Monthly ETF Commentary

December 2025

Sector rotations and the barbell strategy

Market turbulence in November broke a seven-month streak of all-time highs for the S&P 500. Despite the modest pullback, the S&P 500 is still up over 15% in the year-to-date period as of early morning trading on December 8th, 2025. The story in Canada was surprisingly even stronger.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index has climbed 25% in the year-to-date period at the time of this writing on the morning of December 8th, 2025.

Early optimism following the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown was met with muted data releases and continued fears over an artificial intelligence-fuelled “bubble”. Meanwhile, other risk barometers in the cryptocurrency space also contributed to mid-month pressures.

Overall, the market from peak to trough during November was down just over 5%. That is a relatively orderly pullback, largely concentrated in the year’s top performers. There was evidence of profit-taking accompanied by capital rotation into more defensive and previously lagging sectors, including healthcare and utilities. Even with this, the Technology sector (“tech”) still standout in the year-to-date period.

A market dynamic of this nature bodes well for the barbell approach that we have highlighted heading into 2026. The barbell strategy pairs growth exposures with more defensive factors.

When we look under the surface of the market, we see breadth improving, which means that there are more areas participating in the bull run. That is healthy for later-cycle markets.

Despite the year-to-date and recent months strong performances, the U.S. markets was essentially flat for the month of November. Bears grew louder, which prompts us to revisit key growth drivers and dynamics.

Artificial bears

“The rumours of my death were greatly exaggerated” feels applicable when it pertains to the numerous think pieces that have cast a shadow over the “AI bubble”. Some have thought to compare the AI boom to the late-1990s dot-com bubble. Other well-known short sellers have debated long-term investors, sounding warnings over a “circular AI economy”.

It helps to have perspective when comparing to the AI boom to the late-1990s dot-com bull run. The 1990s saw a steep expansion of valuation multiples. Valuations today are elevated, but they are nowhere near the extremes we saw in the late 1990s tech market. The recent acceleration in valuation multiples is occurring off a much more rational earnings base. Growth in space remains robust, and expectations for a strong 2026 have remained intact.

In November, Nvidia posted strong results that reaffirmed strength in the AI-powered tech sector. This also reminded investors that sentiment is highly sensitive to forward guidance.

Equally weighted technology exposure looks far less stretched than headline multiples suggest. This supports the view of our investment team that, as market breadth expands into 2026, an equal-weight approach provides more balanced risk. Our own Harvest Tech Achievers Growth & Income ETF (TSX: HTA), stands as an equal-weighted portfolio of 20 established technology companies.

Currencies and the Canada Core

Canada has experienced many conflicting macro narratives this year. Tariffs, political uncertainty – including a contentious election, and persistent comparisons to a stronger U.S. economy. The Canadian dollar sunk below the $0.70 USD mark earlier this year but has shown resilience in recent months. This is supported by positive policy signals and strengthened by solid employment and economic data going into December 2025.

For more on the performance of the Canadian market, and Harvest’s three core Canadian ETFs – the Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF (TSX: HLIF), the Harvest Low Volatility Canadian Equity Income ETF (TSX: HVOI), and the Harvest Canadian High Income Shares ETF (TSX: HHIC), see our insights piece below.

‘Tis the season for seasonality

This is the time of the year when the Street looks ahead to the next calendar year for signs and direction. We have continued to see robust growth in key areas going into the New Year amid pockets of elevated valuations. That phenomenon, along with underlying sector rotations, reinforces that diversification is key. The buy-the-dips approach remains appropriate as volatility arises.

Seasonality also matters at this stage. In December, we tend to see light year-end volumes, and tax-loss selling. Institutional repositioning can create short-term noise and gyrations that are often exacerbated and not reflective of fundamentals. This can create opportunities for some, but for most it is a reminder that this time of year can produce unusual intraday moves.

Harvest Healthcare Leaders Income ETF

HHL recorded positive performance for November. This reflected the broader Healthcare continued its recovery from October making it the best performing sector across the market for the month of November. This marks the second month in a row that Healthcare ranked amongst the top performing major sectors—this has been uncommon outcome given the sector’s persistent lag since the April lows.  Several technical relative-rotation indicators show that the sector has recently shifted out of lagging the broader markets. In addition, there are some positions that are now showing leadership in the market.

