Why Consider Investing in the Cannabis Industry?

Thanks to a budding legalization movement across the globe, shareholders are discovering the benefits of investing in the cannabis industry.

Investors are always looking for areas of growth in the overall public sector, and investing in the cannabis industry has proven to be a beneficial road to returns.

A budding legalization movement across the globe and a growing US market forecasted to be worth US$41 billion by 2026 have led many investors to be eager to invest in the space.

Here, the Investing News Network (INN) offers investors a closer look at some important facts to know about investing in the booming marijuana space and why now may be the best time for cannabis investing.

This article continues below the Cannabis Investing Table of Contents.

Cannabis Investing Table of Contents

The articles listed below provide an overview of investing in cannabis from Cannabis Investing News.

How to Invest

Cannabis Stocks

Canada

Australia

Cannabis ETFs

Cannabis Outlook

CBD, Edibles and Extraction

Medical Cannabis

Cannabis Free Reports

Cannabis Market Segments

The following INNSpired articles are designed to educate investors regarding the prominent business models that have emerged across the cannabis industry. Each sponsored article includes information regarding INN’s clients and other leaders in the space.

Cultivation: Why Legal Cannabis Requires Affordable Cultivation to Curb the Black Market
Extraction: Concentrates Outselling Flower in California’s Cannabis Market
Retail: CBD Health and Wellness Market Gaining Support from Major US Retailers
Distribution: Cannabis Distribution Key to Dominating California Cannabis Market
Edibles: Innovative Cannabis Products Defining the Edibles Market
Infused Beverages: Marijuana Stocks Targeting the Cannabis Beverages Market
Vaporization: Smart Cannabis Vaporizers Empowering Physicians and Patients
Medical: The Rise of Cannabis Telemedicine: Using Technology to Create Better Patient Outcomes

What are the benefits of investing in the cannabis industry?

For those willing to participate in the risk, investments in the marijuana industry can offer substantial gains in the long term.

Despite its budding status as one of the next great global industries, the cannabis market has proven to be a tricky one to navigate for investors, with a multitude of periods of volatility.

However, leading firms have been able to sustain rough patches to offer investors solid returns.

The cannabis industry is comprised of many verticals — such as medical, recreational, retail, extraction and more — and a variety of marijuana companies have built business models that encompass more than one of these market segments.

Investors in the sector are gaining multiple levels of exposure, even though the attention of the market first gravitated towards facility development and product sales.

Investors can also look at marijuana firms exploring methods akin to the biotech industry and working on the development of new-form medicines with elements of the cannabis plant.

Similar to the rest of the life science markets, companies in this sector are more of a long-term investment due to the regulatory process that requires clinical trials to bring products to market.

Several leading firms in the sector have diversified into the biotech space by launching studies on the effects of medical marijuana and research looking at innovation in treatments using it.

Canadian market opens the doors to legalization trend

Canada became the first G7 nation to adopt legal cannabis when it legalized recreational cannabis consumption and sales in October 2018 to go alongside its already established legal medical market.

During the lead up to this critical development, several firms reached out to investors through public listings.

Investors backed up the potential of a vibrant marijuana market fuelled by massive facilities and appropriate licenses from the government.

Canadian firms have seen the advantages of first-mover status in the international sector, where these companies have acted as leaders and established relationships with burgeoning ventures in newly legal jurisdictions, such as Germany and Australia.

Canadian cannabis companies have seen a split in market attention, with the larger corporations with leading market share and substantial market valuations exploring various international operations and deals.

Other firms have placed a focus on the Canadian market as a way to participate in the recreational cannabis space, with an emphasis on retail operations, extraction services or even high-quality cannabis product sales designed for connoisseurs.

The emergence of the Canadian market has helped leading firms solidify agreements, such as the partnership between Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) and Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC,TSX:WEED).

The beverage giant, which owns brands such as Corona, Black Velvet Whisky and Robert Mondavi wine, is embracing the marijuana space and recognizing its potential in a global landscape.

