the market value of the ETF from the effects of U.S. interest rate fluctuations. The ETF invests primarily in a portfolio of U.S. corporate debt securities and will hedge the portfolio's U.S. interest rate risk to generally maintain a portfolio duration of less than two years.
“Fiera has one of the most experienced fixed income investment teams in Canada. Their integrated fixed income group seeks to generate additional value through an independent credit analysis and bond selection process,” said Mr. Hawkins. “HUF.U combines Fiera’s bond selection expertise with an innovative investment structure that effectively reduces the duration of the ETF using interest rate hedging tools. As a result, HUF.U has a duration similar to short-term money market funds, but with a noticeably higher yield.”
HAB is an actively managed Canadian corporate bond ETF, also sub-advised by Fiera. This is the fourth year running that HAB has received a FundGrade A+® Award. HAB seeks long-term moderate capital growth and seeks to generate high income. HAB is exposed to a portfolio of debt securities of Canadian and U.S. companies.
“HAB is a great example of how active management can add value to a corporate bond portfolio. Bond index ETFs have very little discretion in what types of securities they buy. If an issue is in an index – regardless of its liquidity or potential credit risk – an index-tracking ETF is usually required to own it directly or through a proxy,” said Mr. Hawkins. “Fiera is more selective in what it owns, and has the flexibility to alter the duration or even the credit risk of the portfolio versus Canadian corporate bond indices, which can generate additional value in different market conditions.”
About Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.
Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and its affiliate AlphaPro Management Inc. are innovative financial services companies offering the Horizons ETFs family of exchange traded funds. 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. Horizons ETFs has more than $7 billion of assets under management, and with 76 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Horizons ETFs family makes up one of the largest families of ETFs in Canada. Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. and AlphaPro Management Inc. are members of the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group.
For further information:
Mark Noble, Senior Vice-President and Head of Sales Strategy
Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.
(416) 640-8254
mnoble@horizonsetfs.com
The Fundata FundGrade A+ Awards are presented annually to Canadian investment funds that achieve consistently high FundGrade scores through an entire calendar year. FundGrade A+ is a supplemental calculation to the FundGrade ratings and is performed at the end of each calendar year. Eligible funds must have received a FundGrade rating every month in the previous year. FundGrade A+ uses a “GPA-style” calculation, where monthly FundGrades from “A” to “E” receive scores from 4 to 0, respectively (A FundGrade rating of A indicates a fund is in the top 20% of funds in its category). A fund’s average score for the year determines its GPA. Any fund with a GPA of 3.5 or greater is awarded an A+ rating. A fund’s FundGrade rating is subject to change monthly.
Performance for HUF.U for the period ending December 31, 2016 is as follows: 2.50% (1 year), 1.23 % (3 years), n/a (5 years) and 1.78% (since inception on February 14, 2012). HUF.U was awarded its FundGrade A+ Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2016. In its award category – Global Fixed Income – HUF.U was in competition with 136 other investment funds.
Performance for HAB for the period ending December 31, 2016 is as follows: 3.84% (1 year), 4.31% (3 years), 4.04% (5 years) and 4.72% (since inception on July14, 2010). HAB was awarded its FundGrade A+ Award for the one-year period ending December 31, 2016. In its award category – Canadian Fixed Income – HAB was in competition with 358 other investment funds.
For more information on the rating system, visit www.fundata.com/productsservices/fundgrsde.aspx.
