Investment Q&A

Q: In answer to a recent question about real estate exposure, you noted that you prefer apartment-focused REITs to office REITs and office REITs to retail REITs. Is this preference only if you are purchasing a REIT for income first and foremost as opposed to hoping for some growth as well? It would seem to me that the residential REIT does have almost a guaranteed income stream but very limited growth potential due to rent controls (aside from takeovers). The office/retail companies eg. REI, however, are able to participate in a growing economy as rents are often based partly on sales and there is the ability to raise rents in an uncontrolled market albeit while benefiting from long-term contracts. If a company has a greater mix of assets, is that not better than being reliant on one sector? So, is this just a case of risk/reward as to what REIT to purchase or is there a lot more risk in REI than I realize?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: H&R real estate investment trust calls itself an "open-ended" trust compared to others that call themselves a "close-ended" trust.
Is the internal structure of H&R more like a mutual fund? Should it be a concern?
Which of these three do you prefer for a long-term hold, as the only REIT in a portfolio. Thanks for your help.

Q: I just sold about $5,000.00 in stocks inside my TFSA, with a little profit of $500.00 over the period of 8 months. I did it so I can add it to my self directed RRSP account to lower my taxes this year. In my RRSP I own approx 20% oil,15% financial, 10% utilities, 10% auto, 5% marijuana and the rest is in CDZ. I want to diversify this portfolio. It accounts for 75% of my investments. I am considering a REIT and some technology. What do you recommend?

Q: I only hold one REIT:REI and I am not too happy with its performance. I was up 15% and now back to 0%. What do you think about a switch to AX to almost double the dividend and (I expect) capital gain when the stock recovers.
What do you think about the future prospects for both?

Thank you.

Q: I have held rie for many years as a core holding In the last week it has been under a lot of pressure .Don't know the reason but is it time to move on
Kind Regards
Stan

Q: Yesterday in the Globe & Mail Gordon Pape suggested "moving on" from Riocan, into "better" REITS.
I can understand his argument, and it would suit me to do this, if I could find the better REITS.
Which Reits do you consider good for income plus a bit of growth?

Q:
What is your opinion of rio an, in view of the increasing amount of online shopping and the eventual reduced Need of retail space?

Q: I have not had a 'raise' in a while from RioCan. I have held the stock since 1999. Is it time to part company? It's near an all time high. Can you suggest a REIT which does give good increases every year? A high ROC is nice, but not required.

Paul

Q: I'm holding Allied Properties and RioCan REITs and they make up about 8% of my portfolio. I like the income but I'd also like some growth. Are there better alternatives in this space? What are your thoughts on the relative amount I've allocated to REITs?

Q: I would like an opinion on a couple of stocks. My goal is to get a solid dividend and moderate growth over the long term. The stocks are:

BCE
BEP_UN ( I see is held in the income portfolio)
RioCan

Thank you
RioCan

Q: Does the combination of H&R and RioCan provide sufficient diversification in the REIT sector (5% weighting)? Should I add another name (perhaps in residential) or shift to an ETF? Can you also please provide the breakdown for each by segment (industrial, office, commercial) and geography in your answer. Thank you.

Q: I am looking to add a solid, long term real estate investment to my portfolio. I am trying to decide between RioCan and Brookfield Office. They both seem well managed, large and well-financed. The main differences I see between the two is that one (BOX) is the office space while the other is more retail oriented and secondly, BOX has international holdings (mainly US?) while REI is said to be exiting the US market.

What are your views on these two companies or is there another option I should be considering (I know yo like Chartwell)? I am more interested in total overall return, whether it be from dividends, growth or both.

Thanks for insight.

Paul F.

Q: How much does Riocan suffer as a result of Target USA not paying the rent of empty stores in Canada, that Riocan cannot find tenants for?

Q: Hi 5i Team,
Riocan dropping quickly. Is there anything new or is this just the interest rate fear again. How would you feel about just exiting the REIT sector for now? Have lot6s of other financial exposure. Peyto seems to be in the same trajectory.

Thanks again for you response,

Ted

Q: Hi Peter,

Is there a way through the markets to participate in the increasing housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver? (without having to own a house). My point is there are many ways to participate in real estate through REITs without having to own real estate personally. Thanks

Q: I currently hold 6 REIT's that represent 19% of my portfolio(RSP). I want to sell 3 of the six and reduce my allocation in this sector. Which 3 of the following 6 would you recommend I sell? CUF.UN, CRR.UN, DRG.UN, IDR.UN, REI.UN and NWH.UN. Thanks in advance.

Q: Hi there,

I am trying to reduce my exposure to interest rate sensitive REITS and find myself struggling where to reduce my weighting. My weighting has been inching up to close to 24% of my portfolio based on the good performance of a couple of my US holdings. I currently own REI.un, HR.un, AMT.un and BXP.un. I am currently leaning towards reducing REI given the continued good perfomance of both AMT and BXP. Your thoughts?

Q: What is the 5i take on the new agreement between Riocan and HBC?

Thanks.

Paul F.

Q: For a long-term hold in the retail commercial real estate space, which do you prefer, REI.UN or FCR, and why? Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter Riocan received a downgrade this morning on BNN are you aware of this?REI.UN Is a core holding for me would you move to something different on this news .The stock today is down but barely.
Kind Regards Stan