Horizons ETFs Launches Horizons Active US Dividend ETF

News provided by

Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.

Feb 25, 2015, 08:00 ET

The new ETF uses Guardian Capital's award-winning dividend strategy to select U.S. stocks

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2015 /CNW/ - Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") and its affiliate, AlphaPro Management Inc., are pleased to announce the launch of the Horizons Active US Dividend ETF ("HAU"), an actively managed ETF that invests in U.S. dividend stocks with attractive yield and return opportunities.

Class E and Advisor Class units of HAU will begin trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the ticker symbols below:

Name of ETF	TSX Ticker Symbol
	Class E Units	Advisor Class Units
Horizons Active US Dividend ETF	HAU	HAU.A

HAU is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide regular dividend income and modest long-term capital growth by investing in high-quality dividend paying U.S. companies or companies with a substantial presence in the U.S. At the discretion of its sub-advisor, HAU may hedge some or all of its non-Canadian dollar currency exposure back to the Canadian dollar.

Sub-advised by Guardian Capital LP ("Guardian Capital"), HAU uses Guardian's proprietary GPS Stock Selection Process, which targets dividend stocks that offer a combination of dividend growth, payout and sustainability to build a diversified portfolio that seeks to outperform the S&P 500^® Index. Based in Toronto, Guardian Capital has assets under management of more than $23 billion as at December 31, 2014.

Currently, Guardian Capital sub-advises four exchange traded funds for Horizons ETFs, among which is the award-winning* Horizons Active Global Dividend ETF ("HAZ"), an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide dividend income and modest long-term capital growth by investing in high quality dividend paying companies located globally. At the 20^th Annual Morningstar Canadian Investment Awards, HAZ was awarded Best Equity ETF for 2014.

"We are very excited to be offering this new ETF that will employ the same award-winning approach used in HAZ to capture the opportunities for yield and growth we are seeing in the U.S. dividend market," said Howard Atkinson, President of Horizons ETFs. "With strong balance sheets and excess cash flow, U.S. companies are poised to grow dividends and potentially generate higher returns; this low-cost, actively managed ETF provides its investors with exposure to these compelling dividend opportunities."

Guardian's GPS approach differs from other dividend strategies in that it targets a diversified set of stocks with different growth and yield characteristics, which range from Dividend Achievers to Dividend Growers to 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.

"By segmenting the U.S. dividend market into these three categories, one of the big advantages of this mandate over other traditional U.S. dividend strategies is the sector diversification beyond traditional 'dividend rich' sectors," said Mr. Atkinson. "HAU will have meaningful exposure to the U.S. technology sector, which has historically been a key driver of U.S. stock market performance, but not traditionally considered a 'dividend-rich' sector. We believe that this gives investors a good balance of dividend yield, while also giving them exposure to the performance of the broad U.S. stock market."

Guardian Capital's Srikanth Iyer, Managing Director, Head of Systematic Strategies, and Fiona Wilson, Portfolio Manager, will take on lead portfolio management responsibilities for HAU. They are supported by Guardian Capital's Systematic Equities Investment Team, which is comprised of a number of experienced investment professionals who focus on both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of stock selection.

"The analysis of a company's cash flow and the way it uses its cash flow in a shareholder friendly manner will be, over the next decade, the most important criteria in evaluating performance," said Mr. Iyer. "As a result, companies previously not known for their dividends and cash flow, like the technology sector, will become the mainstays of strong balance sheets and sustainable dividend yields."

HAU has closed the offering of its initial Class E units and Advisor Class units and will begin trading today on the TSX when the market opens.

*The Horizons Active Global Dividend ETF ("HAZ"), sub-advised by Guardian Capital, was the recipient of the 2014 Best Equity ETF by Morningstar Canada.

About Guardian Capital LP (www.GuardianCapital.com)

Guardian Capital LP is the manager and portfolio manager of the Guardian Capital Funds. In addition to the Guardian Capital Funds, Guardian Capital LP manages portfolios for defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments and third-party mutual funds. It is part of the Guardian Capital Group, a diversified financial services company founded in 1962.

About Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (www.HorizonsETFs.com)

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 $4.3 billion of assets under management and with 73 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (as at January 31, 2015), 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.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with an investment in exchange traded products managed by AlphaPro Management Inc. (the "Horizons Exchange Traded Products"). The Horizons Exchange Traded Products are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The Prospectuses contain important detailed information about the Horizons Exchange Traded Products. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to a future outlook and anticipated distributions, events or results and may include statements regarding future financial performance. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "intend" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Horizons ETFs undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

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SOURCE Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.