US plays offer investors growth opportunities with emerging market

The cannabis public market has seen a rally behind the emergence of publicly traded companies that are based in and focused on the US.

These firms, called multi-state operators (MSOs), look to own and operate assets in states with favorable cannabis laws and have captured the attention of the market.

“I think that the US companies have the confidence of investors, and they’re going to be able to raise more capital,” Alan Brochstein, a cannabis researcher with 420 Investor, previously told INN.

MSOs manage assets across the US legal markets, including production facilities, networks of brick-and-mortar dispensaries and portfolios of brands for the medical and recreational markets.

Greg Taylor, chief investment officer of Purpose Investments and portfolio manager of the Purpose Marijuana Opportunities Fund (NEO:MJJ), previously told INN the market was taken by surprise by the newfound emergence of MSOs, and that he expects to continue seeing a Canadian market share dominance.

“A lot of people going back a year really thought that the Canadian companies would have two or three years to get up and running in the Canadian market and then would be able to turn into the US,” he told INN. “I think the surprising thing to a lot of people is how fast these American companies have come on, and the MSOs have gone from being small companies or afterthoughts to actually being really big, established companies.”

The US market is set to face some uncertainty regarding law changes at the federal level. A sweeping federal legalization approach may be on the horizon, but, for now, the state-by-state efforts have captivated the markets.

International markets show the future of the cannabis industry

Similar to the attention in the US, as investors continue the pursuit for growth and gains in the cannabis market, the international route will offer a variety of opportunities.

Canadian firms have already established partnerships and even operations in jurisdictions outside of the country.

At the end of 2018, the management team of licensed producer (LP) Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) said its attention is beyond Canada and onto the US and Europe.

At that time, the firm’s European Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP) facility in Portugal, according to CEO Brendan Kennedy, was set to replace the efforts from the Canadian operations for the company when it comes to the supply of medical product exports in Europe at a lower cost thanks to outdoor and greenhouse crops. The Portugal-based cannabis production facility has export capabilities and tariff-free access to the European Union.

More recently, Tilray is working toward a merger with global cannabis company Aphria (TSX:APHA) which will combine Aphria’s medical cannabis and distribution network in Germany with Tilray’s cannabis production facility in Portugal to meet increasing European demand for medical cannabis. In the United States, the combined firm will have a large consumer packaged goods footprint and infrastructure that includes the SweetWater Brewing Company (cannabis craft brewing) and Manitoba Harvest (hemp food manufacturer, CBD and wellness branded products).

Other leading LPs such as Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB,TSX:ACB), have also placed heavy bets on the expansion of medical programs into European territories.

Australia is another highly evolved market for the marijuana industry. The country has also seen cannabis stocks on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) flourish.

The range of these stocks varies from purely Australian-related ventures to those with business affairs in Canada or other markets.

ETFs offer investors a chance at plays in the volatile space

With the rise of marijuana stocks, cannabis-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become centric to investing in the cannabis industry.

In the Canadian markets, investors have gained options in funds such as the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (TSX:HMMJ) and Global X Cannabis ETF (NASDAQ:POTX).

These funds offer a pool of marijuana stocks and can be either actively or passively managed. The exposure investors obtain allows an entry to the overall marijuana market without the dangers of only owning individual stocks.

As indicated previously, marijuana investments have proven to be susceptible to a heavy dose of volatility.

Due to their collection of stocks, ETFs also fluctuate with market peaks and valleys, but allow for a more steady path in recovery compared to only owning a stock in turmoil.

The funds have served the market as an indicator on the state of the industry, showing the collective gains of a market set on growing.

Investor takeaway

While investments in marijuana have provided a variety of success stories and gains in the stock market, this industry remains at an early stage of growth for the participant companies.

As more jurisdictions are set to open the doors to the industry, and as existing legal ones refine their consumer base and allow more complex product offerings, investors can expect continued growth of the overall marijuana market.

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

Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, 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.

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