The muted sentiment that plagued the sector over recent quarters, driven largely by the macro and political environment, has started to improve in recent months. This was driven by strategic and renowned investors reallocating to the sector, like Warren Buffet, and a strong earnings season that was rewarded in the markets.    

November also saw some profit-taking in higher-growth areas of the market, combined with a generally more risk-balanced tone across markets. That has helped drive capital toward sectors with stable cash flows—Healthcare at the forefront and echoes the absolute and relatively strong capital inflows into the US Healthcare ETFs recently, the first time this has occurred in the past year.

Strong earnings followed through from large biotech-issuers like Regeneron and Amgen while in large pharma, Merck, had positive follow-through from earnings and provided a strong combo update late in the month that supported the strong move.  The top performer for the month though was again Eli Lilly, that continued to show its strength and growing dominance in the GLP-1 categories, leading to a very strong absolute and relative performance for the month. The tone remains cautiously constructive. Healthcare is still recovering, and policy clouds and political narratives persist.  However, valuations remain attractive, and the sector is starting to respond to catalysts; fundamentals are being rewarded, and option dynamics are increasingly supportive.

Outlook | The sector’s long-term fundamentals remain solid, characterized by: Aging populations, developing nations, and technological innovation. | HHL provides steady monthly income. | Improving sentiment is a key near term catalyst.

HHL invests in 20 large-cap healthcare leaders, has an active covered call strategy and pays a monthly distribution of $0.06 per unit.

Harvest Brand Leaders Plus Income ETF

In a month marked by the largest market correction since April, HBF finished modestly positive.  Factors that impacted the ETF’s investments during November included:

• • Relief from the end of the government shutdown early in the month was overshadowed by renewed uncertainty surrounding future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and investor concern regarding market valuations
  • Investors rotated out of growth areas and into more value- and defense-oriented sectors

Google parent Alphabet Inc. continued to rally on investor optimism for it’s AI solution Gemini, while semiconductor designer Broadcom Inc extended it’s rally following announcement of a multi-year agreement with OpenAI.  Shares of Oracle Corp. continued to slide on investor concern about the company’s debt.

The ETF maintained its covered call strategy, as it continues its focus on balancing income generation with participation in equity upside. 

Outlook | Ongoing macroeconomic and equity market valuation concerns have kept markets volatile | Equal weight and specific value-, quality- & yield-based financial metrics can help in current environment with ongoing rotations.

Harvest Tech Achievers Growth & Income ETF

HTA fell during in November reflecting investors lingering questions about valuations in the broader sector and rotation into more defensive sectors.

Within the portfolio, Google parent Alphabet Inc. continued to rally on investor optimism for its AI solution Gemini, and semiconductor designer, Broadcom Inc, extended its rally following announcement of a multi-year agreement with OpenAI.  On the other hand, Shares of Oracle Corp. continued to slide on investor concern about the company’s debt.

HTA uses covered calls to generate income while remaining positioned to capture growth potential in leading tech names. 

Outlook AI-driven tech demand continues | Equal weight can help to avoid over concentration I HTA is positioned in large-cap tech leaders and writes call options to support steady income.

Harvest Equal Weight Global Utilities Income ETF

HUTL posted another small positive return in November, slightly lagging the broader Utilities benchmark. Despite, the volatility witnessed in April, the year 2025 has been a very positive and very steady upward trending one for Utilities stocks – surprisingly keeping pace with generally very strong broader stock market gains. Some of the more important factors in November included:

• • Pipelines led to the upside, but was really a bounce-back from last month’s selloff –the segment as been holding steady in a sideways pattern on the year
  • Long bond yields remained quieter this month – Utilities continue to see flows from both a potential cap in interest rates and positive sentiment for stocks, which have continued to trade a “soft landing” pattern after the rate hiking cycle
  • Short-term rates dropped a touch as expectations for a December Fed cut got priced in and helped the narrative on yield relief
  • The AI boom continues, which highlights growing electricity demand, offering a medium-term tailwind for a sector that tends to be low growth

HUTL’s portfolio of 30 top utility, telecom, and pipeline companies offers a balance of defensive income generation while capturing potential upside. The portfolio is supported by a covered call overlay to boost monthly cash flows.

