Horizons ETFs launches fifth edition of Biggest Winner Competition

ETF investing simulation now includes every Canadian-listed ETF

TORONTO, April 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") and National Bank Direct Brokerage ("NBDB") are pleased to announce the launch of the fifth edition of our Biggest Winner Trading Competition, a simulated exchange traded fund ("ETF") investment contest that provides Canadian investors with the opportunity to learn about trading in a risk-free environment while competing for cash prizes. The Biggest Winner is free-to-enter with no purchase necessary.

Eligible registrants can open a fantasy brokerage account which begins with a balance of $100,000 notional Canadian dollars (no actual money will be traded). Registrants can then use these fantasy funds to make simulated purchases and sales of any combination of ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX").

"The Biggest Winner is our most popular educational initiative. In previous years, the competition was limited to our family of ETFs, but this year it includes all ETFs that are listed on the TSX," said Howard Atkinson, President of Horizons ETFs. "The primary goal of the Biggest Winner is to create a fun and competitive atmosphere where Canadians can hone their ETF investing skills in a risk-free environment, and by adding the ability to invest in any Canadian ETF, it creates an even more real-life investing environment."

The Biggest Winner Trading Competition is running for six weeks and started today at 9:30 a.m. EST. There will be a grand prize of $7,500 for the competitor with the highest six-week cumulative return. The runner-up will be awarded $2,500; in addition, six weekly prizes of $500 will be awarded to each of the best single week returns.

"The Biggest Winner is a little bit different from real-life investing due to its short-term nature. Typically, concentrated bets in ETFs with a higher risk/return profile would be expected to win in this type of market environment," said Mr. Atkinson. "While having the opportunity to win cash prizes is part of the contest, our main goal is to help participants become more educated traders and we've developed educational materials for the competition, such as our 'Trade Tip of the Week' video series, which will be available throughout the Biggest Winner."

Nearly 5,000 Canadians participated in the previous four competitions. NBDB will once again be the exclusive sponsor of this year's competition.

There are nearly 400 ETFs listed on the TSX which provide solutions for a variety of market conditions and investment objectives. There are plain-vanilla index ETFs offering exposure to broad markets or specific industry sectors; for tactical traders, there are leveraged, inverse and volatility ETFs.

"We are pleased to watch this competition expand its reach in investor education year-over-year," stated Robert Girard, Senior Manager of NBDB. "By now including all TSX-listed ETFs, we think competitors can become even better ETF investors and have more fun."

To register for The Biggest Winner Trading Competition, or to read the full contest rules and details, as well as ETF educational materials, please visit The Biggest Winner website at http://thebiggestwinner.stocktrak.com.

About National Bank Direct Brokerage
National Bank Direct Brokerage is a subsidiary of National Bank, the sixth largest bank in Canada and the leading financial institution in Quebec where it is the partner of choice among small- and medium-sized enterprises. It has branches in most Canadian provinces as well as numerous representative offices, subsidiaries and partnerships, through which it serves clients in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. 

About National Bank of Canada
With $214 billion in assets as at January 31, 2015, National Bank of Canada (www.nbc.ca), together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups. The Bank has more than 20,000 employees and is widely recognized as a top employer. Its securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's activities via social media and learn more about its extensive community involvement at clearfacts.ca and commitment.nationalbank.ca.

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. Horizons ETFs has more than $4.9 billion of assets under management and with 70 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (as at March 31, 2015), 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.

About Mirae Asset Global Investments (www.miraeasset.com)

Mirae Asset Global Investments is one of the world's largest investment managers in emerging market equities (Investments & Pensions Europe, January 2014). With approximately 570 employees, including 124 dedicated investment professionals, Mirae Asset offers a breadth of emerging markets expertise. Mirae Asset's offices are located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Taiwan, the U.K., the United States and Vietnam. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, the firm manages $69.2 billion in assets globally (as at February 28, 2015) through a diversified platform to offer market-leading franchises in traditional equity and fixed income products, ETFs and alternative strategies, such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds.

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 Exchanged Traded Products"). The Horizons Exchange Traded Products are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Certain Horizons Exchange Traded Products may have exposure to leveraged investment techniques that can magnify gains and losses and which may result in greater volatility of returns and could be subject to aggressive investment risk and price volatility risk. The prospectus contains important detailed information about each Horizons Exchange Traded Product. Please read the applicable prospectus before investing.

SOURCE Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.