VIDEO - Elliot Johnson: US Cannabis Trades at Discount Due to Legal Status

A Canadian exchange-traded fund (ETF) executive told the Investing News Network (INN) that, due to the legal status of cannabis in the US, public companies in the country trade at a discount.

In a wide-ranging interview with INN, Elliot Johnson, chief investment officer and chief operating officer with Evolve ETFs, shared his overall views on how the year has been for marijuana investments.

His firm offers two cannabis ETFs, the Evolve Marijuana Fund (TSX:SEED) and the Evolve US Marijuana ETF (NEO:USMJ), each with different investment goals but a unifying commonality: active management.

In its daily monitoring of the marijuana space, Johnson’s team uses a database of 250 cannabis companies to ensure both funds are properly weighted depending on the risks present in the space.

As mentioned, his team believes US-based companies are trading at a significant discount to their Canadian peers because policy in the US is still keeping marijuana illegal at a federal level.

This has allowed for an increase in investment interest, which helped the launch of Evolve ETFs’ second marijuana fund in April. This fund is exclusively focused on the US cannabis market.

When asked about his outlook for the marijuana-infused market and the heavy interest from established alcohol producers, Johnson said there are still a lot of unknowns surrounding this particular product.

“Nobody really knows what’s going to happen and that’s one of the exciting things of these new formats,” Johnson told INN.

For more on what Johnson had to say, watch the video above.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Cannabis for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.