The ETF was reconstituted and rebalanced in November with three name changes. Evergy, Endesa and Brookfield Renewables dropped out on lower yield, while Vodafone, Edison International and United Utilities were added.

Outlook | HUTL is well-positioned in uncertain markets and for AI energy demand tailwinds I Can provide steady cash flow amidst broader macro uncertainty I HUTL remains a leading utility ETF in Canada.

Harvest Global REIT Leaders Income ETF

HGR recorded an unremarkable positive return during the month that slightly lagged the overall performance of the REITs sub-sector, which just outperformed  the broader equity markets, being more defensive against the mid-month selloff on valuation concerns.  A few  drivers that have affected performance:

• • Japanese & Other Asian Development-focused and Multi-Asset Conglomerates, which tend to be more cyclical, have been the biggest component of benchmark gains this year (an uptrend since 2023), and that continued in November with Japanese developers pushing to cycle highs. HGR does not have exposure which has been a drag on relative performance.
  • In the Healthcare sub-sector our decision not to chase Welltower momentum has been a drag on performance as well – but with valuations extremely high and consensus expectations for lower prices, the ETF remains on the sidelines.
  • However, offsetting these declines, we’ve had good relative performance in our Specialty bucket, where our Data Centers mix performed relatively better, along with our exposure to the gas/convenience name of Getty Realty. Retail/Industrial exposures have also benefitted, especially with strong performance in Simon Properties on the Mall side and our Grocery-anchored Strip Plaza REITs too.

HGR remains broadly diversified across global REIT subsectors, offering exposure to a range of exposures like growth-oriented assets like industrials and data centers and value plays like office and healthcare REITs. This approach helps manage macro uncertainty while targeting consistent income from global real estate leaders.

The ETF was reconstituted in November with Assura Group being taken over, dropping the names to 26. Additionally, on a couple names in the headlines, the ETF maintains positions at underweight in Alexandria, which has seen biotech/lab space uncertainty lead to lower expectations and a pre-emptive dividend cut to provide flexibility, while analysts see this as a helpful with upside price targets and expectations that occupancy will bottom in 2026 – we categorize this more as a deep value play for the ETF. Unite Group also hit a bumpy patch on student housing occupancy, but analysts remain positive on the name, and we maintain it as an underweight position.

Outlook | Global REITs have faced headwinds from rate concerns and macro uncertainty, but there has been some pressure release as 2025 evolves | HGR’s diversified tenant and lease exposure offers resilience I HGR is positioned to benefit from exposure to growth themes like data centers & online shopping trends with industrial warehouses globally.

Harvest Energy Leaders Plus Income ETF

HPF and broader Energy stocks bounced back in November. While crude oil prices exhibited weakness, energy equities were more broadly tied to stock markets and positive quarterly reports during the month, with little in the way of sub-sector differences.  The notable catalysts for the energy sector seemed to trade around:

• • Energy equities mostly seemed to diverge from lower commodity prices based on earnings report during the month of November. Broadly investors seem to have been happy with performance during the quarter
  • Crude oil weakness has been hampered by oversupply worries and mixed demand signals — OPEC+ after attempting to garner market share appears to have reversed course a bit on their demand worries and will pause output hikes until at least Q1-2026

HPF continues to balance exposure to large-cap energy names with a covered call strategy to generate income.

Outlook | Oil markets face macro and supply-side instability | HPF retains quality energy names aligned with long-term capital discipline and yield strength.

Harvest US Bank Leaders Income ETF

HUBL rose during November.  This reflected overall positive returns for Banks during the month, with regional banks modestly outperforming their universal bank peers.  While credit quality has generally remained strong as of the latest quarter, lingering concerns with regards to the economy offset the benefit of a steepening yield curve to traditional banking operations.  Shares of the mega-cap universal banks have outperformed regionals over the course of 2025 in large part due to strong performance from their capital markets operations.

