Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on successful investing, including real estate investments. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.

Tip of the week: …read more »

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on specific stocks and other investing topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions.

REITs …read more »

Canada’s real estate investment trusts (REITs) were the only category of trusts exempted from the federal government’s income trust tax. This has helped them remain popular with investors seeking both income and capital gains. Today we examine the expansion plans of the largest of those trusts, a specialist in shopping malls.

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; …read more »

Owning your primary residence has all the earmarks of a great financial deal. Mortgage payments amount to forced savings, a home is an inflation hedge, and capital gains are tax-free.

However, you can easily fritter away these solid real estate investments by upgrading excessively, or moving frequently. Here are 4 reasons why:

1. Neighbourhoods limit home prices: Suppose nearby homes are selling

…read more »

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 264.0 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%; www.riocan.com) specializes in big-box style outdoor shopping malls. However, over the past few years, the trust has expanded into other developments.

For example, RioCan and partner KingSett Capital are now buying the Sheppard Centre in north Toronto. This …read more »

WEYERHAEUSER CO. $17 (New York symbol WY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 538.7 million; Market cap: $9.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.weyerhaeuser.com) is a leading maker of forest products. It owns or leases over 21 million acres of timberland in the U.S. and Canada.

Weyerhaeuser recently converted to a real estate investment …read more »

CANADIAN REIT $34.99 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 67.0 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.1%; www.creit.ca) owns over 160 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, located across Canada and in the Chicago area. These properties contain over 22 million square feet of leasable area. Its occupancy rate is 93.3%.

In the three months ended …read more »

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25.57 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 264.0 million; Market cap: $6.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.4%; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest REIT. It has interests in 305 shopping malls in Canada, including 10 under development. These properties contain over 73 million square feet of leasable area. RioCan’s occupancy rate is 97.5%.

RioCan also owns an …read more »

DUNDEE REIT $30.90 (Toronto symbol D.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-365-3535; www.dundeereit.com; Shares outstanding: 58.9 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Dividend yield: 7.1%) will buy 29 office buildings in Ontario and Alberta for $831.8 million. The sellers are U.S.-based Blackstone Real Estate Advisors LP and Canadian firm Slate Properties. As part of the agreement, Dundee will sell off five of these …read more »

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are exempt from Ottawa’s income-trust tax, which came into effect on January 1, 2011. That exemption makes REITs’ high yields more attractive, because most trusts have converted to corporations or cut their distributions in response to the new tax.

Our REIT recommendations have all moved up, but we still think they offer attractive long-term returns at …read more »