First Trust Files Prospectus for FT 6766 Medical Cannabis Portfolio Series

Illinois-based fund manager First Trust, which manages over $100 billion in aggregate across a range of retail and institutional investment products, has filed a S-6 prospectus for a medical cannabis unit investment trust (UIT), FT 6766, which consists of a single portfolio known as Medical Cannabis Portfolio Series. A UIT is a pooled investment vehicle with a defined lifespan that is invested in a fixed portfolio of securities.

While Horizons ETF Managers was the first fund manager to launch a cannabis portfolio with its Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF  (TSX: HMMJ) (OTC: HMLSF), which now has C$115mm in net assets, FT 6766 could become the first U.S. listed cannabis fund. First Trust is intending to price it at the same initial price that Horizons ETF used, $10.00, and it will have a maximum sales charge of 2.75%. The Bank of New York Mellon will serve as Trustee.

The prospectus describes the objective as “above-average capital appreciation”. Stocks will be selected from the Indxx Cannabis Index, which is not yet listed on the provider’s website. Its team of analysts will “thoroughly evaluate each company for inclusion in the portfolio based upon each company’s association with the medical aspects of cannabis as well as their analysis of other screens for liquidity constraints.” Importantly, the Trust has “mandatory termination date” of June 28, 2019.

Editor’s note: Subsequent to publication, First Trust filed an amended prospectus that no longer included Bank of New York Mellon as Trustee

Breaking News by Alan Brochstein, CFA

Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email