 HUBL maintains a covered call strategy for income. It remains positioned to benefit from renewed investor confidence in the banking sector as risks around tariffs and policy uncertainty eased.   The ETF was rebalanced during November.  There were no changes to portfolio constituents.

Outlook | The US Federal Reserve Bank’s rate expectations and loan growth outlooks will shape returns | Covered calls can help manage risk in a volatile macro banking environment.

Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF

HLIF recorded strong gains in November outpacing even the broader Canadian market, which got dragged a bit by the mid-November sell-off on broader technology valuation concerns — nonetheless new highs continue to be set in Canada:

• • Greater exposure to diversified financials, like Insurance stocks and IGM, a financial services provider, have added to strong Canadian bank performance
  • Quebecor also added to performance as the market liked their quarter
  • Avoided the drag of many of the Canadian tech stocks during the month, which helped relative performance

Not having exposure to gold equities was a slight offsetting drag on the relative performance to the benchmark

The ETF focuses on Canada’s top dividend payers, refreshed quarterly. The portfolio’s covered call overlay can help to support stable monthly income in a mixed economic environment. The ETF will be reconstituted and rebalanced in December.

Outlook | Equal weight and dominant oligopolistic-like companies in the Canadian market | The portfolio remains focused on size & yield in domestic market I HLIF is positioned defensively and favours stable cash flow names.

Harvest Travel & Leisure Income ETF

TRVL rebounded in November. TRVL seemed to have but hit a bit of a ceiling this year after a very strong end to 2024. As broad stock markets gained so did travel stocks, despite being hampered year to date by those higher comparison levels:

• • Cruiselines continued to trade lower this month, while casinos/gaming stocks rebounded
  • Airlines did just enough to gain ground by the end of the month, while hotels, resorts & lodging led the way higher for the sector
  • The consumer has been more resilient than expected, and an additional Fed cut helps sentiment in the US, but economic data has been mixed recently and very sparse due to the US government shutdown, which somewhat weighed on travel & leisure sentiment.

TRVL offers diversified exposure to top travel stocks.

Outlook | While some short-term pressure from consumer is cautionary and government shutdown injects uncertainty; the sector is well positioned to benefit from secular trends like aging demographics and resilient travel demand I The ETF is poised to benefit from renewed interest in the consumer discretionary.

Harvest Industrial Leaders Income ETF

HIND returns were relatively flat in November.  Performance varied across the sector during the month with aerospace and defense stocks continuing to struggle amidst peace negotiations between Russia and the U.S. and airlines exhibiting positive returns following the end of the government shutdown which threatened operations.  Shares of Parker Hannifin Corp. rallied following strong earnings results, while shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. also rallied.  Shares of Uber Technologies Inc. fell during the month on competition fears.

HIND maintains its covered call strategy for added income while staying positioned to benefit from renewed industrial sector momentum.  The Fund is scheduled to be rebalanced in December.

Outlook: HIND remains exposed to economic cyclicals | Earnings momentum and post-selloff strength suggest resilience | Tariff tensions remain a macro headwind.

Harvest Low Volatility Canadian Equity Income ETF

HVOI posted a positive outcome for November, as measured by its net asset value per unit. The first part of the month saw concerns in the forward path of AI and Technology stocks, impacting broad markets, although concerns eased somewhat as the month concluded. Overall, the low volatility basket of equities was in greater demand over the month.  The ETF’s exposures to Financials, Materials, and Energy were strong contributors, with strong performance in Banks, as well as a bounce back in gold prices. Top contributors during the month included Dollarama, National Bank of Canada, and Wheaton Precious Metals.

The portfolio made no significant weighting changes in the month.

HVOI remains defensively positioned to manage risk. Nonetheless, it still offers exposure to continued equity market growth and balancing stability with participation in upside trends.

Outlook | Strategies focus on stable, lower risk portfolio of Canadian equities | Market turbulence expected to persist | Low-volatility profile may be timely for conservative investors.

