Investment Q&A

Q: My friends who invest in the housing I.e rental apartments/townhouses seem to be making outsize returns...I personally feel this is because their purchases are highly leveraged. They require only a 20 to 25% down payment to buy a rental property. I personally think it is much safer and easier using a diversified groups of stocks.. especially with the great advise from 5i.but to make outsized returns one needs to borrow money..Banks give preferential rates for home purchases.whereas equity purchases are treated as riskier investments.What are your thoughts on this? I would also like it if your members weigh in on this subject.

Q: Over the past year HCG is down ~ 15% while FN is up ~ 45%. FN has an attractive yield and low PE ratio ~ 13 according to TMX. I hold most stocks in your balanced portfolio so wonder if it would be time to sell HCG and replace with FN.
Appreciate your comments on this trade. Thanks to your recommendations in BE portfolio I own many profitable stocksI would not have bought otherwise.
Steve

Q: I don't really understand the term " cap rate" as applied to Reits. Is it better to have a high or low cap rate when one buys a Reit. Thanks

Q: would you be kind enough to give me your opinion on this trust after their recent transaction...please and thank you...

Q: Your thoughts on a portfolio in a non registered account consisting simply of these 3 etf's (ZRE,ZPR,ZDV) to hold forever. Dividends received put into VIG.US, I'm 45 years old, I have no mortgage and no debts looking to borrow and bring my accounts to 100k for each of these 3 etf's totalling 300k, in retirement will use only dividends. (This would act as my deferred annuity but I get to keep my money) is my thinking clear?

Q: I have no REITS in my portfolio and since I do my own taxes I like to keep things simple and did read that it better to hold REITS in an RRSP account if you don't want to be bother with return on capital, etc. I am wondering if I have no room in my RRSP would it be okay to put in my TFSA? I am looking at ZRE and XRE which one you prefer and CSH.UN or is just one index fund good enough.

Thanks
Dolores

Q: A point of information.
RUF holds only US properties which, like MST, differentiates it from other Canadian REITS.

Q: On September 9 you said that DRG.UN's payout ratio was 55%. Previously on Feb16 you said it was close to 100% and yesterday on September 20 you said it's effectively 100%. I'm confused ? What changed between September 9 and September 20 ? Looking at Morningstar I see a payout ratio of 58.7%. What is the correct payout ratio ? Also if Morningstar's figure is correct or in the vicinity of correct and the PE is 7.3 this seems to me like a company with an ample cushion for the dividend. But I realize nothing is secure when looking at a dividend in the region of 9% so what would be your concerns regarding an investment in DRG.UN ?

Q: When they say have Reits with a high valuation,do you look at cash flow,pe ratio ,debt or all of the above.Could you give examples of some high and low Reit valuations ?

Q: Which one of these two would you invest in at this time? If you would have a different choice, please provide

Q: What makes Artis REIT a good buy here?

Q: Are there any self storage companies in Canada that you think may be good investments? Do you like PSA on the NYSE as a long term investment?

Q: Have to choose between HR reit and Car.un what do you think or is there a yet better choice ?

Q: this stock has been rising.any news?

Q: Hello 5i
Could you please give me your take on whether to add Zre at this time or wait until the interest rate decision is made by the FED?
Thanks,
Rick

Q: New share issue: looks similar to Chartwell, but in the US. Listing in Toronto. Promising investment: or give it time? The payout is proposed to be just over 7%.

John

Q: For the past 8 years I have been trying to pick up yield by buying convertible debentures. My objective for the past few years was to get a yield to maturity of at least 5% on these debentures. Today Superior Plus is redeeming one of their convertible debentures (SPF.DB.F). I would like to buy another convertible debenture from the cash that I will be receiving. I am considering NWH.DB.B or NWH.DB.C. Both of them have yields to maturity in excess of 5%. What do you think of these two convertible debentures as a fixed income investment? Note that I am not concerned with conversion privilege. This is a proxy for exposure to a fixed income vehicle. I am only concerned about the yield and the company's ability to pay the principal at maturity.

Thank you

Q: I have held MRT.UN for about ten years. The reported book value is $25.56 while the stock trades for about $15.70, yielding 6.1%. Why is there such a large discrepancy between those two figures? Is this discrepancy a sign of poor management? What can management do to get those two figures closer together? Do you consider MRT.UN a Sell, Hold, or Buy? and why?

Q: Question on CSH:Own small position 800 shares CSH at ACB of 6.87$. Thinking of switching to NWH.UN also selling loser TA to soak the capital gain and provide enough for 2% position or is adding to position of CSH better. Like the additional 4% monthly distribution.Also own SIA at 2% position. Is it worth the risk for the higher yield ? Wht is the best course of action in your view ? On portfolio review list but not before december I was told unless it improved ?

Q: I own a basket of REITs and am concerned about Cominar, moreso after their bought deal at a large discount yesterday. They are not growing and with a high payout ratio it seems to me that the deal may have been in an effort to avoid a cut in their monthly distribution. My position is a little down since purchase quite a few years ago, but would rather sell now than at $10.
Appreciate your advice