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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: I'm looking for some inflation protection via investing in REITs and came across RQI and ICF. I'm trying to determine the difference between these two. They appear to have similar holdings, yet the payout appears to be quite different. In a response to someone's question back in May you mentioned that RQI's payout is taxed quite a bit more than a Canadian dividend - even if held within an RRSP, which by the way is where I would plan to hold it. Is it the same case for ICF ?

Which would be the better buy? Or is better to stick to a similar Canadian alternative?
Read Answer Asked by James on September 14, 2022
Q: Retired, dividend-income investor. Not a market timing question...ok maybe it sort of is.

Looking to potentially add to ZRE and just wondering where we are at in the investment cycle and if now is a reasonable time to be adding to ZRE?


Also, is there a seasonality to REITs? When looking at a 10 year chart, it appears to my amateur eyes that the last portion of the year looks to be trending down most of the time? It looks like the January to early fall period is usually positive?

Thanks for your help....Steve
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on September 13, 2022
Q: Hi Guys

I have owned Smart Centres for a while and done prety good by it but thinking I might sell that and add to my 1% position in Tricon. Where do you see them in terms of current pricing and future potential? Looking ahead over next 5 years which do you think will be the better position to hold?

Much thanks

Stuart
Read Answer Asked by Stuart on September 13, 2022
Q: I am looking at your answer to evaluating investment quality of REITS in which you note three important ratios to consider - Interest coverage ratio (EBITDA/interest of 3X or higher)), debt to equity - below 1.0x) and NOI or net operating income. I see you give EBIT margin and Net Profit margin in your company profiles but I was wondering if it was possible to calculate NOI from these tables. Are there any other important ratios one could use to compare various REITS. Finally, how would you rank the three REITS I have noted here. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Sue on September 08, 2022
Q: Hello 5i,

I read a response to a previous question, which suggested investors who own their home already have sufficient allocation to the Real Estate sector. Just want to make sure I understand correctly before eliminating the sector from my watchlist.

Still, if I was to include a couple of REITs, what is your opinion of CAR.UN and AMT?
Read Answer Asked by Garth on September 08, 2022
Q: Hi - I am just trying to better understand apartment REITs in this environment. Such REITs seem to still be in decline even though everyone is talking about how residential rents are firm and/or rising. So are apartment REITs like this one more affected by rising rates and overall mkt sentiment...than the prospect of much higher revenues? Thank you as always!!
Read Answer Asked by Doug on September 07, 2022
Q: I currently own these two REITs and they have, as expected, performed very poorly in 2022 - both down more than 30% YTD. Against the backdrop of continuing rising interest rate would it be advisable to take the losses and exit the REIT sector for now?

At present prime is at 4.7% (and continues to rise, latest rumour is another 0.75% or even 1% increase), while GRT.UN yields 4.2% and DIR.UN yields about 6% these two REITs are hardly enticing investments. What is your advice on this situation? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Victor on September 07, 2022
Q: Hi. could you please rank these REITs in order of safest business model during a recession and relative security of distribution. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Gary on September 01, 2022
Q: I have never owned a REIT but started looking at a couple. In doing so I realized that I really don’t know what to evaluate in a REIT (beyond type of asset - land, commercial, residential, specialty) and things I normally see as red flags may not be here. Can you tell me a few of the most important fundamentals to look at when comparing REITS (negatives to watch out for specifically, and positive indicators). For example my initial concerns were steady increases on common shares outstanding (seems acceptable and typical of all REITS) and what debt levels are acceptable. If you could tag your favourite REITS today I would appreciate. I have only looked at LAND and IIPR so far.
Read Answer Asked by Dan on August 30, 2022
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