Horizons ETFs offers U.S. Dollar version of Horizons Active US Dividend ETF

TORONTO, February 25, 2016 — Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (“Horizons ETFs”) and its affiliate, AlphaPro Management Inc., are pleased to announce the listing of Horizons Active US Dividend ETF (“HAU”) in U.S. dollars, providing Canadian investors with the option of investing in HAU using Canadian or U.S. dollars.

HAU began trading in U.S. dollars on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") on February 22, 2016, under the symbol HAU.U. The launch coincides with the one-year anniversary of HAU.

HAU is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide regular dividend income and modest long-term capital growth by investing in high quality U.S. dividend paying stocks. Sub-advised by Guardian Capital LP (“Guardian Capital”), the ETF uses Guardian’s proprietary stock selection process — known as the GPS approach (Growth, Payout, Sustainability) — to aim to outperform the S&P 500® .

HAU and HAU.U are the same exchange traded fund and share the same CUSIP number. The only difference between the two listings is the currency they trade in. Investors now also have the option to purchase HAU in Canadian dollar denominated units and then sell those same units in U.S. dollars through the ticker HAU.U or vice versa.

“We know that currency is an important consideration when investing outside of Canada, particularly in the U.S.,” said Steve Hawkins, Co-CEO of Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. “With the significant depreciation of the Canadian dollar against the Greenback, we believe it’s important to offer this flexibility to investors who may want to optimize their U.S. stock exposure by choosing to purchase units of the ETF in U.S. dollars.”

Guardian’s GPS investment approach focuses on three key fundamental drivers: growth of dividends, payout of cash flow, and sustainability of the payout profile. Using these drivers, Guardian Capital then categorizes dividend-paying stocks into three groups: Dividend Achievers, Dividend Growers, and Dividend Payers. Dividend Achievers are high growth, early stage companies with low dividend yields; Dividend Growers are steady growth companies with moderate yields; and Dividend Payers are mature, low growth companies that provide high dividend yields.

“A common problem with many dividend strategies is that price appreciation is sacrificed in the search for higher dividend yields, however in Guardian’s GPS approach, both are equally as important in stock selection, which is why we view HAU and our other dividend mandates as total-return strategies,” said Mr. Hawkins. “With a focus on both price appreciation and dividends, HAU provides diverse sector exposure that is more similar to that of a broad-based U.S. equity mandate rather than other dividend mandates, which tend to have big concentrations in yield-rich sectors like utilities.”