Psychedelics ETF to Launch After Sector Attracts Thiel’s Money

The world’s first exchange-traded fund for psychedelic-drug companies will debut this week in Toronto, as the investment industry tries to capitalize on rising interest in prospective mental health treatments using the drugs.

The Horizons Psychedelic Stock Index ETF, listed as PSYK, is expected to start trading Wednesday on the NEO Exchange, its operator said. The fund will track the North American Psychedelics Index.

Companies that work with drugs containing compounds such as psilocybin, the substance in magic mushrooms that produces psychedelic effects, are multiplying. Some early-stage investors are betting the drugs could disrupt the $70 billion market for mental health treatment. The wave of enthusiasm over cannabis shares in recent years has, in some ways, spread to these drugs that were long associated with all-night rave parties.
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