Toronto, Ontario, June 18, 2020 – Hamilton Capital Partners Inc. (“Hamilton ETFs”) is pleased to announce that the special meetings relating to the approval of the previously announced mergers (as described in the table below) (the “Mergers”) were reconvened today. In accordance with applicable legal requirements, securityholders of each of the exchange-traded funds listed under the heading “Terminating Funds” in the table below (the “Terminating Funds”) were required to approve their Mergers.
| TERMINATING FUND | CONTINUING FUND | |||
| Name | Ticker | Name | Ticker | |
| Hamilton Global Bank ETF | HBG | –> | Hamilton Global Financials ETF | HFG |
| Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF | HFY | –> | Hamilton Global Financials ETF | HFG |
| Hamilton U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) | HFMU.U | –> | Hamilton U.S. Mid/Small-Cap Financials ETF | HUM |
| Hamilton Canadian Bank Variable-Weight ETF | HCB | –> | Hamilton Canadian Bank Mean Reversion Index ETF | HCA |
| Hamilton Australian Financials Yield ETF | HFA | –> | Hamilton Australian Bank Equal-Weight Index ETF | HBA |
By an overwhelming margin, each of the Terminating Funds approved special resolutions to authorize their Mergers:
| TERMINATING FUND | Percentage of Unitholders Voting | Percentage of Voting Unitholders Voting in Favour | Percentage of Voting Unitholders Voting Against |
| Hamilton Global Bank ETF | 37.1% | 99.85% | 0.15% |
| Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF | 34.3% | 100.00% | 0.00% |
| Hamilton U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) | 60.8% | 99.78% | 0.22% |
| Hamilton Canadian Bank Variable-Weight ETF | 24.2% | 99.78% | 0.22% |
| Hamilton Australian Financials Yield ETF | 31.6% | 99.53% | 0.47% |
Accordingly, it is expected that the Mergers will take effect on or about June 26, 2020.
The Mergers are part of the evolution of the Hamilton ETFs’ offerings, which also expanded earlier this month to include the Hamilton Financials Innovation ETF (TSX: HFT), an actively managed portfolio of “blue chip” financials that are benefiting from technological innovation. Complete details regarding the Mergers and the matters considered at the special meetings were outlined in the management proxy circular dated May 19, 2020 sent to securityholders of the Terminating Funds of record as of May 18, 2020.
“We are very pleased with the results of the unitholder vote. We believe these mergers represent an extension of our commitment to providing investors with value-added ETFs in the financial service sector, including lower fees, greater investment flexibility for our actively managed ETFs, and an association with respected global index provider Solactive AG for our rules-based products,” said Rob Wessel, Managing Partner at Hamilton ETFs. “We greatly appreciate the enthusiastic response from unitholders and the continued support of our partners,” said Pat Sommerville, Head of Business Development at Hamilton ETFs.
About Hamilton Capital Partners Inc. (Hamilton ETFs)
Hamilton ETFs is a Canadian investment manager specializing in the global financial services sector, with a portfolio management team boasting over 60 years of combined experience. The firm’s specialized investment focus is driven by proprietary research, analysis, and analytical tools. Hamilton ETFs is also an active commentator on the global financial services sector; the firm’s most recent Insights can be found at www.hamilton.fundzen.com/insights-commentary.
This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy the securities referred to herein. This press release is not for dissemination in the United States or for distribution to U.S. news wire services.