Harvest Premium Yield Treasury ETF

Harvest Premium Yield 7-10 Year Treasury ETF

HPYT and HPYM were very choppy during the month but ultimately ended slightly higher, with HPYT underperforming as the yield curve steepened slightly. The divergence in yields should be monitored for any further yield curve steepening with the long end moving higher. For November, the ETFs were impacted by:

• • The Federal Reserve jaw-boned the market back to another cut to the overnight rate for December. After talk started to circulate that Federal Reserve members didn’t need to be too conservative with rate cuts on the lack of economic data from the government shutdown, the market began to price in a December cut – Front end of the yield curve moved down and that benefitted HPYM more
  • Long end yields have been moving slightly more in the opposite direction, as risk lingers around headlines and inflation expectations remain stuck ahead of the backlog data release –dragged on HPYT performance from a relative perspective

Both ETFs use an active covered call strategy to generate income from exposure to bond market volatility, helping investors offset inflation and deliver higher real yields than traditional fixed income.

Outlook | HPYT/HPYM offer high cash flows from writing covered calls I Macro backdrop has been challenging for longer dated yields I Flexible covered call strategy helps generate cash flows.

Harvest Diversified Monthly Income ETF

Harvest Diversified Equity Income ETF

HDIF and HRIF delivered positive returns for November. Equity markets oscillated during the month, at times driven by AI/Tech uncertainty, while other market segments such as Health Care, Financials and Industrials recorded gains during the month. The gains were led by strong performances from HHL (Harvest Healthcare Leaders Income ETF), as well as HLIF (Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF) and Harvest US Bank Leaders Income ETF.   HTA (Harvest Tech Achievers Growth & Income ETF) was the only negative contributor on the month, as market fears around the valuation of AI companies were more pronounced.

The ETFs added a small weight in HHIH (Harvest High Income Equity Shares ETF) to prove additional growth and income exposure, while still managing overall risk in the portfolio context.

Outlook | HRIF and HDIF remain defensively positioned with multi-sector exposure and high-income strategies to moderate risk | Existing macro and policy uncertainties justify having a diversified approach.

Harvest Balanced Income & Growth ETF

Harvest Balanced Income & Growth Enhanced ETF

HBIG and HBIE posted modest positive returns in the month, supported by a well-diversified equity mix, and modest positive performance in fixed income exposures as well. Top equity contributors included HHL (Harvest Healthcare Leaders Income ETF), as well as HLIF (Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF)). HPYT (Harvest Premium Yield Treasury ETF) and HPYM (Harvest Premium Yield 7-10 Year Treasury ETF) were positive contributors in fixed income. HTA (Harvest Tech Achievers Growth & Income ETF) was the only negative contributor for the month, as market fears around the valuation of AI companies were more pronounced.

The ETFs added a small weight in HHIH (Harvest High Income Equity Shares ETF) to prove additional growth and income exposure, while still managing overall risk in the portfolio context.

Outlook | Balanced equity-fixed income structure continues to help buffer downside | Enhanced income and diversification support resilience.

Harvest Global Gold Giants Index ETF

After a brief respite in last month, HGGG pushed again to highs, with gold equities exhibiting even greater Beta to the movements of the underlying commodity price. Another month as one of the strongest areas of the market, but year-to-date returns still sit at an eye-popping +158% for HGGG.

Much of the rally this month can be tied to the shifts in Fed rate cut expectations. While initially thinking a December cut was unlikely, after the October cut, members of the Federal Reserve have jaw-boned the market back to a rate cut in December, not needing to be so conservative because of the economic data delay from the shutdown. And despite the somewhat quieter geopolitical headlines, gold retains its appeal as a safe-haven asset when the unexpected hits, which is arguably heightened these days, but also amidst sticky inflation and rising deficits.

HGGG invests equally across the world’s 20 largest gold producers, providing leverage to gold price moves and long-term diversification benefits, especially during volatile market cycles.

The ETF was rebalanced in November, with no changes to the names in the Index.

Outlook | Concerns around Fed Independence increased but seem to have faded from the headlines | Geopolitical noise and sticky inflation keep gold’s safe haven appeal intact | Gold producers offer upside leverage and margin strength.

