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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 not sure if I should take comfort in the fact that you still have ZRE in the portfolio or not, the last little while has been rough. If you were putting new money into the sector under current conditions would you stick with the equal weight ETF approach or would you just choose a couple of your favourite individual stocks like DIR and/or CAR (or perhaps another ETF that is not equal weight)?
Read Answer Asked by Stephen R. on September 26, 2023
Q: Interest rates likely peaking and many real estate stocks are trading at discount. I am considering adding to real estate. Would you comment on this thought and suggest a stock and index.
Read Answer Asked by joe on September 13, 2023
Q: Income account needs some diversification. Was looking at REITs and pref's. In today's environment which would be your favored ETF's for income and some possible growth? Thanks Ron
Read Answer Asked by Ronald on August 22, 2023
Q: I would like to follow up on a question asked last week l, to choose between a reit etf and a utilities etf. And you advised the utility sector mapped here is better. Could you please advise on the dividend stock space in general to add in say telcos, banks, insurance and pipelines?
The broader discussion of the moment is about rates and their future path and relative value of earnings and dividends compared to t bills and low risk savings of the like.
Do you feel that any of these sectors are good buys at the moment? Could you maybe rank or group which you feel are best or just in vs out?
Thank you,

Peter
Read Answer Asked by Peter on August 16, 2023
Q: I am of the view that Canadian Real estate may be coming back. Are there any Canadian real estate etfs that include non- reits as well ( for example would include Tricon) .
Read Answer Asked by Murray on July 21, 2023
Q: As per your recent guidance, with interest rates plateauing, ZRE seems to be bottoming. What would be your opinion re moving some money from VFV, and putting it in ZRE. VFV has done very well and is scheduled to do well in the future. Do you recommend this kind of movement of fixed income from one group to another. Thanking you for the great guidance you have always provided.
Read Answer Asked by Vinod on July 18, 2023
Q: Hi, a few years ago I got tired of trying to pick winners in the REIT space and invested in your model portfolio choice of ZRE. I'm wondering now if some of the equal weight holdings are starting to be a drag on performance, that may continue into the medium term? The same average yield could probably be obtained with a few individual securities like CAR and DIR with maybe a better outlook for capital appreciation in that same medium term (understanding that you would be moving up the risk scale again)? Do you think you would do better as a stock picker in this space today or stick with the ETF? If the former, do you have better suggestions today than the two named? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Stephen R. on July 04, 2023
Q: hi,
Is the "dividend" paid from ZRE actually treated as "interest" for tax purposes? and therefore, this would be best held in an RRSP? and more generally, in your opinion, which accounts are best for holding CDN vs US dividend stocks, CDN and US growth stocks (ie lots of capital gains ), and fixed income/interest?
cheers and thanks, chris
Read Answer Asked by chris on July 04, 2023
Q: With utilities and real estate under pressure these days, can you recommend 4 choices in each sector for a conservative investor with a 10 year time line interested in income with some capital appreciation. Please include 2 ETFs and 2 companies in each sector.
Thanks,
Len
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on June 21, 2023
Q: If the scenario plays out of higher interest rates for longer; is it logical to presume Reits, and Preferreds, -both sensitive to interest rates, may continue to soften. I have been buying them as they are going down but wondering if this is a good strategy. Could you comment. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Pat on June 20, 2023
Q: Would you prefer XRE over ZRE and is their an actively managed REIT ETF or product you could recommend?
Read Answer Asked by Craig on April 03, 2023
Q: Hi,

Based on the questions pertaining to taxable dividends, and managing an income portfolio for my elderly parents, is there a substantial difference in tax treatment, if the above funds are held in a cash account? I was fortunate enough to get DIR.UN into a TFSA and am slowly moving AW into a TFSA as well. Do I take out the growthier names in the TFSA’s and move in the ETF’s or just let them go in a cash account?
Read Answer Asked by Kelly on February 06, 2023
Q: I am looking for ETFs that trade on the TSX with a yield of at least 4-5%. From the income portfolio, I see CPD (preferreds) / CVD (convertible) / XHY (US HY) / ZRE (REITs), and I am also aware of ZWU (Utilities) / ZWB (Banks).

Are there any others that don't have much overlap with the above that you would recommend?
Read Answer Asked by Alexander on January 31, 2023
Q: Would you buy any Cdn REITs at this point...and if yes, what 3 (and in what order) would you buy at current prices.? Thank you as always for your great insight.
Read Answer Asked by Doug on January 26, 2023
Q: Presently hold ZRE and CAR.Un in TFSA account.. Up on CAR and down on ZRE. Would you consider that to be a duplication and would it be better to focus on CAR?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by steve on January 17, 2023
Q: I have 20 Thousand US Cash in My US RRIF acc't. I am looking at deploying it into 5 stocks for income. I don't have any oil sector stocks or ETF, Reits or banks.Looking for idea's which could bring dividends and growth over time.Tks 5i take as many credits as required. 79 year old.Do not need any money to pay my RRIF monthly payment as I have Can account with ample cash for 18 months
Read Answer Asked by Guy on January 12, 2023