Investment Q&A

Q: I have held BIP in a RRSP for a number of years, and now also have a small holding of BIPC, which I am considering rolling back into BIP for simplicity sake to reduce total holdings. Is the distribution per share going to be exactly the same for BIP and BIPC? Are there any issues (withholding, etc) that would affect the distribution received from one stock and not the other, keeping in mind this is all in a registered account?
Some days the price differential is such that I could sell BIPC and buy BIP and the differential would more than cover the commissions (yeah, I would actually still lose). I would appreciate any comments about the pros and cons of this move.
Thank-you

Q: Hello, you say that in a RRSP or RIF both BIP.UN and BIPC are economically equivalent. When one looks at the company profile of both, only BIP.UN shows a dividend yield of 5.1%. The company profile of BIPC does not show any dividend. Is it because BIPC is a new company that has just been listed? Will the dividend of BIPC be the exact same of BIP.UN? Regards, Gervais

Q: After the BIP.UN spinoff I now own shares of both of these. For simplicity, I only want to hold one. Selling BIP.UN and buying BIPC in non-registered account will have tax consequences so, on the surface, it seems I should sell BIPC and buy more BIP.UN. Do you see any reason in a long term hold to own one vs the other?

Q: Good day, 5i. I was given a small # of shares of BIPC by their spinoff; also have shares of BIP.UN. If I consolidate these shares in a Canadian RIF, which way should I go - all BIPC or all BIP.UN? Are their any advantages either way?

Q: To Peter's question regarding exchanging Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Exchange LP units to BIP.UN:

I got info from BIP investors relations late last year:

1. LP units are exchangeable to BIP.UN 1:1 for 7 years,
2. The exchange is deemed disposition, i.e. taxable on gain
3. The exchange is no fee, can be done by brokerages

I emailed BIP investor's relations couple of times in the past, they are quite responsive and detail in their replies.

Hope this helps.

Q: I realize this is completely out of your area of expertise, but I am at my wits end and hoping your experience, or that of your subscibers, can help. My sons received Brookfield Infrastructure Exchangeable Units as a result of the Enercare buyout in 2018. The units appeared in their accounts at BMO Investorline as they were supposed to, but have no symbol, just a name, and they continue to show a price and receive the distributions. I contacted Investorline to find out how to exchange them for "regular" units and they advised me to contact Brookfield. When I contacted Brookfield, they told me the conversion had to be done through the broker, and gave me a contact for my broker to call. I passed the information on to Investorline, and they responded that I had to do the exchange directly through Computershare. Trying to deal with Computershare has been like hitting my head against a brick wall. Do you or anyone reading this have any idea how to go about converting the Brookfield Infrastructure Exchangeable units into regularly traded units?

Q: I talked to a RBC adviser and he told me that I can exchange new BIPC shares into BIP.UN but don't have any information on exchanging of BIP.UN units into BIPC shares. Do you have any information whether BIP.UN units can be exchanged into BIPC shares?

Q: I have a position in BIP.UN in my Cash account at a loss and a small position on BIPC in the same account. If I sell BIP.UN and buy BIPC would the loss be considered a superficial loss for tax purposes?

Q: While Brookfields’s limited partnership companies such as BIP and BIP.UN “declare” their dividends in US dollars these are actually paid to Canadian brokers such as Scotia iTrade in the Canadian dollar equivalent as of the record date.
If an investor holds those units in the US dollar side of their brokerage account, they can be charged a conversion fee by the brokerage to convert back to USD. In the case of Scotia iTrade this has been in excess of 2% in the past.
Do you know if this will be the situation with future dividends paid by BIPC?
Thank you for all your due diligence on our behalf.

Q: Hi 5i,

All other things being equal, wouldn't BIPC be superior over BIP.UN because of tax implications and greater accessibility by a wider range of investors?

I ask because I noticed over the last few trading days, BIP.UN has traded at a slight premium over BIPC. I would think it would be the opposite. Maybe some investors are doing portfolio clean up after the split and selling the small amounts of BIPC they have?

Personally I think BIPC is the better one to own?

TIA!
Wayne

Q: I have owned a large position of BIP.UN and done well, I have some in my TFSA account and some in my RRSP account. For future will BIP.UN and BIPC trade similar in price range and I do not see what dividend BIPC pays. Is BIPC dividend same as BIP.UN. Should I sell all my BIP.UN and buy BIPC. Can you explain tax credit implications.
Thank You
Al - Mississauga

Q: I own (for quite a while) 1500 shs of BIP.UN and it has been a big performer until the recent collapse of the market. I just checked my on-line account and noticed that I now have 166 shs of BIPC:CDN: looks like they did a restructuring whereby I was allocated these shares. What a surprise. Can you tell more: should I keep BIPC & would you add to BIP.UN or BIPC at the current price. BIPC seems to trade at the same price.

Q: Further to my earlier question today- just realised I still have the original BIP shares (duh!). Hard to tell with this volatility but is the BIPC a "bonus" or is BIP value offset by the same amount? Will BIPC be paying a dividend and what is the rate? Thanks and sorry for the confusion.

Q: I own BIP.UN and have received BIPC in my non-registered account. Should I sell BIP.UN and buy BIPC to get higher Canadian dividend tax credit? Will there be any tax implication? Can BIP.UN be exchanged with BIPC, without incurring expenses? Thanks.

Q: Hi Gang, I owned BIP.UN for years in a non registered account and if I don't mind writing off the capital gains against capital losses this year, would I be better to put all the proceeds from BIP.UN into BIPC going forward because of the tax credit.
Thank you
Anthony

Q: Hi Peter and Staff

Please explain again the reorganization- I still have same number of units of BIP.UN as I did a month ago - I THINK value per unit has gone down more than normal but I do not see any BIPC shares in my account yet at TD

Thanks for all you do
Dennis

Q: Greetings 5i and thank you for your hard work.
I have combed through the various Q's on BIP and see bits and pieces of what is happening with the 'new' shares but do not feel I have the whole picture - plse assist.
I own 300 shares of BIP.UN in a non-Reg account: what can I expect to happen and what should I wind up with when the dust settles? What will be the nature of the shares be and how many will I own?
Thanks again
SP

Q: I currently own shares of BIP.UN - will they be automatically converted to BIPC shares or is there something I have to do on my side to initiate the conversion ?
Thanks

Q: Is the receipt of BIPC a stock dividend equal to $49.29 per share?

If all the BIPC shares are converted into BIP.UN is the only tax effect an addition to the Adjusted Cost Base equal to the above stock dividend?

Q: Under what circumstance would you consider swapping one BIPC share for one BIP.UN, assuming the ongoing dividend and unit distribution payout are identical.

Would it be just the tax consequence on the future sale of the share or unit, and perhaps the tax treatment of the dividend and unit distribution payout? Thanks.