Cannabis stocks have welcomed the change in ownership of Pershing Australia from Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) to Finclear Pty Ltd which – effective immediately – will allow the trading of cannabis securities on the ASX.
In late 2019, BNYM announced its cannabis securities policy which prohibited clients (including a large number of Australian brokers), dealing in listed cannabis related businesses (CRB) mainly due to cannabis remaining illegal at the US federal level.
The move saw AusCann (ASX:AC8), Cann Group (ASX:CAN), CannPal (ASX:CP1), Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH), MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC), and MMJ Group (ASX:MMJ) among the stocks left in the cold.
But now the sector can breathe easier, with the change in ownership (and lifting of the ban) welcomed by Aussie stocks like Zelira Therapeutics (ASX:ZLD), who’s board said this change “restores the ability for a large proportion of Australian brokers and investors to invest in the company”.
This could also bode well for stocks like Suda Pharma (ASX:SUD) who announced an oversubscribed $3.65 million capital raise last week, and Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP), who recently secured a $15 million investment from Gina Rinehart.
Pershing a platform for future growth
FinClear CEO David Ferrall said the acquisition of Pershing Australia will enable FinClear to expand its service offering to larger stockbrokers, with its client base already including financial planners, stockbrokers and wealth managers, wealth platforms, FinTechs and large institutional clients such as Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie Bank.
“We have the capital, the systems, technology and the expertise to integrate Pershing Australia clients into FinClear’s operations,” he said.
“We are confident that combining Pershing Australia with our vertically integrated service and technology capability will provide Pershing Australia’s clients with an enhanced service offering and provide a platform for future growth.
“Our combined HIN platform will service in excess of $120 billion in listed securities.”
