Investment Q&A

Q: These two preferred are going to be reset next month. Is a conversion from BCE.PC to BCE.PD, or the reverse, tax-free if we choose to do so?

I was very successful in the last 2 years with the BCE.PD floating shares, but would it be wise to let them go and convert to the fixed-reset at this moment of plateauing interest rates? I guess it could depend on the new rates which will be determined on Feb06.

Thanks to the team.

Q: I hold convertible debentures from Invesque IVQ.DB.V, maturing 30 Sept of this year, but which are only trading at 80 cents on the dollar. This seems to indicate that there is a substantial risk of default. In your opinion will I get my principal back or will I be given newly-issued and hence highly diluted IVQ shares? Thanks!

Q: Hi 5i,
Sorry for all the preferred share questions but I'm having problems finding US based fixed rate perpetual and if possible cumulative preferred shares. The ones above are on my buy list can you name three more preferably in other sectors that have high to highest ratings or are unlikely to default. I still have memories of 2008 with the CDOs fiasco so like diversification if possible. Thanks for your service.

Q: Hi. I’ve held Corby since April 2020 and did some profit taking in April when it was trading in the high $19’s; and added to PBH which was trading down.

I’d purchased Corby for safety/stability and reliable income. The dividend is variable and occasionally fluctuates. It has a low beta and has held up well until recently; as I suspect that many investors are seeking better opportunistic for growth.

I’’m considering selling Corby and moving to Loblaw’s Perpetual Preferred for largely the same reason I’d purchased Corby, for safety/reliable income with a lower beta and somewhat higher dividend. It is currently trading at $23.00. As interest rates fall, I can see where there will be some modest growth in addition to a relatively safe dividend. I’m considering L.PR in order to maintain my sector allocation.

In 5i’s view would this trade make sense, or would I be better off “staying the course” on Corby? I currently don’t have any preferred shares. My holdings in the Staples Sector are Corby, Northwest Company and Premium Brands.

Are there any other Staples Preferred shares (either rate reset or perpetual) that you feel are more attractive?

Thanks!

Q: 5i,
Further to Kim's question on Jan 11.

Does adding all the debt for the "go private" not affect the security of the Pref?

Will Cannacord, the company, eventually end up with the debt or will the buy-out shareholders be responsible for the debt?

Thanks,
John

Q: I'm looking at my legacy pile of preferred shares of which I have never been fond and wondering if this isn't a good time to sell and invest in a bond ETF such as XHY. I know you have expressed ambivalence about prefs but have also said in better times the class can do better. However, yields are roughly comparable, I can use the loses and invest the proceeds in XHY or a different bond fund which you might suggest, keeping the investment on the fixed income side of the page, Many thanks. al

Q: Hi 5i, looking to buy one of these Brookfield perpetuals. they all have approx. the same dividend. I like the liquidity of M but cant tell if one of them is cumulative. Can you help me out and rank them. Thanks

Q: I hold some Canaccord Genuity Group preferred shares. Canaccord announced a few days ago that they are looking at taking the company private. But the offer is only for the common shares and not for the preferred shares. It sounds like the company will delist their common shares from the TSX, but its preferred shares will continue to be listed. Should I be worried about this? Thanks.

Q: Hi 5i, I currently own Loblaw preferred and like the fact it’s in the food industry decent dividend and us perpetual. It also trades below $25 which I like. What I don’t like is the PFD-3 rating. Should I have any concerns here and what are your thoughts on this preferred.

Q: Hi 5i happy new year! I believe its time to step into US perpetual preferred shares due to interest rates. I'm having problems finding these and I'm hoping you can help. Quality needs to be high to the highest as this is for my retirement. I am an advocate of diversification so please if you can have a few stable sectors listed, thanks!

Q: The yield on these preferreds is appealing. Can you please highlight all of the risks. Thank you.

Q: Just a follow up to my previous question on the above. I checked with Quadravest and I can tender my preferred at the lesser of $10.00 or the NAV if it's less than $10.00 on December 1/24. According to the last NAV of $15.62 we have 56% downward protection. Given that it holds the 15 biggest companies on the TSX with dividends would you agree that it would be a fairly safe investment with a 9.8% return over the remaining 23 months to maturity?

Q: I have held BEP preferred shares in an RSP for quite awhile and done well with them, but have concern over the potential new US tax implications. Despite the company assurances, I think I would sleep better just being out of BEP. After the dividend this month, my plan is to sell the shares. I am looking at ZPR, which has a somewhat similar yield, and would be much easier to trade. What do you think of ZPR and its dividend sustainability? Recognizing that preferreds have not done too well overall, would you prefer to move into something else?