Harvest Travel & Leisure Index ETF

TRVL rebounded in November but has hit a bit of a ceiling this year after a very strong end to 2024. As broad stock markets gained so did travel stocks, but year to date they are still hampered by those higher comparison levels:

• • While the cruiselines continued to trade lower this month, casinos/gaming stocks bounced back
  • Airlines did just enough to gain ground by the end of the month, while hotels, resorts & lodging led the way higher for the sector
  • While the consumer has been more resilient than expected, and an additional Fed cut helps sentiment in the US, economic data has been mixed recently and very sparse due to the US government shutdown, and that has added some weight on travel & leisure sentiment

TRVL offers diversified exposure to top travel stocks.

Outlook | While some short-term pressure from consumer is cautionary and government shutdown injects uncertainty; the sector is well positioned to benefit from secular trends like aging demographics and resilient travel demand I The ETF is poised to benefit from renewed interest in the consumer discretionary.

Harvest Clean Energy ETF

HCLN pulled back in November after a strong first 10 months of the year. There has been a pick-up in interest in the clean energy space in 2025, which is a welcome difference to the trend of the past four years, but some adjustments happened during the month to temper expectations. Some of the drivers of November:

• • The gain of many clean energy stocks has been tied closely with the “growth” trade, but even more particularly, has really been tied into the greater performing area of Artificial Intelligence and its subsequent record energy demand expectations – the market’s mid-month pullback on valuation concerns dragged the high-flyers lower, including the clean energy stocks
  • On the renewable energy side, names like Plug Power, ThyssenKrupp Nucera, GCL Technologies, and Acciona led the downside on the pullback and earnings.
  • Northland Power hit a sizeable drop during the month on the Power Generation side, as losses mounted and the company was forced to slash its dividend down to 72 cents on an annual basis, versus the $1.20 annualized amount. But others like Boralex and EDP Renovaveis also added to the downside
  • However, long-term clean energy demand appears to be underpinned by global climate goals that still require accelerated investment.

HCLN holds the 40 largest dedicated clean energy and equipment firms, equally weighted and diversified across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Outlook | Massive global clean energy investment needs remain | Long-term drivers are intact | Near-term risks and loss of incentives in the US persist under current administration.

Harvest Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF

HVOL a positive outcome for November, as measured by its net asset value per unit. The first part of the month saw concerns in the forward path of AI and Technology stocks, impacting broad markets, although concerns eased somewhat as the month concluded. Overall, the low volatility basket of equities was in greater demand over the month.  The ETF’s exposures to Financials, Materials, and Energy were strong contributors, with strong performance in Banks, as well as a bounce back in gold prices. Top contributors during the month included Dollarama, National Bank of Canada, and Wheaton Precious Metals.

The portfolio made no significant weighting changes in the month.

Outlook | Strategies focus on stable, lower risk portfolio of Canadian equities | Market turbulence expected to persist | Low-volatility profile may be timely for conservative investors.

Blockchain Technologies ETF

HBLK declined in November amid a general risk-off tone, as investors reduced exposure to high-beta technology and blockchain equities. Concerns around stretched AI valuations in tech and scrutiny around capex commitments weighed on sentiment across broader markets and impacted blockchain-linked companies.

Key Highlights:

Fund was reconstituted in November. Additions to the fund were Metalpha (MATH US) and Circle (CRCL US). Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin and has developed its own layer 1 blockchain named Arc.

Metalpha is a crypto-/digital-asset wealth-management & services firm (based in Hong Kong) that offers institutional-grade infrastructure for digital assets.

Its services include providing crypto derivative products; OTC trading; asset management; liquidity solutions; hedging infrastructures; and crypto/traditional-finance hybrid infrastructure services.

Outlook | Despite macro rate uncertainty, the long-term fundamental drivers remain solid, anchored by the rapid institutional adoption of tokenization, the maturation of Web3 technologies, and the massive capital allocation toward AI infrastructure, as demonstrated by the strategic moves of core holding Oracle. HBLK provides diversified exposure to these secular growth trends.

