from the yahoo board. looking very good for us.
For our non French speakers... One of the largest fund managers for pension funds in the country is adding to the pot. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) now owns shares in at least four major Canadian cannabis producers, an investment worth nearly one hundred million dollars. The Ottawa-based institutional investor, whose main business office is in Montreal, took an initial stake in Aurora Cannabis in the last quarter of 2018. Documents filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission in recent days reveal that PSP acquired 2.6 million shares of Aurora Cannabis in October, November and December. PSP has also recently taken a first stake in Aphria (553,800 shares) and Cronos (431,900 shares). PSP also owns 555,100 shares of Canopy Growth. The participation in Canopy was taken last spring. In each of these cases, PSP is currently one of the 20 largest shareholders. In addition to its direct holdings in pot producers, PSP also holds 27,636 shares of Constellation Brands (which owns approximately 35% of Canopy), nearly 100,000 shares of Altria (which announced in December the acquisition of a 45% interest in Cronos) and approximately 10,000 shares of Molson Coors (which has a joint venture with Hexo, a cannabis producer in Gatineau). By way of comparison, the Caisse de depot et placement du Qubec does not hold any known direct investment in pot producers. On the other hand, the Caisse has small holdings in the Constellation Brands beer and wine producer ($ 1 million), the Altria tobacco company ($ 22 million) and the Molson Coors brewer ($ 6 million). US). The cannabis sector has a very good start to the year on the stock market. Aurora shares are up almost 40% since January 1st, while Canopy shares have appreciated more than 70%. The title of Aphria has gained more than 60% so far in 2019 while the Cronos value has doubled this year. PSP invests, among other things, funds for public service pension plans, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. PSP management declined to comment on its investment decisions. Total assets under management at PSP are approximately $ 160 billion