As an aside, apparently the US attack on limited partnerships includes those held in an RSP. Isn't there a tax treaty that prevents this?

Thank-you, Grant

Q: Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for a wonderful service! I'm looking to purchase six different companies that have preferred shares and would like you to help me pick them. Security of dividend and safety of the companies (staying power) is the top priority here. Therefore if two preferred picks are in the same sector I don't mind as I'm not sure how much diversity matters here.

I currently own TRI and CSU preferred shares and would also like your opinion on them, thanks.

Q: I recently bought some DFN.PR.A at $9.22 which pays a 5.5% dividend monthly. It "matures" on Dec 1, 2024 at which point my understanding I can redeem the shares at $10.. According to my calculations my return should be 9.81%. Is my return calculation correct and do you see much risk since it own the 15 biggest companies in Canada that pay high dividends?

Q: I've noticed that there are a lot of questions recently related to the various entities in the Brookfield empire. I initially thought it was overdone until I realized what a mess Brookfield has become in general. In my case I don't see my preferred X shares listed in my TD Waterhouse self directed account anymore. Have they been restructured? It's really hard to figure out what the heck they've done.

Q: I am looking at buying some preferred shares as part of my Income Portfolio. As interest rates rise the share prices fall. When would be the opportune time to buy them, when intrest rates peak? Since markets are forward looking, when would you start buying? What would be the signal(s) to start buying? I know this is a timing question and timing is seldom perfect. Any quidance/suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Q: I am thinking of selling enb.pr.f ,i have a large loss on it and buying trp .I could use this for a tax loss also.What would you advise?

Q: Hi, I own a number of preferred shares from various Canadian issuers and came across a recent article from Seeking Alpha which is concerning, except below. What is the possibility delisting of preferred shares could occur in Canada as well for the reasons outlined? Thanks.

“Preferred stock can be a useful and important part of a diversified fixed-income portfolio, even with the decline in all segments of fixed income in 2022, however, recent events related to preferred stock delistings have put to the forefront a risk that needs to be taken into stronger consideration by investors. While the matter of delistings is certainly not new, these recent events have heightened our concerns on this risk, and we also call on the SEC to take up the issue to protect investors.

Earlier this month Höegh LNG Partners LP (HMLP) announced that it will delist its 8.75% Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock units (HMLP.PA), effective January 2, 2023, to save legal, audit, and other reporting costs associated with the preferred stock listing. While the company intends to continue to pay the distribution, the withdrawal and effective loss of liquidity for unitholders is a major negative event that led to a sharp 33% plunge in the price from the low $21 range to $14.25 as of this writing, as seen in the chart below.

HMLP-A Price Chart 2022

While some may find value in what is now a 15% current yield, the lack of liquidity creates massive uncertainty for unitholders going forward, and it's unclear what investors should do next. HMLP management has affirmed that it does not care about its preferred investors who handed over $176 million in cash to the company in good faith, expecting that the public listing of the preferred stock would remain stable and tradable as expected when initially issued. The proper action would have been to redeem the issue as the parent company Höegh LNG Holdings Ltd. did when it acquired HMLP and paid common shareholders in cash.

The action of delisting preferred issues and disrespecting preferred stock investors is not just a phenomenon of smaller and obscure issuers. The same thing is happening to the preferred issues of PS Business Parks (PSB) Series X, Y, and Z (PSB.PX) (PSB.PY) (PSB.PZ) totaling $755 million of combined face value. PSB has been reliably issuing, paying and redeeming preferred issues since 1999 when its Series A preferred was issued. Series X was issued in 2017 as a solid investment grade issue (rated Baa2) yielding 5.25% - presumably a perfect fit for a long-term, conservative income-focused investor. PSB-PY was also issued in 2017, and PSB-Z in 2019.”

Q: Hello 5i Team

Further to Larry's previous question on preferred shares.

Farstad Portfolio Management (Scotia Wealth Management) publishes every week as news the Scotia Wealth Management Daily Preferred Share Analysis which lists the reset date amongst other preferred share information.

https://farstadretirement.com/#news

Otherwise one is forced to download the prospectus for each individual preferred share issue to determine the reset dates (for all approximately 325 preferred shares issues on the TSX not including split shares).

Thanks