Harvest Bitcoin Leaders Enhanced Income ETF

HBTE experienced declines in November owing to a selloff in risk assets that impacted Bitcoin and Bitcoin related companies. This reflected a broader derisking across markets as tech valuations and capital expenditures on AI were brought under scrutiny. Bitcoin was exhibiting potentially oversold conditions before rallying somewhat in the last third of the month.

Key Highlights:

Iren signed a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar agreement with Microsoft allowing Microsoft to leverage IREN’s liquid-cooled data centers. This positions IREN as a serious partner for hyperscale AI Cloud service providers, increasing the likelihood of attracting future contracts and diversifying IREN’s current operations as a bitcoin miner.

Outlook | The outlook for HBTE remains constructive. The ETF’s exposure to high-growth mining and infrastructure companies is well-aligned with the broader sentiment of increasing institutional adoption of Bitcoin. Continued developments in the sector, coupled with the ETF’s active management and covered call strategy, aim to provide resilience and ongoing income generation amid potential market fluctuations.

Harvest Bitcoin Enhanced Income ETF

HBIX having indirect, levered exposure to bitcoin via the IBIT ETF declined in November coinciding with a selloff in bitcoin. The selloff was part of a broader derisking across markets as tech valuations and capital expenditures were brought under scrutiny. Bitcoin was exhibiting potentially oversold conditions before rallying somewhat in the last third of the month.

Outlook | The outlook for HBIX remains volatile. Bitcoin is not currently exhibiting the momentum that would raise it back to its October all-time highs, although that can change. The ETF’s active management and covered call strategy aim to provide resilience and ongoing income generation amid potential market fluctuations.

Harvest Diversified High Income Shares ETF

HHIS declined in November on a net asset value per unit basis, as the higher-growth technology stocks delivered mixed performance amid accelerated fears about AI and Tech revenue growth. Notwithstanding, HHIS rebounded towards the end of the month, reversing much of that ground lost in the earlier part of the month.

Positive contributors for HHIS included LLHE (invests in Eli Lilly), GOGY (invests in Alphabet Inc.), and AVGY (invests in Broadcom). Eli Lilly continued to shine in recent weeks, as it became the first Health Care company with a $1 trillion market valuation, and continued to lead in weight-loss and diabetes drug performance. The main detractors for HHIS in the period were MSTE (invests in MicroStrategy), CNYE (invests in Coinbase) and AMDY (invests in AMD), as high growth technology stocks were volatile in the month.

Option premiums were well supported. The income generation through covered calls writing remained around 33% write-level across the suite. Option coverage was increased on MSTY/MSTE (invests in MicroStrategy) to help support the distribution.

Outlook | HHIS continues to offer diversified, enhanced income exposure to high-growth U.S. stocks.

Harvest Canadian High Income Shares ETF

HHIC was modestly positive for November, supported primarily by the strategy’s overall diversified mix of holdings.

Positive contributors for HHIC in October came from the strong performances of Agnico, buoyed by a strengthening gold price, and Suncor which benefitted from positive momentum in Energy. Performance detractors included growth exposures Cameco and Shopify, with TELUS also underperforming.

The corresponding Harvest Single Stock ETFs that posted the strongest positive outcome were AEME, and SUHE. On the other hand, CCOE, SHPE and TEHE were negative for the month.

Option premiums were well supported. Income generation through covered calls writing remained at around 33% write-level across. There were no significant changes to HHIC composition during the month.

Outlook | HHIC continues to offer diversified, enhanced income exposure to a portfolio of notable Canadian equities. The Harvest single stock ETFs based on the stock names in HHIC offer a more concentrated exposure and are designed to provide high monthly income.

Disclaimer

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in Harvest Exchange Traded Funds (managed by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.). The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made with guidance from a qualified professional.

Certain statements in this commentary are forward looking. Forward-looking statements (“FLS”) are statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” or “estimate,” or other similar expressions. Statements that look forward in time or include anything other than historical information are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results, actions or events could differ materially from those set forth in the FLS. Although the FLS contained herein are based upon what the portfolio manager believes to be reasonable assumptions, the portfolio manager cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these FLS. Unless required by applicable law, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. does not undertake, and specifically disclaim, any intention or obligation to update or revise any FLS, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise.