[All values in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted] One year on from the market depths of the pandemic, it is worth a quick review of how far the U.S. financials have come. Notwithstanding the fact Ontario recently entered another province-wide lockdown, things south of the border look far brighter, especially for the holdings in the Hamilton U.S. Mid/Small-Cap Financials ETF (tickers: HUM, HUM-U) and much of…
Commentary: HFG
Is the Future of Banking “Open”?
In today’s insight – part four of our financial innovation series – we discuss open banking, open APIs[1] and how the underlying technology has supported the rise of fintech competitors in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. With Canada expected to introduce open banking regulations in the near to medium term, the topic is timely. Part I: Can Standalone Digital Banks Disrupt the Incumbents? (January 14, 2021) Part…
Market Data M&A Accelerates Pivot to a Digital Future
In today’s insight – part of our financial innovation series – we highlight how a string of large, transformational acquisitions by market data and technology companies in the Hamilton Financials Innovation ETF (HFT) over the course of 2019 and 2020 have boosted the ETF’s exposure to secular investment themes brought forward by the pandemic. Crucially, the acquisitions provide investors in HFT exposure to emerging themes with…
Four Themes Driving Innovation in Global Financials
In our series on financial innovation, we discuss key issues relating to financial technology and innovation impacting the global financial services sector in general and the Hamilton Financials Innovation ETF (HFT) in particular. Launched on June 1, 2020, HFT invests in a blue-chip portfolio of 30+ established global financial services firms benefiting from powerful, secular trends amplified by the pandemic such as growth of digital payments, digitization…
Global Financials: The Most Attractive/Important Investment Themes in 2021
Hamilton Global Financials ETF (HFG), which launched on June 26, 2020, is focused on investing in high quality global financial stocks with strong balance sheets, diversified income streams and exposure to favorable, medium- and long-term cyclical and secular trends. This focus aims to provide Canadian investors with diversified exposure to the most attractive themes within the global financial sector while maintaining a volatility profile not materially…
Hamilton Global Financials ETF (HFG): Merging Two Global ETFs with Material Outperformance
On June 29, 2020, the Hamilton Global Financials ETF will begin trading on the TSX under the ticker HFG. This new ETF will have a lower management fee and will be the result of a merger between the Hamilton Global Bank ETF (HBG) and the Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY) – both of which have experienced material outperformance. Since its launch in January 2016, the Hamilton…
Hamilton ETFs Announces Proposed Merger of Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF into Hamilton Global Financials ETF
Toronto, Ontario – April 28, 2020 – Hamilton Capital Partners Inc. (“Hamilton ETFs”) is pleased to announce the next phase of enhancements to its investment fund platform. Subject to all required unitholder and regulatory approvals, Hamilton ETFs is proposing to merge (the “Merger”) Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF (TSX: HFY, the “Terminating Fund”) into Hamilton Global Financials ETF (proposed TSX ticker: HFG, the “Continuing Fund”). If…
Hamilton ETFs Announces Proposed Merger of Hamilton Global Bank ETF into Hamilton Global Financials ETF
Toronto, Ontario – April 28, 2020 – Hamilton Capital Partners Inc. (“Hamilton ETFs”) is pleased to announce the next phase of enhancements to its investment fund platform. Subject to all required unitholder and regulatory approvals, Hamilton ETFs is proposing to merge (the “Merger”) Hamilton Global Bank ETF (TSX: HBG, the “Terminating Fund”) into Hamilton Global Financials ETF (proposed TSX ticker: HFG, the “Continuing Fund”). If all…
Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY): Strong Q4 Closes out an Excellent Two Years
For the quarter ended December 31, 2019, the Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY) returned 4.1% including distributions. In 2019, HFY returned 21.6%, beating the Canadian banks by 750 bps[1]. It also beat its benchmark, the KBW Financial Sector Dividend Yield Total Return Index (in CAD), which returned 15.0%. Note to Reader: This Insight includes references to certain Hamilton ETFs that were active at the time of writing.…
Notes from India: All is Well in the World’s Fastest Growing Market
We had the opportunity to meet the management teams of a dozen Indian banks, insurers and asset managers in the financial capital of Mumbai, India last month. Nearly a year since our last meetings with senior bank executives and notwithstanding the recent slowing of economic growth, management teams were optimistic of India’s medium to long-term GDP growth outlook. The optimism was driven by a structural market…
U.S. Bank M&A: Another Accretive MOE, Another Positive Market Reaction
On Monday, this year’s third (sizable) U.S. bank merger-of-equals (“MOE”) was announced, continuing a trend we expected following similar transactions early in 2019. We have previously written that after a multi-year period of muted merger activity that U.S. bank consolidation – particularly among mid-cap banks – was poised to accelerate. We have cited this theme as impacting the U.S. mid-cap financials sector generally and the banking…
13th Straight Quarter of Double-Digit EPS Growth; Valuations at Five-Year Lows
Hamilton Global Bank ETF (ticker: HBG) holdings reported portfolio-weighted EPS growth of 10% Y/Y[1], driven by strong U.S. banks fundamentals (~60% weight) and a diversified portfolio of global banks (~40% weight). This is the 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit portfolio-weighted EPS growth for HBG. The strong growth was led by U.S. mid-caps and bank holdings in India, Norway and select European countries. Note to Reader: This…