Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Spells Out What Institutional Investors Need from the Cannabis Industry
Ryan Allway
June 26th, 2019
App, Policy
Kevin O’Leary may be best-known for his role on ABC’s hit TV show, Shark Tank, but he also heads up O’Shares ETF Investments, which provides rules-based, quality-focused indexed ETFs for institutional investors.
CFN Media recently caught up with Mr. O’Leary, better known as Mr. Wonderful, to discuss what institutional investors are looking for in the cannabis space.
“Most institutional investors have no interest in recreational marijuana. What they want to invest in is CBD for medicinal, cosmetic, beverage, and pet [industries].”
There are a growing number of institutional investors getting involved with the cannabis industry, such as BlackRock’s $11 million investment in Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE: CURA), but most of these investments have been focused on the medical market and the amounts of have been paltry. Many investors are waiting for greater regulatory certainty before diving in.
“[Companies] keep talking about branding and recreational [cannabis]. … What [institutional investors] really want to invest in is a multi-billion dollar franchise that’s global.”
Many cannabis companies are shifting their focus to the recreational side of the business to capitalize on growing demand in Canada and across states like California. While these are significant opportunities, the revenue and earnings from these companies have been relatively small thus far. Institutional investors looking to place billions of dollars want to see a multi-billion dollar global business.
“All of this stuff is irrelevant while [cannabis] is a Schedule I narcotic. It’s got to come off of that designation.”
Many institutional investors are unwilling to enter the cannabis space until the government removes the drug from the Schedule I Controlled Substances list. Until then, recreational cannabis companies won’t see major investment from sovereign wealth or state pension funds. These investors are waiting for regulatory clarity before they make a move.
“The real money is waiting until the industry bifurcates between medicinal and recreational.”
Kevin O’Leary recommends that investors follow companies that are going to petition federal regulators to deschedule cannabis. Once the industry fiburfates into medical and recreational components, and the FDA approves CBD with ~2.5% THC, he believes that the medical side of the business could start to see a significant influx of capital. He suggests that the industry form a lobby group and start pushing these changes.
This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.
About Ryan Allway
Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.
Search CannabisFN
Press Coverage
Psychedelics Index
Top Videos
Matthew Nordgren is an ambitious executive, dedicated philanthropist, and accomplished athlete who brings a unique passion to creating strategic alliances. He has breadth and depth of experience in finance, corporate development, and capital sourcing, as well as in building highly motivated teams of skilled professionals. In 2005, Mr. Nordgren received his education at the University […]
Tim has over 22 years of investment experience as a portfolio manager, asset allocator, and capital markets professional across multiple asset classes, geographies, and platforms. Tim has built and operated two hedge funds, a broker dealer, and raised over $1Bn in capital for his combined businesses. Tim remains a recognized voice within the investment community […]
Empower Inc. (CSE: EPW) is a growing network of physician-staffed health clinics focused on helping patients improve and protect their health.
THC is an ACMPR Licensed Producer and Canada’s largest supplier of legal Cannabis Genetics.
Network Partners
About CFN Media Group
CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN) owns and operates CFN Media Group, the premier agency and financial media network reaching executives, entrepreneurs and consumers worldwide. Through its proprietary content creation, video library, and distribution via www.CannabisFN.com, CFN has built an extensive database of cannabis interest, assisting many of the world’s largest cannabis firms and CBD brands to build awareness and thrive. For more information, please visit www.cfnenterprisesinc.com.
Disclaimer: Matters discussed on this website contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time-to-time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. The Information contains forward-looking statements, i.e. statements or discussions that constitute predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates, or projections as indicated by such words as "expects", "will", "anticipates", and "estimates"; therefore, you should proceed with extreme caution in relying upon such statements and conduct a full investigation of the Information and the Profiled Issuer as well as any such forward-looking statements. Any forward looking statements we make in the Information are limited to the time period in which they are made, and we do not undertake to update forward looking statements that may change at any time; The Information is presented only as a brief "snapshot" of the Profiled Issuer and should only be used, at most, and if at all, as a starting point for you to conduct a thorough investigation of the Profiled Issuer and its securities and to consult your financial, legal or other adviser(s) and avail yourself of the filings and information that may be accessed at www.sec.gov, www.pinksheets.com, www.otcmarkets.com or other electronic sources, including: (a) reviewing SEC periodic reports (Forms 10-Q and 10-K), reports of material events (Form 8-K), insider reports (Forms 3, 4, 5 and Schedule 13D); (b) reviewing Information and Disclosure Statements and unaudited financial reports filed with the Pink Sheets or www.otcmarkets.com; (c) obtaining and reviewing publicly available information contained in commonlyknown search engines such as Google; and (d) consulting investment guides at www.sec.gov and www.finra.com. You should always be cognizant that the Profiled Issuers may not be current in their reporting obligations with the SEC and OTCMarkets and/or have negative signs at www.otcmarkets.com (See section below titled "Risks Related to the Profiled Issuers, which provides additional information pertaining thereto). For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity-based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure, please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/. A short time after we acquire the securities of the foregoing company, we may publish the (favorable) information about the issuer referenced above advising others, including you, to purchase; and while doing so, we may sell the securities we acquired. In addition, a third-party shareholder compensating us may sell his or her shares of the issuer while we are publishing favorable information about the issuer. Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity- based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/.
Copyright © Accelerize Inc. · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Legal Disclaimer
