Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i Team

I have equal dollar amounts in Boardwalk REIT (BEI.UN) and Northview Apartment REIT (NVU.UN). The REITs are held in a taxable account.

After release of the 2nd quarter results last week and the resulting change in share prices, I am down 5 % in Boardwalk and up about 1 % in Northview (after a long 2.5 years).

Should I sell my Northview and invest in Boardwalk for the long term or invest in Killam / Canadian Apartment to diversify my apartment REIT holdings from a apartment location strategy (i.e. Boardwalk is concentrated in Alberta, versus Killam is more eastern Canada and Canadian Apartment is more Ontario focused).

Thanks again for the great service.

Q: Further to my Aug 2 question, I did consider XRE but RIT seems the better choice as it has superior returns for all time periods, admittedly at more than double the MER. In case I decide that increasing my company count is OK would you please recommend your top 5 choices for direct company investment.

Q: My real estate exposure consists of CAR.UN. To increase diversity I am considering selling CAR and buying RIT. The MER is on the high side but the short and long term performance, relative to other REIT ETFs or mutual funds, seems justified. Volatility is also relatively low. What is your opinion on my plan and on RIT as a long term hold? Are there any other mutual Funds or ETFs I should consider. The percentage of my portfolio devoted to REITs is not high enough to obtain the diversity I seek by direct investments. I also do not wish to increase my security count by 3 or 4.

Q: Hi

I am looking to move some of my retirement account into things that I consider hard assets (Real Estate, Railways and Utilities etc.). I am looking for 3 REITS that have strong real estate holdings with the least amount of leverage. 2 residential and one commercial. What is your recommendation /

Q: I am wondering your thoughts on Capital Direct as an investment in Mortgages with a yield of about 7-8%. - What are other income trust options with a fixed unit cost

Q: Hi 5i
Thanks for your recent report on Interrent. I am an owner. If you were to buy one other apartment reit, just for diversification purposes, which would you choose?

Thanks
John

Q: Morning,

Would like to know if the dividend from Cominar is currently safe and your view on the stock on an income based portfolio? Would Slate Office REIT be a good replacement if Cominar is deemed too risky?

Thanks!

Q: Can you rank the stocks best to worst in your opinion. These are the stock s that are in my real estate sector which is 3% of my current portfolio. Would you add, swap or remove any of them? My portfolio holdings/thoughts are very similar to your BE Portfolio as I am a middle aged investor.

Q: What are your top 3 favorite REIT's

Q: What would be your favorite 3 REITS now for dividend and growth

Q: Hi,

How will Ontario's new housing plan affect our apartment REITS short and long term?
Daniel

Q: I would like to reduce the number of REITs in my portfolio but strike a nice balance in industrial, residential, commercial and perhaps care homes. My present holdings include CUF.UN, AP.UN, CAR.UN, GRT.UN, AAR.UN and SRU.UN. Which of these would you eliminate and what might you add?

Q: My investment advisor has suggested that I sell Crombie due to uncertainty regarding Sobeys, Crombie's principal tenant. Do you share this concern?

He suggested True North as a replacement. What is your opinion?

I would replace Crombie with office and/or residential REITs.

With respect to office, I have enough Artis AX.UN, but could add to H&R HR.UN or buy another which you would recommend. Suggestions?

With respect to residential, I have plenty of Canadian Apartments CAR.UN but would buy another recommendation. Suggestions?

Q: How would you suggest incorporating non-equity investments into diversifying a portfolio? For example, if an investor owned an office building:

a) Would this satisfy the "REIT" sector component of the portfolio?
b) Should the investor diversify within the REIT sector, and aim to also own a residential REIT, such as CAR.un?
c) Should the income-producing real estate asset be considered a "bond-proxy", thus not affecting the equity sector allocation?
d) Other?

Thanks in advance!

Q: We all know that interest rates will be going up, and these guests on BNN poo poo reits as an investment, and than try to explain how there picks down 60 & 70 % may eventually come back for there investors if they wait long enough. The way i see it, if a reit has good management they will do well going forward. In Canada, Car.un, they are full, in the USA the ones are around 95% full. More and more people in the future will be forced to live in an apartment, with poor wage growth, more expenses, they will never qualify for a mortgage. What do you think, am i not seeing the real picture here, high quality Reits should be held even a rising rate time?

Q: Hi, I've sold my REITs in my cash account but am thinking of adding two or three in my RRSP accounts for long term holds. Is this a reasonable move? I've noticed that your recommendations generally include CSH, CAR, and REI. I can't help but be attracted to the yield on AX. Am I "reaching" for yield and likely to be disappointed if I buy AX? What would be your top 2 or 3 REITs for an RRSP that consists of a balanced group of etf's? I'm looking to be a bit more conservative here than in my cash account which mirrors the balanced equity model fairly closely.
Thanks, Rod

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: I am retired, modest risk appetite, have a diversified portfolio, and am considering buying a quality REIT for my RRIF for income and some growth potential. I have till now considered our home as our real estate investment. Your thoughts are appreciated. Do you prefer office vs retail or some combination? Please recommend a couple of names? Thank you for your comments. Edward

Q: I depend on dividends for much of our income and would like to have your opinion on one or two these stocks for a 1/2-3/4 position, about $15-20,000 or so. hot.un, car.un, aar.un, wir.u - Thanks, Ted

Q: I have cash in RRSP that I want to put to use in purchasing a REIT. At this point, would you wait until after a 0.25% increase in the US interest rates (likely this year but not guaranteed), or purchase now?