Montreal resident tops 1,400 participants in popular ETF trading contest
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2013 /CNW/ - With a hypothetical return of 17.9% over a six-week period, Anouchka Lemieux of Montreal, Quebec, has been named the winner of the 3rd Horizons ETFs Biggest Winner Competition (the "Competition"), which was promoted by Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") and sponsored by National Bank Direct Brokerage Inc. ("NBDB"). Ms. Lemieux's top portfolio performance earned her the grand prize of $7,500 in cash.
Nearly 1,400 people participated in the Competition - a record number for Horizons ETFs - which ran from October 7 to November 15, 2013. The Competition used virtual online brokerage accounts, in which each participant started with $100,000 in fantasy dollars. Participants were able to buy or sell, on a hypothetical basis, any of the 73 exchange traded funds ("ETFs") offered by Horizons ETFs, at any time throughout regular trading days.
"National Bank Direct Brokerage is proud to have sponsored a competition that encouraged the public to take part in a market simulation exercise as a risk-free way to get acquainted with ETFs," said Nancy Paquet, President of NBDB. "Congratulations to all participants."
The Competition's website received nearly 35,000 unique visitors and had more than 16,500 trades placed, making it by far the most popular Biggest Winner contest to date.
"Each time we run this competition, it gets bigger and better," said Howard Atkinson, President of Horizons ETFs. "Participants seem to be getting better as well, since each of the top 20 portfolios this time around generated returns of 10% or more. This is a phenomenal achievement for a six-week investment period."
Ms. Lemieux's top trade came from a well-timed purchase of the Horizons BetaPro S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures™ Inverse ETF ("HVI"), which seeks to deliver the inverse performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index™. Ms. Lemieux held that position for 41 days, generating a hypothetical profit of more than $9,700 for her portfolio.
"With volatility declining and U.S. stocks surging over the course of the Competition, the top competitors were able to take advantage of strong markets to generate sizable returns," said Mr. Atkinson.
Alex Macdonald of Markham, Ontario, also held a position in HVI, which helped him to finish the competition with a 15.7% return. Mr. Macdonald received $2,500 as runner up and $500 for the best return in the fifth week.
None of the Competition's winners were advisors or professional money managers. 82% of registered participants described themselves as investors without financial advisors, and 65% said they had never traded ETFs before.
"Time and again, the Biggest Winner Competition shows us how much investing talent there is amongst ordinary Canadians. The low-cost, flexible nature of ETFs allows investors to implement investment strategies, on their own, tailored to their knowledge and risk levels," said Mr. Atkinson. "The big takeaway is that ETF investing doesn't have to be intimidating; with a little time and self-education, investors can do quite well at navigating different market conditions."
In total, Horizons ETFs awarded $13,000 in cash prizes during the Competition, including 6 individual $500 prizes for portfolios with the best weekly returns. The winners were:
| Prize | Winner | ||
| Grand Prize: | Anouchka Lemieux from Montreal, Que (17.82% overall gain) | ||
| Runner Up: | Alex Macdonald from Markham, ON (15.73% overall gain) | ||
| Week One: | Tim Morgan of Fort McMurray, AB (11.2% one-week return) | ||
| Week Two: | Suzy Chumbo of Toronto, ON (8.1% one-week return) | ||
| Week Three: | Darlene North of Turner Valley, AB (9.6% one-week return) | ||
| Week Four: | Christian Dent of Langley, BC (9.5% one-week return) | ||
| Week Five: | Alex Macdonald of Markham, ON (3.2% one-week return) | ||
| Week Six: | Loan Crisan of Vaughan, ON (4.4% one-week return) |
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with an investment in exchange traded products managed by AlphaPro Management Inc. and Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) 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. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing.
HVI is a speculative investment tool, is very different from other Canadian exchange-traded funds, and can be used for diversification or as a partial hedge against market conditions. HVI is not a conventional investment. HVI is designed to provide investment results that endeavour to correspond to the performance of one times the inverse (opposite) of, the daily performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures™ Index (the "S&P VIX S-T Index"). The S&P VIX S-T Index tracks the implied market volatility, not market returns and has tended to have a low to negative correlation to equity market returns. The S&P VIX S-T Index is highly volatile. As a result, it is not generally viewed as a stand-alone long term investment. Historically, the S&P VIX S-T Index has tended to revert to a historical mean. As a result, the performance of the S&P VIX S-T Index is expected to be negative over the longer term. Historically, the S&P VIX S-T Index has experienced significant one day increases when equity markets have had large negative returns which, if repeated, could cause HVI to suffer substantial losses. Investors should monitor their investment in an ETF daily.
"Standard & Poor's®" and "S&P®" are registered trademarks of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P"). These marks have been licensed for use by Horizons ETFs. HVI is not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by S&P or its affiliated companies and S&P does not make any representation, warranty or condition regarding the advisability of buying, selling and holding units of HVI.
National Bank Direct Brokerage makes no representation or guarantee, whether explicit or implicit, as to the suitability of investing in exchange-traded funds, or does it endorse Horizons ETFs or its products.
About National Bank Direct Brokerage
National Bank Direct Brokerage is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada. National Bank Direct Brokerage offers no advice and makes no investment recommendations. The client alone is responsible for the financial consequences of his or her investment decisions. National Bank Direct Brokerage is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
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. With approximately $4.2 billion in assets under management and 73 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (as at Oct. 31, 2013), 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.
SOURCE: Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.
Howard Atkinson, President
Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.
(416) 777-5167 or [email protected]
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