The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF was the first pure-play cannabis ETF listed in the U.S. The ETF tracks an index of companies involved in the legal business of growing, marketing and selling cannabis products for medical and recreational use.
Since marijuana is still illegal under U.S. federal law, the fund’s holdings are dominated by Canadian cannabis companies. MJ’s portfolio is rounded out with investments in other industries like fertilizer and tobacco.
Like other cannabis ETFs, MJ’s holdings are largely concentrated in thinly-traded small-cap equities, which has raised questions about whether there’s enough liquidity in the underlying stocks to absorb investor inflows without distorting prices.
MJ is one of the most expensive options on the market, with a management fee of $75 a year for every $1,000 invested. Rivals offering similar exposure charge much less: The Cannabis ETF (THCX) charges $70 and the Global X Cannabis ETF (POTX) costs just $50. Another interesting alternative is the Cambria Cannabis ETF (TOKE), an actively-managed fund. MJ is by far the largest fund, and short-term traders might prefer MJ’s size and liquidity to that of its smaller competitors.
Investors should discount MJ’s performance prior to Dec. 26, 2017, which is when ETF Managers Group converted it to cannabis investing. Prior to that, the fund invested in Latin American real estate.
One unusual consideration in the case of MJ is the reputation of ETF Managers Group, the firm that runs the fund. ETFMG is facing lawsuits from former business partners alleging theft of profits and intellectual property. So far there’s little indication that the firm’s legal woes have hurt investors in the ETFs but investors should be aware of the controversy. In December 2019, a federal judge ordered ETFMG to pay $80 million to Nasdaq, one former business partner. The judge sharply criticized ETFMG’s founder and chief executive. ETFMG has appealed.
Segment | Equity: Global Cannabis |
Category | Sector |
Focus | Theme |
Niche | Cannabis |
Strategy | Vanilla |
Weighting Scheme | Proprietary |
This section compares how balanced and deep this ETF is relative to its peers.
MJ | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
---|---|---|---|
Number of Holdings | 11 | 471 | 14 |
% of Assets in Top 10 | 99.92% | 25.63% | 92.84% |
% of Assets in Top 15 | 99.99% | 29.81% | 98.33% |
% of Assets in Top 50 | 99.99% | 50.16% | 100.00% |
MJ | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
---|---|---|---|
Large (>12.9B) | 0.00% | 4.12% | 6.10% |
Mid (>2.7B) | 0.00% | 43.31% | 2.83% |
Small (>600M) | 8.71% | 30.06% | 11.00% |
Micro (<600M) | 27.19% | 6.62% | 24.88% |
This section compares the P/E ratio of this ETF to its peers.
This section compares the dividend yield of this ETF to its peers.
MJ | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
---|---|---|---|
Dividend | $ 0.29 | $ 0.43 | $ 0.12 |
Dividend Date | 2024-12-30 | N/A | N/A |
Annual Dividend Rate | $ 6.24 | $ 4.00 | $ 1.65 |
Annual Dividend Yield | 33.88% | 19.59% | 10.82% |
View charts featuring MJ price and volume data.
View charts featuring ETF fund flow data.
5 Day Net Flows: 0 1 Month Net Flows: -2.61 M 3 Month Net Flows: -2.61 M 6 Month Net Flows: -2.61 M 1 Year Net Flows: 2.5 M 3 Year Net Flows: -8.15 M 5 Year Net Flows: 444.88 M 10 Year Net Flows: 1.86 BView charts that break down the influence that fund flows and price had on overall assets.
5 Day Net AUM Change: 2.86 MThe adjacent table gives investors an individual Realtime Rating for MJ on several different metrics, including liquidity, expenses, performance, volatility, dividend, concentration of holdings in addition to an overall rating. The "A+ Metric Rated ETF" field, available to ETF Database Pro members, shows the ETF in the Small Cap Blend Equities with the highest Metric Realtime Rating for each individual field. To view all of this data, sign up for a free 14-day trial for ETF Database Pro. To view information on how the ETF Database Realtime Ratings work, click here.
This section compares the cost efficiency of this ETF to its peers.
Max ST Capital Gains Rate | 39.60% |
Max LT Capital Gains Rate | 20.00% |
Tax On Distributions | Qualified dividends |
Distributes K1 | No |
MJ does not have an ESG score. There are no ESG themes that map to this ETF.
This section shows how this ETF has performed relative to its peers. Returns over 1 year are annualized.
MJ |
ETF Database
Category Average |
Factset Segment
Average |
|
---|---|---|---|
1 Month Return | -12.61% | -9.84% | -7.27% |
3 Month Return | -30.65% | -17.52% | -17.67% |
YTD Return | -33.74% | -15.70% | -20.11% |
1 Year Return | -51.12% | -7.20% | -34.27% |
3 Year Return | -39.28% | -3.43% | -25.65% |
5 Year Return | -28.88% | 7.09% | -11.32% |
The following charts reflect the geographic spread of MJ's underlying holdings.
Region | Percentage |
---|---|
North, Central and South America | 89.89% |
Other | 10.1% |
Country | Percentage |
---|---|
United States | 54.6% |
Canada | 34.91% |
Other | 10.48% |
The following charts reflect the allocation of MJ's underlying holdings.
Sector | Percentage |
---|---|
Miscellaneous | 54.98% |
Process Industries | 21.96% |
Other | 10.03% |
Health Technology | 8.74% |
Retail Trade | 4.21% |
CASH | 0.07% |
Market Cap | Percentage |
---|---|
Micro | 27.19% |
Small | 8.71% |
Large | 0.0% |
Mid | 0.0% |
Region | Percentage |
---|
Asset | Percentage |
---|---|
Exchange Traded Fund (ETF-ETF) | 53.09% |
Share/Common/Ordinary | 36.42% |
Other | 10.03% |
Open-ended Fund | 0.38% |
CASH | 0.07% |
Sector | Percentage |
---|---|
Miscellaneous | 54.98% |
Process Industries | 21.96% |
Other | 10.03% |
Health Technology | 8.74% |
Retail Trade | 4.21% |
CASH | 0.07% |
This section shows how the volatility of this ETF compares to the peer group ETF Database Category.
5 Day Volatility | 462.42% |
20 Day Volatility | 56.31% |
50 Day Volatility | 47.15% |
200 Day Volatility | 46.42% |
Beta | 1.63 |
Standard Deviation | 6.58% |
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