Investors who would like to add the potential for amplified returns to the commodity, cannabis and psychedelics investments they have high hopes for should seriously consider long-term company warrants, where companies offer such opportunities, as a cheaper way to gain exposure to such companies versus purchasing their common shares. In doing so, if history is any guide whatsoever, they should generate dramatically higher returns as a result.

What are Warrants?

For those of you who are not familiar with warrants, they give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the common shares of the company at a specific price within a specific time period after which, if not exercised, they expire worthless although they can be traded up to the expiry date just as with the associated stock.

Canadian Investors Take Note

Canadian investors have the option of either exercising the warrants (i.e. converting them into actual stock in the associated company according to the terms of the warrant) once they are “in the money” or selling them outright at any time before they expire. As there are symbols for all Canadian warrants the placing of orders is very easy to execute and, as such, it is convenient to use online brokerage firms if so inclined.

American Investors Take Note

American investors, unfortunately, cannot convert their warrants into the associated stock like Canadians can to experience the added leverage. They can only sell their position before the expiration date - and it is recommended that they do so 6 to 12 months before the expiry date because the value of a warrant often drops drastically during its final months of life - because, according to U.S. law, Americans cannot exercise a Canadian warrant unless its associated shares have been registered with the SEC and that is almost always never the case.

The above being said, Americans can still reap the potential enhanced returns that a warrant provides compared to the associated stock and perhaps, upon selling, benefit from additional currency exchange profits should the USD (used to buy the warrant) decline vis-à-vis the CAD (the currency one would receive upon selling the warrant) in the coming years.

Many American online brokers are not set up with the symbols for warrants trading on one of the Canadian stock exchanges so it may be necessary to deal with a broker directly and have him/her enter the order for you. Unfortunately for many American investors, however, some brokers/financial advisors may say that they can’t execute your order but that is just hogwash, though, as any broker who says that is actually confessing that he/she doesn't know how to buy such securities and is too lazy to find out how to do so and provide the service and expertise you are paying him/her for. If that is the case, it is important that you ‘tell’ them exactly what you want them to do on your behalf and most will be more than happy to comply.

That's where your knowledge as to what the CUSIP number is for the stock you want to buy comes in. CUSIP stands for Committee on Uniform  Security Information Procedures which are unique codes established by the American Bankers Association for all Canadian and American securities. For more information read Americans: Use CUSIP Numbers When Buying Canadian Exchange Listed Cannabis Stocks – Here’s Why & How.

Steps for Successful Warrant Investing

1. Determine which companies offer long-term warrants by going here.
2. Choose a company that offers a long-term warrant of at least 24 months duration because the longer the remaining life of a warrant the more time there is for the company to execute on their business plan and more time in the event of a market downturn for a favorable turnaround.
3. Select a company that you think has great potential because if the company does not perform and execute on its business plan the common shares will not rise and, therefore, their associated warrants will nor rise either and, if the common shares decline, their associated warrants will decline by an even greater percentage. Visit the company's web site for their latest activity and results and review the company's latest quarterly financial results to determine their financial health.
4. Identify a warrant currently priced to deliver an enhanced return of at least 1.5-to-1 (i.e. a 50% greater return than the associated stock) based on your due diligence (go here for an example of how to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a warrant as compared to the associated stock) or you can visit CanadianWarrants.com or CommonStockWarrants.com (subscription) to learn which warrants they calculate to be bargains, under-valued and fairly valued to help you make your decision.
5. Buy your chosen warrant when you think the market is favorable because, while warrants out-perform their associated stock in an up market, they under-perform much more so than their associated stock in a down market.
6. Don't forget to sell the warrant before it expires (applicable to both American and Canadian investors) or, for Canadian investors only, to convert the warrant into the associated stock if the exercise price has been reached prior to the expiration of the warrant.

Number of Long-Term Warrants to Choose From

• There are 221 Canadian warrants currently trading on one of the Canadian stock exchanges (Source) of which only
• • 69 (31.3%) have a long-term duration, i.e. expire at least 24 months from now:
    • 13 (5.9%) expire in 2026,
    • 7 (3.2%) in 2025,
    • 42 (19.0%) in 2024 and
    • 7 (3.2%) expire in the latter part (October onwards) of 2023.
• From my analysis, however, only 13 (5.9%) or so of those 69 long-term warrants appear to have any likelihood, mathematically, of coming into the money (i.e. rising to equal or surpass their exercise price and, as such, becoming convertible into the associated stock).
  • Keep in mind that a fundamental analysis of the company might well reduce that number even further if it is deemed in your due diligence that some, or all, of the companies are poorly managed, poorly financed, have poor output prospects and/or very high costs of production. 

Short List of 13 Company Warrants Worth Watching

The 13 warrants I have selected based, on my research, are as follows by area of business and in descending order of duration:

• Commodity Explorers, Developers or Miners
  1. Denarius Silver (DSLV.wt - CUSIP#: 248234 11 4); Expires in March 2026
  2. Aris Gold (ARIS.wt - CUSIP# 04040X 11 9); Expires in July 2025
  3. Mexican Gold (MEX.wt - CUSIP#: 592817 11 8); Expires in July 2024
  4. Millennial Lithium (ML.wt - CUSIP#: 60040W 14 7); Expires in Feb. 2024
• Cannabis "Seed-to-Sale" Cultivators/Retailers
  1. Khiron Life Sciences (KHRN.wt - CUSIP#: 49374L 14 0); Expires in November 2025
  2. Choom Holdings (CHOO.wt - CUSIP#: 17040B 11 9); Expires in July 2024
  3. Vivo Cannabis (VIVO.wt - CUSIP#: 92845J 12 0); Expires in Feb. 2024
  4. Flower One (FONE.wt.B - CUSIP#: 60268M 12 8); Expires in December 2023
• Psychedelic Clinical-stage Drug Developers
  1. Mind Cure Health (MCUR.wt - CUSIP#: 60254M 11 6); Expires in Feb. 2026
  2. Red Light Holland* (TRIP.wt - CUSIP#: 75671E 12 5); Expires in July 2024
  3. Mindset Pharma (MSET.wt - CUSIP#: 60268M 12 8); Expires in April 2024
  4. Mydecine Innovations* (MYCO.wt - CUSIP#: 62848R 12 2); Expires in Feb. 2024
  5. Mind Medicine* (MMED.wt - CUSIP#: 60255C 14 1); Expires in January 2024

*visit Marijuana Vs. Psychedelic Drug Stocks: Which Out-Performed Last Week? for the latest performance information